Lady Luck
by Dreamer372
Summary: Carina Amalia Brewster was walking through some woods when she finds a link to the past that everyone thought was gone. Now she is forced to step into a different pair of shoes, walking her way through history, she discovers more that she ever needed. After all, how often is it that someone finds a long dead nation? M for Hetalia, for strong language and varying themes.
1. Introduction

**I need to stop making stories. Seriously. I do not own anything. I'll be doing this at a present day as best as I can. Also stick with me. I'll explain stuff at the end.**

Standard German

 **Early New High German**

English

 _Thoughts_

 _ **Italian**_

 _ **Note: Edited (11/29/16)**_

* * *

Carina Amalia Brewster trudged through the thick German foliage as she followed her map. Her mother had wanted her out of the hotel so she could work on her book in peace. ' _European Royal History my ass_ ', she thought bitterly. Her mother loved the blue bloods and 'white bones' of the European and Eurasian worlds. She choked when she realized she referenced the Russian term for royalty. "I've been spending too much time with youuuuu-!" She collapsed on her hands as the ground quickly approached. "What the hell..." She muttered as she looked down. She had tripped on an old tree root and followed its trail up the wood. She smiled when she saw the multiples of small berries hanging just shy of her head. "Rowan..." She whispered.

She looked at the thickness and froze. "This tree is ancient..." It reminded her of a redwood tree from California, it was so thick. Carina looked at the gnarled tree roots and paused. Some of the roots were twisted in odd formations, kinda like... fingers. She traced the hand and followed it up. A small pocket was enveloped in shadows and she reached for her small flashlight. "No, no no no no..." She whispered horrified. The face of a young man that seemed to match her twenty years of age. Her bright amber eyes widen in shock as his wooden features seemed to melt away, leaving tanned skin behind. She backed away as the transformation spread quickly and black clothes were shown surfacing from the roots, and intense blue eyes opened.

A deep voice garbled in some lost tongue that resembled German called out shakily. " **Italy**..."

Carina blinked. "What? Who are you?(1)" The man froze and looked over at her and frowned deeply. He began to stand but fell quickly against the tree again. He glared over at the roots by his hands and Carina was severely worried. A strange man had just woken up out of an ancient tree and was speaking in something she couldn't tell, and considering her mother was a well-known author who spoke several different languages to dozens of important historians and figures, she was surprised that she couldn't recognize it.

 **"I-Italy, where is she?"** The odd man demanded. Carina managed to pick a few odd words out, but looked down. This was too weird.

She looked back up and was worried as the man sat down on some of the roots with his head in his hands. "What do you mean, Italy? That's a country, not a person," She said, and backed up a step when she heard him growl. They might not have a clear understanding of each other, but it was clear enough. She blinked and the man was suddenly on her throat.

" **WHERE IS SHE? I PROMISED I'D BE BACK, SO WHERE IS SHE?!** " He roared, gripping her neck as he raised her above the ground. Carina choked as she clawed at the blonde guy's hands, her auburn hair sticking to her face. He stared into her eyes as she was forced to have one shut.

"I. DON'T. KNOW," She growled with what air she had and she kicked him from her raised elevation. She had intended to kick his shin, but she forgot to factor in her height, both physical and altitude wise, and they crumbled. She gasped for breath as he coiled into a ball. "What is going on?" She growled, staring at him. He growled as he sat up.

" **Who are you**?" He pushed out through grit teeth. Carina paused.

"Carina Amalia Brewster. You?" She asked. They weren't at each other's throats anymore, so why not? He paused and laughed lightly, and she frowned. "Yeah, I know what my name means." He shook his head but didn't elaborate.

The man coughed and stood. " **I am the Holy Roman Empire** ," He said, and offered a hand up. Carina froze at his name.

"What? No, the Holy Roman Empire is an officially dissolved empire that hasn't existed for 200 years! How can you be a person?!" She asked, scooting backwards. She didn't want to be by this guy anymore. The man who claimed to be the long-dead Empire took steps to reach her. He froze when she mentioned the dissolved part.

" **I AM the Holy Roman Empire. I am a single personification of it! And It is not possible! I have not been dead for 200 years! It couldn't be! I-I am right here**!" He said, and he shook. Carina pulled herself up, and took a step closer to him. Her mind kept criss-crossing with this man. She was scared of him, but felt sorry.

"Sir, calm down. I'm going to help you. I'm going yo call you Henry, alright? I'm going to try to help you find this Italy, if you need, alright?" 'Henry' merely nodded, and she took his hand. He clenched her hand lightly and smiled at her.

" **Thank you** ," He said, and then they trudged on. Getting him out of the forest took a while, as they were in the middle of a large forest, and the moon was high in the sky as they got to her jeep. Henry stared at the car oddly as Carina approached it and he jumped as it unlocked. " **What is that strange beast**?"

Carina laughed quietly, but wiped her face as she looked back at him. "This is a car. It is used to get people from place to place quickly. This type of car is called a jeep." He continued to give it odd stares as he approached the faded green car. Carina opened the side door for him and waved into the open seat. "I'll explain inside. And this is perfectly safe."

Henry gave her a pointed look and climbed inside somewhat awkwardly. Carina shut the door after him and went around to the driver's side. She climbed inside and bit back a smile as she saw him struggle with the seat. "Hold on," She said, and reached over. Henry leaned back as she reached across to the adjuster on the side. He flew back a little and blinked.

" **That's good, thank you** ," He said. She also grabbed the seatbelt while she was over there. " **What** -"

Carina stuck the clip into the buckle and leaned back over on her side to do the same. "It's a safety measure. Calm down," She said and started the car. Henry jumped in his seat and looked around as the car purred to life.

" **What is this**?!" He yelled. Carina laughed and began to back out of the parking spot.

As they began the two hour drive back to Carina's hotel, she wondered how she going to pull this off. She figured she would get the man a room close by and talk to her mother the next morning. _She would know, right?_ They pulled up at roughly five in the morning and Holy Roman Empire had fallen asleep half an hour in. The tan girl sighed and leaned back in her seat as she stared at the large and flashy hotel. Henry twitched as he woke up and looked at her. " **Are we there yet**?" She gripped the wheel with one hand as she turned the car off with the other.

"Yeah, but listen. You cannot talk to anyone there unless I tell you. Your speech is similar to current German, it's still different. I'm going to get you a room close by and I'll help you. Also, we need to get you some new clothes. My mom might know what is going on. She can probably help..." Carina said, leaning forward to sigh into the steering wheel. A hand patted her on the shoulder and she looked up to see Holy Rome patting her on the back in support. "Thanks..."

Henry hummed and began trying to get out if his seat. He tugged on the seatbelt and began to cough from pulling the wrong part. Carina laughed and pushed the button to release it. Henry turned faintly pink as he looked away. She undid her own seat and climbed out, and Holy Rome followed her lead. They slammed the doors shut and they entered the building, and Carina was surprised by how much he was able to keep it together and not freak out at all the modern day trinkets.

"Hi, I'd like to get one room for my brother. He decided to join us but we're hoping to surprise mo-"

" ** _Honey! It's been so long! Where have you been_**?!" Carina froze as her mother, Liberty Brewster, popped out from behind her. The older replica rushed forward and hugged Holy Rome and Carina tightly. " ** _Explain in a while_** ," She growled into her child's ear. "How long has it been? Too long! C'mon, we have some catching up to do!" She said and began dragging the two towards the elevator. She all but threw her 'children' in and shoved them in. " ** _What the hell is going on_**?!"

" ** _Mom, I didn't mean to! This isn't my fault_**!" Carina said, throwing her arms around. Holy Rome looked between the two in confusion but said nothing.

" ** _Who is this_**?" She yelled, pointing at the tall man. Henry might not have understood Italian like he used to, but it doesn't take much for him to piece together what's being said.

" **Holy Roman Empire. Do you know where Italy is** -" He paused when Carina's mother slumped.

" ** _W-What, but h-how? F-France said he was d-dead.._** ** _."_** She muttered, running a hand through her hair. She froze and pulled out her phone. The elevator dinged and she growled. The woman shoved the communication device back into her pocket and dragged them into their floor's conference room.

" ** _M-Mom, what's going o_** -" Carina began as she caught herself, Holy Rome doing the same. Her mother yanked out her phone.

" ** _Shush. I need to make a few calls_** ," She growled and all but stabbed the numbers on the small box. There was a dark aura surrounding him and Carina put a hand on his arm. He calmed down and looked at her. " ** _GET ME ON THE LINE WITH FELICIANO NOW_**!" Her mom roared. Carina winced, she recognized that tone.

" ** _B-But M-miss it's-a five in the m-mo-_** " The poor woman on the other side of the line didn't stand a chance. The other two occupants barely heard the other end of the line.

" ** _WE HAVE A CODE BLUE_** ," She yelled. The dial tone began immediately.

" ** _Si_** ****?" A goofy voice crooned sleepily. " ** _Sorellona, it's-a early, what's the matt-_** "

" ** _He's alive. Organize a meeting, the sooner the better. Hurry, Venie!_** " Her mother stressed. There was a pause from the other end of the line.

" ** _Is he-a there, can I-a talk to him_**?" All exhaustion was swept away as well as the goofy voice.

" ** _Si, but hurry up. We need to tell the others_** ," Her mother said and passed the phone to Henry. He looked at it, confused.

" **H-Hello? Who's there**?" He asked awkwardly into the phone. A choke was heard on the other side of the phone.

" ** _H-Holy Rome. It's-a been a while, hasn't it_**? " The Italian on the other end said.

" **I-Italy, it's really you? Y-you're still alive?** " Holy Rome choked on their end. Liberty crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, waiting.

" _ **S**_ _ **-Si, Holy Rome. It's-a been far too long**_ ," The other end said, crying. " ** _I'll-a see you again-a soon, s-si_**?"

" **Y-Yes.**.." Holy Rome said, and the dial tone sounded. He passed the item back to Liberty and she took it.

"Sit," She ordered, and gestured to the chairs. The two sat and Carina's mom stood on the opposite end. "Explain, both of you, now."

Carina took in a deep breath. "Well, after you kicked me out of the room, I went exploring at one of the forests, one about two hours from here, and I tripped, saw it was an ancient rowan tree, and some of the roots looked weird, kinda like fingers, and I got out the torch and looked in a dark spot and saw him. He then seemed to melt out of the roots and we began talking..." She explained. Liberty raised an eyebrow. "We might have fought a little..." She said, trying to ignore the urge to rub her throat.

Her mother sighed. "Alright... You have to be debriefed... I'll do that on the way..." She said, sighing. A quick _Bing_! on her phone grabbed her attention and she looked at it. "We're leaving. There's a conference getting underway an hour from here. I'll catch you up. And none of it gets shared by anyone else," She grit, and Carina nodded. "Alright. We're taking the jeep. I'm driving."

* * *

 **OK, IT SUCKED. PUT UP WITH IT. IT'LL MAKE SENSE LATER. HIS IS GOING TO BE A REALLY WEIRD SOTRY IF I CAN FINISH IT. THIS IS A PRESENT DAY (CURRENTLY) AU WHERE NORMAL CITIZENS HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT COUNTRIES' EXISTENCES.**

 **(1) HRE is speaking in a more ancient form of German and like all languages, modern can still pick out words, and vice versa. This will come in handy later. Other languages will be represented in normal, bold, italicized, underlined, or any mix so we don't have to waste time looking for tranlastions. Sorry other languages, but I'm taking the easy route.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to the ... 12 people who read this as of June 21, 2016 for those of us in the US... And things are going to get reaaaaaaaaaaaaally confusing. Badly. I own nothing! Also, sorry again if anyone's OOC, but remember that a very old friend has just been found alive and they're going to be at least a little serious, and I'm going to be using various terms, but not too many during alternate dialogue moments because that's the way Hetalia works...**

Standard German

 **Early New High German**

English

 _Thoughts_

 _ **Italian**_

* * *

Carina whooped as she stuck her head out the window. Her mother was shooting down the empty road at least 20 miles over the speed limit. " ** _MOM JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE FROM ITALY DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO DRIVE LIKE YOU ARE_**!" Liberty laughed at her daughter's words and sped the jeep up another 5 miles per hour.

 ** _"What was that?! I can't hear you!"_** Liberty yelled and began slowing down as they reached closer to the crowded area. " _ **Get your head back in. I want you to still have your head when you meet the others. And remember, where are we from**_?" She asked as she slowed to a stop.

Carina gave her a confused look. " _ **We're from the Pompeii area of Naples. Why**_?" Liberty sighed and entered the not so busy traffic. A few sports cars seemed to be going into the same area, but she ignored it.

" ** _Because. It's very important to them. And if you get lost, find one of two men with large curls on the side of their head. Or anyone wearing glasses. But stay away from anyone else. Got it_**?" She said, peering into the rearview window.

" ** _Uh, yeah, sure, mom_** ," Carina said. " ** _Should Henr_** -"

" ** _Don't call him that either. Here, he is only Holy Rome. I would not recommend calling him anything else. But yes, keep him near you. If anything goes wrong, you need him near you at all costs, you hear me_**?" Carina nodded shakily. The only other times she got like this was when she skipped out on her history and language lessons. A home-schooling mother. Liberty took a small crash-landing into the tall business building parking lot and Henr- Holy Rome grunted. He had been silent for the majority of the trip, trying to survive the Italian woman's driving and quietly listening. Finding a parking spot, Liberty dove into it, nearly hitting an old English buggie of some kind. " Alright, everyone out," She grunted and hopped out like nothing happened.

" ** _I want to get my keys back, Mom_** ," Carina said, holding out her hand, but Liberty shook her head.

" ** _You can have them when you come back out here in the next two_** _ **millennia**_ ," She said, holding tightly to the small bits of metal.

" **Remind me to never ride with an Italian ever again. I would like to live to see everyone else. May we go now?** " Holy Rome asked as he stepped out of the car. His knees wobbled as he slammed the car door shut.

"You alright?" Carina asked, peeking around his side. Holy Rome squawked as he jumped into the air. He fell onto his bottom and growled.

" **Don't do that**!" He said, and Carina held out a hand, not at all trying to hide her smile. He sighed through his nose and took the hand, pulling himself up.

"Spoilsport..." She muttered, and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

" **What**?"

"Nothing!"

"Come on, you two, we have to get into the building sometime today. Not in the next century," Liberty said as she began pushing them into the complex.

" ** _Whoa_**..." Carina said as she walked in. There were dozens and dozens of flags inside, lining the walls with replicas of many famous paintings from all over the world. Liberty smiled at her daughter's antics and looked at their guest. Or rather, where he was supposed to be, as he had stopped a short distance ago. " Holy Rome-"

" **Italy painted this with me a long time ago. It seems like yesterday, but... I can't help but feel as though I have missed so much more...** " He said, staring sadly at a painting of a fluffy pink bunny. Carina looked around the painting and her eyes settled on the lower right corner.

"Look, they never forgot. They signed it," She said, pointing at the small scribble near the bottom ledge. It was written in faded ink and read simply, ' **Italy and Holy Rome** '. "They care enough. Come on. Why not see them for yourself?"

He simply nodded and turned again so they continued on their way. There was an elevator at the end of the room and they all walked into it. The two stared at the vast amount of buttons that lined the wall and watched curiously as Liberty opened the emergency call box and pressed on a small button in the back. A small hmm started and she pressed the '19' button on the console. The elevator smoothly began the transition up, and Liberty removed her hand and closed the panel.

Everyone remained silent as the elevator rose, until the fourteenth floor. "Be calm, you two. Everything will be alright. And Holy Rome?" Liberty said, turning to him. He looked at her in question. She grinned impishly. " **Don't freak out too much**." Carina's eyes flew open in surprise, but she didn't have time to react.

The doors opened to quiet anticipation that could have been cut with knife.

* * *

There was a single, large set of double doors in a long hallway, and several people were chatting, although a great deal of noise came from within the room. A set of four strangers caught her eye and one of them approached. The redhead had a shocking resemblance to she and her mother and blinked as he approached. " ** _H-Holy Rome? Is-a that really you_**?" He asked in a thick Italian accent. His resemblance to her mother- and herself- was startling as she hid behind her parent.

Holy Rome looked at him with large eyes. " **I-Italy? I-I thought you w-were a-a-** "

Italy laughed, " ** _Ah, those-a were the days, si_**?" He said. Carina took a silent breath in when she saw the tears falling down in thick clumps down the man's cheeks. A man that could have easily been his brother put a hand on the auburn-haired man's shoulder and pushed him lightly towards Holy Rome. The two reunited friends began sharing introductions after a few hundred years and they were a bit teary, so the other five gave them some space.

" ** _Take-a care of him, you-a undead bastard_** ," He said in an equally Italian accent. He took notice of the two ladies watching the exchanges with lowered heads. " ** _Ciao, Ragazza, ciao.._**.?" He asked in question, and shook hands with Liberty and then held his hand out to her daughter.

Carina blinked at the man who stared at her with a gentle smile. " ** _I-uh, am Carina(1), nice to meet you_** ," She said, taking his hand in a careful handshake. She blushed when he reached down and ghosted his lips across her knuckles.

" ** _Beloved(1)? It-a fits such a beautiful lady such as yourself_** ," He said. Carina giggled, but Liberty stepped forward.

" ** _Romano, back off my daughter_** ," She growled. Romano's eyes grew wide and he drew backwards.

" ** _Wait, she's yo_** -" He said and instantly began sweating nervously. " ** _What the hell, Ragazza! You never told us you had a damn daughter. Or is this-_** "

" ** _Romano, shut it. And yes, she's my lucky star. And one of yours_** ," She said with a knowing glint in her eye.

Romano blinked, blushed ever so faintly, before he grinned. " ** _R-Really? Well, Bella, what-a city, then? If you're-a from Roma, then_** -"

Carina looked down and grabbed her arm. " ** _I-I'm from the Pompeii area of Naples_**."

Romano froze and looked down. " ** _Oh_**."

Carina panicked and began spouting, " ** _Oh, no, I'm sorry. I don't know what the hell I did, but I'm such an idiot sometimes and need to learn to shut my fuc_** -" Her tongue sometimes 'slipped' when she got nervous and when she doesn't watch it.

Romano snorted, " ** _Bella, shut-a the hell up. It's-a fine, I just had a bit of-a breathing problem before and-a after. And she sure is-a one of mine_** ," He said, looking at Liberty. " ** _She has-a the language down, alright, Ragazza_**."

Liberty snorted and the two began laughing. Carina looked between the two confused, and another voice jumped in. "Hello there, Miss...?"

Carina turned towards the German voice, "Carina, it's nice to meet you..." She in turn asked, holding out her hand. The tall blonde man blinked in surprise at her knowledge of his language, but let it slide.

"Ludwig, but most call me Germany. It's so odd to see y-"

"Germany," Her mother said, looking over her shoulder and at the offending man. Romano didn't look pleased to have his chat buddy taken away by the blonde man.

Germany dipped his head, "My apologizes, I forgot." Liberty looked back and began chatting with Romano again.

Carina gave him an odd look, one that screamed confusion, "What was that?"

A Japanese voice answered, but she couldn't tell what he said. "I'm sorry, I don't speak-"

The shorter man nodded, "My greatest apologizes, but your mother is only simply trying to protect you. That is all," He said in a very thick accent. "I am Japan, but some call me Kiku Honda, it is a pleasure to meet you," He said bowing.

Carina nodded, and followed the motion, "Likewise. And thank you for speaking English. My mom hasn't taught me Japanese yet. She said she was going to," She said.

Japan lightly smiled. "That is good for a parent to take such interest in their child's studies. And do not worry, I'm sure you'll learn it sooner than later."

Carina nodded, "Mom takes that to a whole new level. She's had me learn five other languages (3) and made sure I keep up with my studies in History."

Germany looked at her confused. "I thought Italians went to school for sixteen years. You look older than..."

Carina nodded, understanding what he was trying to say, "Most do, but that's if they just wanted to finish their secondary education when they're nineteen. Mom has me trying to remain on top of remembering World History for some reason..." Japan and Germany nodded in understanding.

" ** _Carina! It's time, come on_**!" Liberty said, and propped her harm on her taller daughter. Holy Rome and Italy were standing side by side and Italy was gripping the other man's arm rather tightly, and Romano stood off to the side. Liberty's other arm was slung through his. Carina raised a brow at her mother and looked quickly at the touching limbs. Liberty nodded, and leaned in, loosening Romano a little bit. " ** _It's customary for a country, if they're male and their guests are female, to guide them in this way, a sign on protection. It's tradition. Go on Romano's other side. You'll be fine. He won't let anything happen to you_** ," She said and pushed the girl around.

" ** _Good luck, bella_** ," Romano whispered into her ear as he ruffled her curly hair and took her arm in his. The seven walked into the conference room and things instantly got quiet.

* * *

 **Well then. Alright. Yeah. This is done. There's chapter two. Someone tell me to stop stalling. Please. I'm begging you. But three quick notes:**

 **(1) I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Carina's name is Carina Amalia Brewster. Carina means "Little darling, beloved, etc. etc." in Italian. Amalia, and the root, Amal, is Germanic and a bunch of other stuff, for 'Work'. And finally, Brewster is a last name of a man on the Mayflower and essentially means "To Brew" And to those of you who might be catching on what's going on, because I'm dropping hints here and there, DON'T SAY ANYTHING, but that leads me to my second point...**

 **(2) READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**

 **(3) Carina is twenty years old and speaks: Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, and Chinese.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I FEEL SO HAPPY! I HAVE 25 VIEWS AND IN THOSE VIEWS I HAVE 1 FAVORITE AND 2 FOLLOWERS. THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. But anyway, I have an aunt and Uncle coming over and I don't know if I'll be able to post as often.**

 **Time for a few slight language changes, yaaaaay... And forgive me, I may have trouble doing Ancient Rome, but I'll do my best... FYI, I HATE GOOGLE TRANSLATE. IT IS NOT FUN TO GO FRON ENGLISH ITALIAN, ITALIAN LATIN, THEN LATIN ENGLISH, JUST TO MAKE SURE IT'S CORRECT. DAMN LANGUAGE BARRIERS. I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE THE ITALIAN BROS. SPEAK PLAIN ITALIAN, BECAUSE I'M LAZY AND GETTING A HEADACHE. YAY.**

English

 ** _Italian_**

 **Latin**

 **Edited (1/2/17)**

* * *

Carina tightened her grip on Romano's arm as, if her mom was right, around 190 pairs of different colored eyes set their gazes on them. Most were glued to the tall germanic man behind her, but a few shimmered over her figure. Romano squeezed her arm back and she relaxed minutely, but they continued to their seats. Romano released the women and pulled out three seats, and they sat down, and Carina was pleasantly surprised by how soft the chairs were. Holy Rome took his seat to her left and then the other Italian man, Germany, and then Japan.

"YO DUDETTE, HOW ARE YA!" A loud American voice yelled from the head of the table. She looked up and saw a tan man with blue eyes and dirty blonde hair and _glasses_! She looked over to her mom as if to ask, ' _should I_?' Liberty nodded, and she turned back.

"I'm fine, how are you?" She asked, but the man cupped his ear.

"WHAT'S THAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF OVERPROTECTIVE LIBERTY!" He said with a shit-eating grin and Liberty growled.

"AMERICA, DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE," She roared, and the boisterous man laughed loudly.

"Nah, nah, it's all good. But seriously dudette, who are you?" He asked, quieting down a notch. Her mom relaxed a notch and the man's eyes seemed to send a calming message to her mother, even if she didn't know what.

"I, uh, I'm Carina Brewster..." She said, scratching her arm lightly, looking down.

"I'm sorry, but what did you say?" A man nearby asked, his british accent and green eyes cutting across the table. His posture screamed patience, but she could see he was highly irritated. By what, she did not know...

"I'm Carina Brewster. It's nice to meet you all," She said, looking around.

"Oui, Mademoiselle, but may we get to the matter at hand, no?" A Frenchman said from nearby.

The British man sighed, "I'm afraid I have to agree with the frog on this one. How in the world, did you manage to find and wake up a long dead, not to mention dissolved, nation?"

"Hey, you got a thing against dissolved nations?" A man said, a few chairs down, near Japan. The man's accent seemed german but...

Germany sighed, "Bruder, please calm down."

The man stood up, "No, ze awesome Prussia-"

"Gilbert, you are the teutonic order. You always have been and always will be. Now, can you sit down now? The world does not need another huge debate right now," Liberty said, standing up. The albino man bowed his head as he nodded and took his seat. "Great, now the meeting is to discuss the Holy Roman Empire. He was found in the middle of a forest, buried in the roots of a Rowan tree and had become part of the tree itself. Carina became curious and somehow undid the effect. They came back, and when I found out, I called Veneziano and had him call in this meeting. But this is also the time for Code Blue."

Romano grit his teeth and Holy Rome grabbed her wrist. Romano did the same. " ** _I am so sorry, Bella_** ," He whispered.

She looked around worried and her gaze sat on her mother. "Mom, what's going on?" Liberty sucked in an easy breath and reach into her back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Certificate of Adoption... **_Mom_**?" She asked with tears in her eyes. Her eyes failed to catch the small inconsistency on the page.

" ** _I'm not your mother. It's a very confusing situation, fortunata(1)_** ," She whispered, and Romano looked down, gripping her wrist tighter.

" ** _Damn it Ragazza, just spit it out! You're worrying her_**!" He spat, glaring at Liberty.

" ** _Oh so now you care! What about the 1500s? Huh? I was torn between you, Veneziano and Britain, the three of you needing me equally, but you refused to make my life easier and I broke down a few times? What about then?_** " She yelled, and Romano looked down.

" ** _Carina_** -"

" ** _I dropped that name two millennia ago_** ," Liberty grit. She looked over him to stare into her 'daughter's ' watering eyes. "Carina, today you get sent back into the past and you have to live all throughout history. These idiots fight over you because you're the living 'Lady Luck'. You're the extra edge that these idiots want to help them win wars. You're the main reason that Britain defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. You're the reason that the Roman empire won so many battles and expanded so far. I am just under two millennia old," She finished her spout and several countries looked down.

Carina looked down and drew in a breath. "Well, that explains how I never died when you drove," She said, and a few countries laughed lightly.

Liberty smiled, "I remember saying that, and it was so long ago... But you need to be ready. You will be kidnapped, drugged, tortured, you will starve, and will broken down emotionally so many times." Carina's hands turned to fists, and the older woman added another comment. "But," She said, "you get more family then you could ever hope for. Someone will always have your back, no matter what." Several countries stood up. The American, Britain, the Frenchman, a man with tan skin and vivid green eyes, the Italians, the Germans, Japan, a man in bright red chinese clothes, a man holding a small bear, and a few large men. "Britain, it's time. on the count of three?" The blonde man swallowed and nodded and reached down under his chair.

He brought a small worn journal out and Liberty brought out her own from no where. "On the count of three. Elizabeth, are you sure about this?"

Liberty looked down and nodded. "One," She said, opening the journal.

"Two," Britain said, and flipped through. Romano let go of Carina's wrist and Holy Rome gently squeezed it before doing the same.

"Three," They said together, and began chanting. A bright portal that swirled green and bright white opened. It didn't open behind her, nor in front or to the sides of her. It split her in half and Carina felt the shimmering matrix grab and tug at her body, her insides, her soul, everything it could. Pain was everywhere and she couldn't hear anything except a scream. Were the countries screaming? It made more sense if she was screaming right? She couldn't tell...

Her mind began to shut down, and the last thing she registered was that the matrix, the swirling magic slowly circled down, spinning more and more as it adjusted to her body and seeped into her soul, and it finally collapsed. Sadly, that also meant it brought her into herself and she finally, mercifully, passed out.

* * *

" **Hey, Bella, are you-a alright? You don't look-a too good,** " A bouncy, albeit concerned, voice said. Carina groaned as she tried to sit up, but her body collapsed halfway. " **Woah, Bella, calm-a down. Are you alright**?"

 ** _"W-What?"_** The man who was talking to her, who was kneeling next to her, reeled back. " ** _What? What language are you speaking? I don't understand_** ," She asked carefully.

" **What are you-a saying Bella**?" The man asked. Carina froze. She recognized a bit of the words and began to panic. She couldn't be in an area that spoke Latin of all things! " **Bella**?"

" ** _Romano_** ," She said, and he blinked and nodded.

" **Yep! I'm-a Rome! Are you-a alright? You don't seem to be nation, the aura isn't right... Maybe..**." He said and looked at her. " **Fortuna**?"

Carina blinked at the familiar word and nodded. " ** _Italy_**?" Rome blinked at her and smiled.

" **My grandsons. Want to see them**?" Carina nodded and tried to get up but she crumbled again. Rome laughed and picked her up into his arms. " **Fortuna** ," He said, shaking his head, and began walking to his place.

Carina had fallen asleep after a short while and woke up on a soft bench in what seemed to be a main living area. Two small boys seemed to be staring as her and the shorter was hiding behind the bigger. " ** _H-Hello_** ," She said, and her voice chipped, from it being dry. The two boys looked at each other and regarded her with big eyes.

" ** _Who are you, miss_**?" The smaller asked, but the taller one slapped his hand over his mouth.

" ** _Shut-a up you idiot! She could-a just be another one of grandpa's 'special-a guests'! You know-a what happens_**!" He whisper- yelled, looking over at her with a guarded expression.

" ** _Special guest_**?" Carina asked. " ** _Where am I_**?"

The taller looked at her with piercing eyes. " ** _Y-You're not-a here with Grandpa Rome_**?"

She looked down at him carefully. " ** _No, I don't know where I am, or who you two are... Who are you?_** " She asked, and her voice ran out. The shorter one got out of his brother's grip and ran out of the room and returned with a small chalice.

" ** _Here, Miss_**!" The little boy smiled gleefully as he attempted to hold it up without spilling too much water.

Carina carefully took it and sipped it down slowly. It was pure, clear, and the perfect temperature. " ** _Thank you, young man_** ," She said with a smile. " ** _May I ask your names?_** " She said, looking at the one who she knew was Romano.

" ** _N_** -"

" ** _I'm-a Italy Veneziano and he's-a my big brother Italy Romano!"_** Veneziano sang, grabbing out of her hands.

" ** _Dummy, stay away from her, it could-a be a trap!_** " Romano said, running and grabbing his brother's hand. He pulled him away and hid the smaller boy behind his back. " ** _Listen, bitch-"_** Carina laughed at the small word. " ** _W-what's-a so funny?_**!" He yelled.

Carina hid her laughter in her hand, " ** _You just remind me of someone I met not too long ago. I'm Carina Brewster. I'm from the Pompeii area_** ," She said, placing the chalice down.

Romano blinked at her with wide eyes. " ** _D-Do you-a like it there_**?" He asked, and relaxed a tiny amount.

Carina smiled, " ** _Very much so. A lot of beautiful countryside and amazing agriculture_** ," She said, allowing herself to think about her home, and how her room had a beautiful view of the mountain Vesuvius.

Romano nodded, blushing. " ** _I-I-a guess y-you're-a all right, Ragazza._** "

Carina grinned, " ** _Thank you, young man. You're all right as well. Can you tell me what year it is?_** "

Romano blinked, " ** _What-a the hell kind of question is that? It's-a year 79!_** " He yelled.

Carina froze, " ** _What's today's date?_** "

Romano growled, " ** _What-a kind of interrogation is-a this? It's the 20th of August!_** "

Carina began shaking, " ** _Oh my god, no, no, no, no..._** " She said.

Veneziano ran around his brother and attached himself to her leg. " ** _Miss, are you-a alright?_** "

" **Bella**?" Rome came in through their doorway.

" **Grandpa! Carina's shaking**!" He cried, reaching for the taller man. Rome complied and lifted him onto a shoulder.

" **Carina? Fortuna, are you alright?"** He asked, approaching her and put a hand on her shoulder. Romano growled.

" ** _You-a liar! You are one of his special-a guests_**!" He yelled and ran somewhere else in the home. Roman sighed as he looked as his older grandson ran away.

" **I'm sorry about him, I have no idea why he lashes out like that. What's wrong**?" Carina gave him an odd look.

" ** _I'm sorry, I don't understand you_** ," She said.

" ** _Why? He's just-a speaking plain Latin,_** " Veneziano asked. Rome gave him a small smile

" **Hey, Italy, can you translate for us? Fortuna just needs to learn how to speak it yet. Maybe you and Romano can teach her."**

" **Si**!" The small boy sang and then repeated what his grandfather asked. " ** _He said-a he doesn't know why Romano acts like-a that and what's-a wrong, miss?"_**

" ** _Mount Vesuvious is going to have a massive eruption and kill hundreds in four days,"_** She said, looking at the tiny child. " ** _There will be smaller earthquakes today, but ash is going to go everywhere in a few days."_**

Veneziano swallowed, " ** _No, Romano.._**." He whispered. Rome blinked and frowned.

" ** _Is she positive_**?" Rome asked, looking at the smaller redhead.

" ** _Are you-a sure_**?" The boy asked, trembling. Carina shook and nodded. Rome placed Italy down on the ground quickly and took off into the house.

" **ROMANO! WHERE ARE YOU?**!" Rome bellowed, but there was no reply.

" ** _Romano_**?" Carina whispered. Veneziano whimpered and clutched the older girl's leg. She picked him up and held him close as he shook and cried into her shoulder.

" **ROMANO**!" Rome yelled, and he came running back with a shaking Romano. The little boy shook for a few minutes until he calmed and opened his eyes.

" ** _What-a the hell just-a happened_**?" He asked. Rome took in a shaky breath in and smiled.

" **You're gonna be ok, Romano. Fortuna's said Vesuvius-** "

" ** _Don't talk to me about Fortuna! She's just-a stupid-a fairy tale you say to get us to go to-a bed so you can-a screw your newest toy_**!" He yelled. Rome may not speak Italian, but he understood it just fine.

" **Romano** ," Rome growled.

Carina frowned herself, " ** _Stop it. Fighting will do nothing. Romano, Vesuvius is going to erupt in four days. You're going to need someone to help you_** -"

" ** _I don't-a need anyone's help! Vesuvius isn't goin-_** " He yelled, but a sudden tremor caused him to seize up. Carina lunged for him and held the boy tight as the minor seizure stopped. He breathed heavily as Carina loosened her hold, unconscious.

" ** _You don't really have a say in this, Romano. I'm going to help you_** ," She said, and looked at Italy. " ** _Can you ask your grandfather if it's alright if I stay here? Romano needs an adult here that doesn't have an entire empire to run_**."

Italy grinned and asked. Rome looked his grandson with a sad expression and nodded. Italy cheered and hugged the girl's leg.

" **Hey, Italy, why don't you show Fortuna around? I'll go and see if anyone has any clothes she can have** ," Rome said, as he walked out.

* * *

 **Not really a cliff hanger, but this is the first part. And I'm just going to keep doing the special effects until Carina/Fortuna learns latin. I am NOT going to do the thing with Google translate, but it's pretty funny with how informal GT can be:** Italian:si::English: yup. **_Wow, GT. But this definitely could have come out better, but if anyone has something to say, please, say it._**

 **(1) Fortuna- latin for luck. I also have a feeling that Countries can 'sense' each other based on auras, and considering that Carina is now immortal and the embodiment of Lady luck, why shouldn't she have a special aura too?**

 **(2) This is a serious-ish fanfic.**

 **(3) Carina's name may change in various cultures. If you have** ** _ANY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE DO_** **. Like with America, it's Liberty, Britain, Elizabeth, and the Italian family, mostly Fortuna.**

 **Read and review~!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Again, because this time loop is giving me headache, I put up a quick explanation in the previous chapter. Thanks for everything guys. ALL DIALOGUE IN IN ITALIAN.**

 **I also got a message from guest (04/01/17) Alright, I just got a message, and I'm going to try and explain this... This is weird even in my head, but it's gotten easier (11/30/16).**

 **Time loop- Carina Amalia Brewster (CAB) is caught in a time loop. CAB got adopted from the Pompeii area in Southern Italy by a Liberty Brewster. Twenty years later, CAB finds the HRE and goes with her 'mom' to a conference, where she discovers her 'mom' is really just CAB, but she got sent back in time to August 20th, 79 AD. Because of the time loop, she's going on the same path her 'mom' went on, until the next present day when Carina will adopt her own daughter and restart the cycle. She's essentially doing the exact same 2000 years over and over and over again.**

 **All in all- Woman goes back in time, lives normally until 1996, when she adopts a younger version of herself. That younger version of herself gets older and when chapter 1 hits, the Lady Luck trait gets passed on as the younger version gets sent back to got back to live in the beginning of 79 AD**

 **Lady Luck- In history, there are sometimes when, against all odds, countries defeats another. I mentioned the British versus the Spanish Armada in 1588, when a lucky storm blew the Armada into a rocky cliffside and the Brits didn't have to do much. Also, a small country managed to create a large empire (Roman Empire), so they had a bit of luck on their side. Carina is simply a living impersonation of luck, and her relationship with a nation can alter that nation's luck.**

 **If I missed something, seriously, ask- Review, PM, whatever! Ask away! But no spoilers.**

 **Note: Edited (11/30/16)**

* * *

Veneziano, as she refused to acknowledge that there was a single Italy, lead her through the large, open, and surprisingly warm home and lead her through and open doorway. A large bed sat in the middle of the room and she tucked Romano in. "Is-a Romano going to be-a ok?" Italy asked. She smiled down at him.

"Of cou-"

"Of course I am. Aren't I always, dumbass?" He said through clenched teeth. "What is-a Ragazza still doing here?" He growled at her.

"Veneziano, can you go fetch me a bowl of water and a washcloth, please?" She asked, ignoring him. Italy nodded, solemn as his brother was going to be hurt a lot over the next few days. "You are one stubborn nation, you know that, Romano?"

He snorted and began to sit up, "Yeah, I can't-a be a pushover like Veneziano, can I? And why-a do you call him Veneziano? Why-a not Italy? Everyone does," He said lowly.

"Because you're both Italy, right? Why should one of you better than the other?" Romano looked up at her surprised.

"You're-a dumbass, you know that?" He said, glaring at her.

She grinned back largely so her eyes had to close, "You're a really asshole, you know that?" Romano snorted and looked away, relaxing.

"You're alright, Bella, you're alright," He said, and huffed as if to begin to fall asleep. "See you when I-a wake up, Ragazza," He said, and he curled up into himself.

"See you, Romano," She whispered.

"Ve~! I brought-a the water!" Veneziano cheered as he charged into the room. Romano turned his head and glared at his brother.

"Thanks for waking me-a up you dumbass!" He yelled. Veneziano squeaked and almost dropped the water, but Carina rushed forward. A little bit of water sloshed around, but no too much.

"Veneziano, don't rush into a room yelling and Romano, don't yell at your brother," She chided lightly. Romano huffed and snuggled into the mattress again. "Thank you, Veneziano. Do you have anything in Italian I can read to you two?"

Veneziano thought for a moment but deflated, "I'm-a sorry, Fortuna, I don't think we have-a any books in-a Italian..."

Carina thought for a moment, "It's fine. I know of a good fairytale!"

Romano and Veneziano looked over at her concerned. "Ragazza, fairies are-a evil, why would you be-a so happy about a whole tale about them?"

Carina blinked, and facepalmed. She had forgotten how many fairies were considered very evil and brought bad luck before some were considered 'happy'. "Romano, a fairytale is a story that isn't true, it is regarded as myth, just as fairies are. I think they got the name from the fact that many had fairies and other magical entities in them. This one is a little bit of a familiar story, but I hope you don't mind a nap this early in the evening?"

Romano grumbled as he turned his back to her, but Veneziano yawned, rubbing his eye, "I don't-a mind Fortuna!"

Carina looked down at the name. 'Now I know why mo- I abandoned the name so long ago.' "Alright, is this your room as well, Veneziano? I just want to know if I have to carry you-"

"We share a bed, Ragazza. Grandpa Rome says we aren't old enough yet to-a sleep alone yet," Romano snapped, and began shaking. Carina's eyes opened and she darted forward. She pulled him into a hug, and he convulsed in her arms. "R-Ra-g-gaz-za, l-let m-me-a g-g-go," He chattered.

"No, Romano, I won't," She said firmly. "Veneziano, bring the water over here and put it by the bed." Italy chittered nervously as he dragged the water bucket over.

"I-Is he g-going t-to be-a alri-ight, Fortuna?" Veneziano asked, shaking. She nodded and slowly Romano stopped shaking. Carina let him go and laid him out on the bed, noticing he was still mildly awake.

"Romano, can you hear me?" She asked gently. The brunette grumbled, shifting. His face was covered lightly in sweat and she reached for the bowl. A decent sized rag had slipped in and she carefully pulled it out. Wringing it until it wasn't soaked, she began to carefully wipe up the boy's face. He grumbled and tried to shake her hands away, but she moved them back. "You're going to be alright, Romano. I promise you'll get through this," She said.

Romano grunted, "Why are you-a being so nice? What-a the hell?"

Carina smiled woefully, "You remind me of my mother, well someone I thought I knew. Let's get to that story, shall we?" Veneziano had calmed down enough to cheer and he tugged her around the other side and pushed her onto the bed. "Vene- What are you doing?" She asked.

"You look-a tired, Miss Fortuna! Grandpa Rome always says that-a pretty women need-a their beauty sleep, so the-a tale should-a put you-a to sleep as well!" He said, as if he had just had his birthday. Carina laughed and settled down next to Romano, who turned over and put his back to her.

"Romano, you're going to have to protect your brother from all the women whose hearts he breaks!" She said, and Veneziano crawled up next to her, attaching himself just under her arm. She pulled him close and wrapped her right arm around where Romano was, but not quite touching him. He grumbled but said nothing.

"Alright, so this is the tale of 'How to find a True Friend'," She began, and Romano instantly turned over.

"What-a kinda stupid name is that? Are you-a trying to rot-a our brains with that bullshit?" He asked.

Carina looked down at him, "Not quite, but just listen. 'Once upon a time there was a childless king and queen and they prayed and prayed and prayed to Saint James that if they got a son, that he would a pilgrimage on his eighteenth birthday. They finally had a son, but sadly, the boy's father died when he was twelve. The closer it became to his eighteenth birthday, the queen had begun to worry and would no want him gone for a year and tried anything to get him not to go, but he insisted. Finally, she told him what worried her and he promised her he would be back.

"When the time came, the queen gave him apples and told him he needed to find a travel compa-"

"Why-a the hell would apples help?" Romano asked, cutting in.

Carina huffed, "I was getting to that, now hush." She took a deep, over-exaggerated breath that made Veneziano giggle and Romano snort, and finally continued, "The queen gave the man some apples and told him to find a companion, but to do so, he would ask anyone, anyone, to eat with him, and he would slice the apple unevenly. Anyone who took the larger half, he was to continue on looking.

"He ended up meeting three men, all of whom he offered an apple slice. The oldest two both took the largest part of the apples, but the younger took the smaller bit of apple."

"Why did it have-a to be the smaller part of the-a apple?" Veneziano asked.

Carina pursed her lips slightly, "Why do you two insist on jumping in?" She asked, and looked over at him, feeling rather guilty when she saw he had hung his head. She pet his hair back and he smiled. "The person who took the smaller part would leave the large part for the prince and have a more likely chance of keeping his best interests in mind. Now," She finished looking between the two. Romano had managed to scooted closer without her knowing, but didn't move her arm, that would make him move back, and he didn't want that. "Hold any interruptions and questions until the end, alright?" The two nodded, and she smiled.

"Alright, where was I, oh! 'The Prince took the younger man on as his companion, and they reached an agreement, that if one of them died, the other would carry his body. It took them a full year to reach the shrine, and they rented a house to rest in at one point. The kingdom that the shrine was in had a its king and when he saw the two young men, whiled he thought they were both rather handsome, the prince was handsomer and wanted him to marry his daughter. He invited the two for dinner, and poisoned the friend. The king thought this would keep the prince from traveling, but the prince carried on," She said, and looked down. Veneziano was almost asleep and Romano looked up at her curiously. She held up a finger and pointed at his brother, and he looked. He smiled and reached across her stomach and gripped his brother's hand.

Carina smiled and continued the tale, "The friend was actually sleeping, not dead, and once they reached the shrine, the prince prayed and prayed that the friend would live again, and he was. They returned and the prince married the king's daughter, but after a while, the prince declared he should remain home. The king still hated the friend and sent him away with a message, telling him the prince would wait. Once he was gone, he had also sent the prince on the way, telling him that when the friend returned, he would give him a good horse. The prince left and when the friend returned, he was sent away on foo-"

Romano had just began to close his eyes when he began to shake and tremor again. "Romano!" Carina cried and took him up into her arms. "Why?" She asked as he shook violently. Veneziano remained unaware to the world, but he evidently could tell something was wrong because he was clinging to her side desperately, whimpering. His brother shook for a little longer and that scared her out of her mind.

"Lemme go, Ragazza..." He whispered when he calmed down. He weakly tried to climb out of her arms, but she held him tightly.

"I'm not going to let you go. I already said that. Just sleep," She said, looking down in his hazel eyes. He grumbled, but settled down on top of her stomach and put his head on top of her heart. "Goodnight, Romano," She said, stroking his head, but decided to stay away from that curl for whatever reason. He hummed, evidently too tired to care.

"Goodnight Fortuna..." He muttered. She took in a large breath and he giggled a little bit. Maybe it was time for her to change her name. No one really would remember for a long time... A few tears slipped out, and she hugged Romano tightly. He peeked an eye open at her and paused.

"Just go to sleep, Romano, I'll be fine in the morning. Don't tell Veneziano or Rome about this alright?" She asked. He nodded minutely and grabbed her hand.

"Alright, but you-a need sleep too. Sleep, Ragazza, I'll-a be fine..." He trailed, and finally joined his brother in the land of sleep. Carina smiled tearfully and sucked in a shaky breath.

"You protect your brother and I'll protect you, Romano, as best as I can," She swore.

* * *

 **Alright, I had to resort to Wikipedia for the tale, but I kinda think that Romano isn't as bad as everyone thinks he is constantly, or I've been listening to too much Hetaoni music. Just listen to type in 'Hetaoni music Brother' into youtube, and it's a beautiful song with amazing comments. But Romano will end up being a jerk when he's not tired and doesn't need to be a sweetheart.**

 **Read, review and give me your thoughts? Was that quick explanation enough? Should I revise Romano to be more of an ass? Should I make Veneziano to have more parts? Would you guys be alright with my sudden change of Carina to Fortuna? I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!**


	5. Chapter 5

**One, I do not own this, two, MEH.**

Italian

 **Latin (BECAUSE ROMANS)**

 **Note: Edited (12/1/16)**

* * *

Carina woked up to a large vibrating mass on top of her as moonlight shone through the window and Veneziano was crying. "Forunta! He's-a a shaking again!"

She grit her teeth as she wrapped her arms around the violently flailing boy. Romano made small gasping sounds as he shook, and was obviously awake. "Relax Romano, you can-!" She whispered, but got cut off when he head-butted her nose. Blood began to pour down her nose onto the sheets and nation as he continued to thrash and accidently headbut her, but she kept him away from her nose. "Veneziano, go get Rome and a cloth! Tell him to bring clean sheets!" He shook and trembled, but stood there in horror.

She was forced to hold Romano as blood began to slow its journey down her face with another trembling child in the room and there was nothing she could for any of those problems but wait. She held the hazel-eyed boy for another three or four minutes before he finally completely relaxed and looked at her. "R-Ragazza? W-What t-the h-hell-a happeened? W-Who-a did this to-a you?" He asked through, once again, grit teeth.

"Veneziano, I'm fine. Go and tell Rome to bring clean sheets," She said, and the boy scampered off. She shifted Romano slightly, and he looked at her with betrayed eyes as he was barely able to move. She went over to the water from earlier, and scooped out the older rag. "I'm sorry about that Romano. I got accidentally head-butted and I'm afraid I wasn't able to move you from the blood," She said as she began rubbing the blood away from where it clung persistently to his skin. He looked down in horror at the blood staining his nightgown and then her white shirt. It was ruffled and covered in red, but her bagged blue jeans were mostly spared.

"W-Who head-butted you?" He asked, looking at her face. She wasn't able to tell the how much blood clung to her own face, but she could tell it wasn't good. She pulled him up into a sitting position as she ignored the question.

" **Oh my god**!" Rome charged into the room, looking just as horrified as the boy in front of her as a man followed them in. The quiet man said nothing as he gently motioned for her to get off the bed. He replaced and carried the sheets out just as silently, and Rome's eyes scavenged the rest of the roomas if to looked for hidden threats. " **What happened**?" Veneziano popped out from behind his grandfather's leg somehow.

Carina's brow crinkled as she pondered his words. "He-a asked what happened, Ragazza," He asked, crossing his arms and puffed out his cheeks. "C'mon, Fortuna, spill-a the beans."

Carina looked down and clenched her hands. "Romano, you were having a bad seizure and accidentally head-butted me. You didn't mean to, and I'm fine," She said, grinning.

Romano snorted, "You-a look like a crazy person. You-a still have blood all over your-a face." Carina gave him a flat look.

"Thanks Romano," She said. Rome shook his head and took the washcloth out of her hand.

" **Fortuna, you really are odd. Here,** " He muttered, grasping her chin and began wiping in for her. She frowned and tried to take the washcloth from him, but he held it out of her grasp.

"I can do it myself, Rome," She said, holding her hand out.

The nation huffed a short laugh, and leaned in to whisper something into her ear. She froze and he leaned back and smiled warmly. Romano and Veneziano shared a look, and the older brother looked at the two adults. That smile was for his grandsons and his grandsons only, and Romano didn't like him grinning at her like that. He lunged forward and started beating on Rome's stomach, but the older man finished cleaning the woman's face quickly.

"Leave her alone, you old creep!" Rome laughed happily as he ruffled the boy's hair.

" **Calm down Romano, I wasn't doing anything inappropriate,** " He said. " **Fortuna will help get you changed, we're all going to the baths tomorrow morning. Veneziano, show her where the clothes are, she'll have something waiting as well,** " He said, and walked out. Veneziano cheered, and began dragging the girl out. She almost relented, but picked Romano up into one of her arms before getting dragged behind.

"Lemme-a go, Ragazza! I can-a walk by my-a self!" He yelled, beating on Carina's shoulder, but was ignored. None of them heard Rome's quiet laughter in a darker hallway as he watched the small trio walk past.

As it turned out, wealthy Romans did have privates baths in their homes, and thankfully, there was one only for women. It was currently empty, and Carina noticed a few personal effects, a piece of charcoal and a few pieces of paper nearby. A fire roared and made the room very warm and she approached the small stool curiously. Grabbing the small piece of drawing ash, she began to write a single word on a smaller slip of paper. 'Carina'. Ripping the rest off, she aproached the fire. It flickered happily, and she looked at the name on the paper one last time before throwing it it. The blaze ate hungrily at the paper and turned it into nothing.

She wasn't Carina anymore, she was Fortuna.

The woman sighed as she stepped into the pleasantly warm water. She began scrubbing her skin and a small mark on her right shoulder caught her attention. "What?" She muttered and looked. It was a small, green infinity sign. She checked the other side and a white one stood proudly on her left shoulder blade. She tried to contort herself in case there were any others, but all she caught was a flash of black. Fortuna sighed. She wasn't going to get anything else for now.

The auburn-eyed girl shook her head and resigned herself to the bath. She would climb out not too long after, partially ignorant of the third tattoo on her back. Large black chains that formed a circle shimmered in the low light as water glistened on top of it. The chains that would hold her through the next millennia to her fate.

Romano and Veneziano were clean when she returned, no sign of the previous night showing on any of them, except maybe a slight discoloration of Fortuna's nose. "Fortuna, you're-a alright! That's a good!" He cheered and ran up to her and hugged her covered legs.

The taller girl squat down to his level and tapped his nose, "Veneziano, I want you to make me a promise, alright? If you are ever scared of a situation, do not be afraid to run away. If I ever tell you to run away as fast as you can, do not be afraid to do so, alright? Run to someone you trust."

"Si!" The small boy cheered, and she smiled.

"Romano, can you make me that same promise?" Fortuna asked, looking over.

"Ragazza, running away doesn't solve-a any issues," He said gruffly, crossing his arms. She grinned, and zoomed to scoop him up as well. "Dumbass, put-a me down!" He yelled.

Fortuna laughed, "Not, not until you say my name!"

"No!" He yelled, bashing his fists against her hip. She grinned and looked at Veneziano.

"You're-a Fortuna!" He cheered, throughing his hands into the air. Romano continued to hit her side as she let him down.

"Romano, I'm not putting you down until-"

"Carina!" He yelled, and she almost dropped him.

"Nope, that isn't my name anymore," She said, trying to hide the sad tone that her voice wanted to reveal, but she covered it up with as much happiness as she could. Romano, however, wasn't buying it.

"Ragazza, what-a the hell are you-a talking about? You-a said that was-a your name! So what-a the hell?!" He yelled, staring up at her. She looked away quickly, and the brothers shared another look before looking up at her. "Raga-" He paused and began convulsing again. It was by far the most violent and they still had three more days to go...

Fortuna gathered him up into a more acceptable hold and was careful to avoid his limbs as they thrashed wildly. "That's another story for another time," She whispered, and tipped forward as a small bundle vaulted itself onto her back. "Veneziano!"

"I'm-a running to someone I-a trust!" He yelled, crying into her back. The cloth didn't do much to stop the tears and soon her back was damp again, but at least the tremors running through Pompeii didn't last as long, as they quieted down rather quickly. Romano had passed out and Veneziano quieted down once his brother had stopped shaking.

"C'mon, let's head back to the bedroom. Don't you need to teach me Rome's language?" She asked. The boy slipped off her back and trotted around to see her front.

"That's-a right! Let's-a go and you can learn-a so much!" He said, smiling and reached up at her. She smiled and picked him up.

"Alright, let's go," Fortuna said, shifting the sleeping Romano in her other arm as she walked to the room. The three stayed there for the rest of the day without much more incident, except for shortly before dinner. She had taught the two Morra, a small game that her mother taught her and enjoyed playing with her, and she had to bite back tears. She could save that for later when the boys were asleep.

After playing a few rounds, the brothers began teaching the long and careful langauge that was Latin.

" **I am Fortuna** ," Romano barked, and Veneziano giggled. "Shut-a up, dumbass! I'm-a trying to-a teach her, but I-a can't with you and your-a damn laughing every two-a seconds!" He yelled.

"Right, sorry," Italy said, looking down. Fortuna patted his head and pulled him into a sidehug.

"Romano, don't yell at your brother, Veneziano, don't laugh at the fact he just called himself a girl," She said, and Romano growled and launched himself at her. She laughed, until he dove into her stomach. "Yeah, that'll wake you up," She groaned, leaning back on the floor. Romano sat stubbornly on her stomach and crossed his arms.

"I-a did not, Ragazza. I'm-a trying to teach-a a you Latin. If you-a don't like-a it, then find someone else," He said, and shifted so he laid on his stomach.

Fortuna waved her hand. "No, I'm good with my teacher right now. Could you get off of me bef-" They both let out an _Oomph_! as Veneziano joined in on the dog pile. "Why? What did I ever do to deserve this?" She wheezed.

"Get off-a me, you dumbass!" Romano yelled, and pushed his brother off. The younger had fallen to the ground before she could catch him, and Romano began convusling again. "D-d-damn..." He grunted, as he flailed about, and kicked out. Fortuna nearly got hit, and twisted around so Veneziano was behind her.

"W-Why does this always-a happen to Romano?!" He cried, curling into her lower back as his older brother tried to contain his shaking.

Fortuna pushed the hair out of his face and looked him in the eyes, "Roma-Romano! Can you hear me? You need to relax! Calm down!" She yelled, and both brother's whimpered minutely at her scared tone. "Roma, you're going to be alright, but you need to relax!" She yelled. Footsteps came from down the hall, but she didn't dare turn around.

"Come on, little one, let's go get you ready for dinner," Rome said, and Veneziano was removed from behind her. "Come join us when you're ready," Rome said, and footsteps left. Romano struggled for another five minutes and both were sweating in the aftermath.

Fortuna sighed as she laied back down on the cool floor, next to Romano. He was getting harder to restraint, but they both pushed through. "We should get to dinner. You need food," She said.

Romano shook his head, whimpering. "Not-a right now. Ragazza, you, you're-a human, you need-a food right now more than I-a do."

Fortuna looked at him and grinned, "You're not always a little shit, Romano. You do care," She said.

Romano growled and looked at her, "I'm-a expressing concern for your-a health, and you fuckin' insult me? What the-a hell, Ragazza?!"

She let the grin slip into a smile, "Because you wouldn't believe it otherwise, Roma." He huffed and looked away. "Stay here, I'm going to got get us some food. Are peaches alright?" Romano nodded without looking at her and sat quietly. Fortuna shrugged and walked out to where she could hear Rome and Veneziano laughing. She peeked into a doorway and saw a grand array of various foods, one of them peaches. She knocked on the doorway, and the two looked up.

"Fortuna, is Romano alright?" Veneziano called. The pasta he had been chopping down on sat forgotten on the table.

She nodded and approached the table and grabbed three peaches, "Good, but we just need some food. Peaches are usually good go to on occasion," She said, shifting the peaches that rested across her arm.

Rome nodded, and sighed in relief, " **Thank you. For everything** ," He said, and she knew enough to know the first part and nodded.

" **No. Thank you** ," She replied and walked out. The older man's earlier words rung through her head and she relaxed. Her mo- her own words also wrung through her head. _You get more family then you could ever hope for_. She smiled and came back to the boys' room, and Romano was sitting on the base of the bed.

"Ragazza, you need to talk. Now," He said, staring at her coldly in the eyes.

Fortuna gulped, suddenly feeling the relaxation she felt seconds ago slip away. She climbed onto the bed and passed him a peach, and they both took a large chunk out of their fruit. "What are we going to talk about?" She asked, mouth full of peach.

He growled and pointed his hand as his other hand gripped the coral food. "Don't-a play dumb with me, Ragazza. You're-a running, and that-a helps nobody," He said, and Fortuna looked down. "What are you-a running from?"

She took a shaky breath in. "Everything. I'm in a strange ass place with people who aren't the same as when I first met them and people I thought I knew aren't who they said they were and I'm barely keeping my damn head above water," She said, and Romano took another bite of his peach. "Something happened that shouldn't have and I've been cast on some fucking path without the slightest warning besides earlier that day, and I have no fucking idea how the hell I supposed to fuckin' deal with it," She said, putting her head in her hands. Her plan to wait to silently cry until everyone was asleep went out the window without much a thought as she felt whatever sanity she had left was... Gone. She had to wait to see them, and even then, she didn't know them all that well. She would have to stand by uselessly as time ran by her and she couldn't do anything but watch.

A hand on her leg caught her attention, "Who-a said you had to-a deal with it alone?" He said, looking up at her. She stared at him with tears in her eyes. "You-a dumbass, you-a can talk to-a me, or Grandpa Rome, or hell, even Veneziano! We're-a not going to cast you away, and not just-a because you're-a some magical ass being-a. You're a part of this-a house now whether you-a like it or-a not," He said, giving her a look a child his size should never wear. "What is-a your name?"

She looked at him carefully, **"I am Fortuna** ," she whispered, and he laughed bitterly.

"Not what I-a meant, Ragazza.

"I gave up that other name, Romano. It's not me anymore," She said, looking at a small tear droplet on her fruit.

"Bullshit," He said. "It'll always be-a who you-a are. You just-a covered that-a up. That may-a be your name now, but you'll always-a be Carina," He said.

Fortuna looked at him carefully, and _really_ saw him. He was a kid who had to grow up in a household that worshipped his younger brother and obviously didn't fit in and felt as though he couldn't do anything right, despite trying to raise his older brother when his grandfather wasn't home or with some girl. The boy's curl was frazzled and he stared at her dead in the eyes. "Romano..." She said, and picked him up into a hug.

"Lemme go, Ragazza! Enough of this-a damn heart-to-heart! Lemme go!" He yelled, kicking out and banging on her back.

She released him and looked him in the eyes, "Thank you. I'll stop running."

He smiled lightly and huffed, "Ragazza, if we keep having these moments, I'm-a going to get a bad image!" He said.

Fortuna grinned and ruffled his hair, being careful not to touch his curl. "Whatever you say, you little asshole," She said, and laughed. "If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to come get me. Ever," She said, returning the same look he had given her earlier.

"Whatever," He said, huffing and sat back down on the bed. They both chomped down on their peaches and silently agreed to never talk about that talk ever again.

Veneziano came running in about half an hour later, grinning as big as can be. "Hello Fortuna!" He squealed and reached up. She smiled and picked him up and put him on her other side. "Can-a you finish that-a story?" He asked with big eyes. Fortuna looked at him with bewilderment. He hadn't seemed to opened his eyes before now, but now that she's seen them... They were a warm caramel color that had happiness and trust dancing deep within it it's depths.

"Ragazza! He-a asked you a question!" Romano snapped. She looked across to her left to see the boy frowning and nodded.

"Yay!" Veneziano cheered and climbed to the head of the bed. He pulled on her arm and she fell back. He dived onto her other side, crawling under her arm. "C'mon Big brother! Come and-a sit by big sister!" The other two froze and stared at the happy toddler.

"...What?" She asked, numb to the world. Veneziano looked at her confused.

"You are-a our big sister, right? What-a else would she be?" He asked, looking at Romano. He looked just as dazed as she felt and stared at his brother.

"S-Si, she's our-a big sister, right?" He said, looking at her carefully. Fortuna nodded, and reached an arm out to him.

"Come on, Romano, let's finish the story, alright?" She asked, and he frowned.

"I'm-a stay right-a here! You cannot make me-a move!" He yelled, but like always, began shaking.

"Romano!" The auburnette yelled, and dove for him. They began the usual process, and there was minimal injury. Romano didn't pass out this time, luckily, but that didn't mean he wasn't exhausted. "Are you alright?"

He grunted, and didn't even try to move, and Fortuna sighed. She pulled him back and put him on her other side. "Are you still up for that story?" She asked. He nodded, and she took a deep breath. "The prince had just been sent off, and the king sent the friend off on foot. When the friend caught up to the prince, he was exhausted, and no doctor was able to help him. Soon, the prince's wife gave birth to a little baby girl-"

"Was her name Fortuna?" Veneziano asked. She smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Maybe, but that's up to you two. This is an Italian fairytale, right?" She said. Romano hummed, and Veneziano cheered. "Alright back to the story." She cleared her throat and continued, "Well, one day a strange man showed up and told the prince that some blood from his daughter could save his friend. The man was terrified, but he had promised to treat the other man as his own brother, and the odd man did the procedure. The friend was restored, but the baby seemed to lay in her cradle as if dead. The odd man soon revealed himself as St. James, the one the prince's parents' had prayed to all those years ago and and brought the child back to life, and from there, they all lived well after that. As far as we know," She finished and looked down at the two boys in her arms. Both were snoozing peacefully and clung to her side, but Romano shivered violently, and she pulled the brothers closer. The next few days were going to be rough.

* * *

Fortuna passed the next two days in a similar fashion, keeping an eye on Romano as the brothers taught her more Latin. She thanked her lucky stars that it was so similar to some of the other languages she had learned, and picked it up quickly. She may not be able to hold a lengthy conversation, but she knew enough to hold a basic conversation. Romano's shaking would get more violent, frequent, and longer, but on the morning of the 24th, things really started going to hell.

For whatever reason, she woke up earlier that morning and she smelt smoke. She sat up and looked around in horror. Romano was laying on his side and seemed to have trouble with every breath as a small amount smoke exited his mouth. "Romano!" She yelled. Veneziano was shaken awake by the horror in her voice and began coughing. "Veneziano, get out of here!" She choked. The smoke had had enough time to accumulate within the room, enough to cause problems. He continued to cough, but made no motion that he heard her. "Veneziano, RUN!" She yelled, and he managed to slip off the bed and into the hall. Romano coughed and spasmed and Fortuna gasped when she grabbed him. His chest was burning, but only around his lungs. "Oh my god..." She whispered.

Thunderous footsteps came from down the hallway and Rome charged in. " **Is it- Romano!** "

Fortuna nodded, " **It's the 24th** ," she said, and looked at the boy who was practically breathing smoke. The true fear would come later that day and tomorrow. " **We need to go far. Is there place we can go**?" She asked, using what Latin she learned. Rome nodded and he motioned for her to come with. He brought them to a stable outside and he quickly saddled two horses, a chestnut one and a cherry bay.

Rome all but threw the two upon the bay and mounted the brown equine and he began to lead her out to the outskirts of the city. Romano coughed and sputtered with each thunderous step as the sun began to rise. Just over 240 kilometers to the South-East, Vesuvius was beginning to smoke. Roughly 2000 people would die between today and tomorrow, and she just had to make sure Romano was alright. Easier said than done.

* * *

 **THERE. THERE'S TODAY'S CRAPPY CHAPTER. HOPE YOU LIKE IT.**

 **Also, I'm going to do some massive reading, trying to make this as accurate as possible for you guys, but don't always trust me on this. I'm doing my best. Example: Some sources say that the Han Dynasty of China fell in 220 AD, but I have some sources that say 189 AD, but one even earlier than than. WHY. BYE. READ AND REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING AND WHATEVER. I will hopefully be able introduce China soon. yay. And there's a slight comment in here that some might take offense to if they know someone who has this, but otherwise, no big deal. Also, be carful from this ((Careful)) down. I'll mark it when Roma finally get over part of it.**

 **Latin**

Italian

* * *

Fortuna managed to stay on as Rome lead them to the outskirts of the city, and Romano wasn't getting any better, but he wasn't getting much worse. "Hold on, Roma," She whispered, and gripped his hand. He squeezed it, and she smiled. They galloped down the streets and into the countryside for another hour, and she caught a quick look of a sundial. She could barely tell that it read 10, and she gulped. Fortuna looked to the skys with a concerned expression. "Damn it all," She whispered. Romano squeezed her hand again, and she gripped it.

Rome lead them to a seemingly abandoned home and quickly dismounted. Fortuna herself slid off and held Romano to her side, and they shivered, both for different reasons. The man came around and gripped Fortuna's shoulders. "There is everything you need inside. I'll come get you when word is that this is over. See you," He said, and mounted his steed. He galloped off and she stared at him until he dissappeared behind bend. The small child in her arms huffed and puffed a slightly larger cloud out. She coughed herself and lead him inside. She located a well and leaned against it. She found a chalice and managed to pour him a glass of water. He huffed and puffed worse than a big bad wolf with tuberculousis, and he sat him forward. "Romano, I want you to take a deep breath, alright? I have some water for you, and when you do, I'm going give it to you, and get as much in as you can. This is going to be hell for the next two days."

Romano nodded and sucked in a breath. He grabbed the glass and began chugging before he sputtered, and the glass emptied after it tumbled to the ground. He coughed harder and wheezed. "Th-Than," He tried to say, each attempt getting punctuated by a cough. She smiled and hugged the child lightly. "I- I-a, d-do-n't-a," He tried, huffing, "d-dou.. doubt i-it..." He reached for the goblet and held it up.

"Ungrateful asshole," She said and got him another amount. They repeated the process several times over the next three hours, but it all came to shocking halt when it was 1 in the afternoon.

(Careful)

Romano's eyes widened suddenly and he screamed. "R-Romano? Fortuna asked, terrified. She gripped his small figure and his voice ripped, and a large puff of ash escaped his lungs. "Romano!" Ash and smoke continued to filter out of his lungs and he couldn't seem to do much other than silently agonize and lay there as the horror began to unfold. He would be able to get a breath in everyonce in a while, but all Fortuna could do was wait. She sat by him, holding his hand, and tried to ignore the smoke as best as she could, but it eventually caused her to rip off a part of her stola, a long dresslike article of clothing. Hers didn't have any sleeves, so she torn off a piece from the very bottom. Dipping it in the water behind them, she hung it around her face, and she was able to breath easier.

As the day wore on, their stomachs began to rumble, but she didn't want to leave him, so she sat there. Slight molting and minor burns would dance across his skin and she had ripped another piece off. Dunking that in water as well, she dabbed at whatever singe that marred his skin. "Just keep holding on. It'll be over soon," She would whisper, and he would whimper.

The night sky soon blanketed over the rest of Italy and he had passed out not long ago, but Fortuna stayed awake, staring at him and occasionally the night sky. It was slightly clouded, but she still found the constellation Libra. _This isn't really balanced. Why can't I be the one to through this..._ Fortuna looked down at her 'little brother' and winced. He took care of me earlier, why can't I do the same? Romano sputtered and the ash output increased. Fortuna's eyes' widened and she whimpered.

The lava will be coming down any moment, she thought, and held the boy closer. His skin was boiling and she winced and dabbed at his face. She couldn't see it, but his face had been sweating and turning flustered as the night progressed. "Hold on Romano. It's almost over..." Nothing happened for a while, but soon he twitched and moaned. The boy's clothes' began to finally began singe and she began to humm to hopefully get them through the heat and pain. "Hold on, Roma, you can do it!" She cried as the boy in her arms began to thrash. Several patches of flesh burned and healed astonishingly quick, only to be replaced by others. Fortuna's arms began to burn lightly as she tried to hold the boy still, but it wasn't getting any easier.

The ashs coming from his mouth began to slow, but the screaming continued as she felt bits of his back turn to stone, then return to normal. The sun had begun to rise and when Fortuna looked out the window, she saw the large smoke haze hanging over in the ditance. "We just have to make until evening."

"Y-Yo-you b-b-b-it-ch. Y-you-a-a s-sai-d t-th-is wo-" He tried to choke out but she shook her head.

"I'm so sorry, Romano. There's nothing I can do. Just focus on yourself. The most important one is yourself right now," She said, and winced as another rise in temperature burned her arms.

"R-Rag-gazza, l-let-a g-go. Y-You-u're o-onl-ly hur-rting-g you-ursel-lf h-here. L-Let-a go," He said. Fortuna continued to bawl and shook her head furiously.

"R-Romano, I already, s-said. I'm not letting you g-go," She whispered. The tips of her hair danced across his face and they burned (1). Romano seemed to laugh, but it was cancelled out by another cough.

Suddenly, a large part of his skin cooled, but not all of it but it was a welcome difference, until Romano began hacking water out of his lungs. "Oh no... The tsunami of Naples," Fortuna whispered. She carefully turned Romano onto his stomach and he back to heave water and ash onto the floor. Romano managed to get a breath in here or there, but when he did manage to stop throwing up any excess water, the amount of ash had slowed. He passed out as she turned him back over and allowed the fine dust to continue to rise.

(Carefuly over!)

Fortuna looked out the window and sagged in relief as he saw the sky had turned a burnt orange. She brushed the hair out of Romano's hair out of his face and removed her withered face mask to kiss him on the forehead. "It's all over, Roma. Just sleep," She said, and carried him to a bedroom. Setting the boy dressed in burned tatters onto the bed, she set off to find food and some clothes. She finally managed to find the storage and found a few peaches on a counter. She picked the bowl up and two chalices and headed back.

She passed the room they had resided the past two days in and winced as she saw the amount of ash covering the floor. "How in the hell did ash and water appear out of nowhere..." Fortuna thought aloud, and continued on her way. Another bedroom caught her attention and a few changes of clothes sat neatly for them. She smiled and she picked up the small tunic and underwear for Romano and a new stolla for herself. "Thanks, Rome," She said to no one and she found the bedroom. Romano was curled up peacefully, sleeping off the pain from the past five days.

She smiled and leaned against the doorway. She placed the bowl at the foot of the bed and their clothes as well, and crawled on the otherside of the bed and quickly collapsed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Fortuna woke up to a flying mass land on her stomach. "What the hell?" She cried, sitting up. Romano sat pouting on her stomach, looking cleaner and all together better. "Romano, how are you doing?"

Romano looked down at her, "Better, you need to-a get changed, you-a smell worse than Veneziano on a good-a day," He said, and slipped off her stomach and off the bed. He trotted out of the room and left her confused. She looked around and her clothes still sat neatly at the foot of the bed as well as a single peach left in the bowl. She smiled as she picked it up. Taking a large bite out of it, she closed her eyes as the tart taste entered her mouth.

She quickly finished her breakfast and picked up her clothes as she exited the room. She tried to find Romano quickly, but he wasn't anywhere in the house. Fortuna sighed as she made her way to the baths and walked in. Water water fulled the large, pool like room, and she placed her clean clothes down where there wasn't any water. She made such no one was in the room before she stripped down to her underwear, and got in.

Fortuna had hated stripping down completely and had resolved to using ancient bikinis. She winced when the water got to her lap and her arms. She looked at the skin and was horrified. The skin was bubbled and some of it looked like it had popped, leaving behind loose, flabby skin. Peeling it off carefully, she grimaced at the large amount and was glad it wasn't worse. The skin underneath was an angry blistered red and stung underneath the water. She took a deep breath, but coughed. Apparently the ash wasn't completely out of her system, but she took another one anyway and dunked underneath the water and scrubbed her hair. The singed ends stabbed at her hands lightly, but Fortuna ignored it as best as she could.

She crawled out and began wiping herself off. Carefully shimmying into her dress, she winced as the fabric grasped at her still wet skin and pulled at the raw wounds. She wandered back into the hall and walked past the well again. The room looked like it had earlier, but a large curl caught her attention. "Romano?" She asked, looking around the marble structure.

The boy skulked as he sat down by the well, teary eyed. "Leave me alone. I just want to be left alone," He said, looking at her.

Fortuna smiled sadly and sat next to him. "I'm here," She said, pulling him into her arms, even though it stung quite a bit.

"Leave me alone," He whispered. She looked at him, but he refused to look at her, instead staring at her arms.

"You're not talking to me, are you?" She asked quietly. He shook his head.

"They won't-a leave me alone. Their-a screams, the heat, the water, I can-a hear it, I can feel it, but it won't-a leave me the fuck alone. Make them leave me alone..." He whimpered, snuggling into her. Fortuna blinked at him, but hugged him. She felt a few tears through her stolla, but ignored it. "Do you know how many, Ragazza?"

Fortuna paused. "Too many."

"More than wo thousand people. I just want to stop hearing them. Make them stop."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, but I'm here. You know, a wise man I know once said that running won't help your problems. I found a friend and a brother to talk to, and he helped me. Now I want you to do the same."

Romano growled and looked at her. "Ragazza, shut-a the hell up," He whispered, and dove back into his protective ball. She smiled, and held him tightly, petting his hair. He fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Rome stopped in later that day, and instantly took a sleeping Romano into his arms. The boy didn't stir, but Rome looked at her curiously. " **Is he ok?** " He whispered.

Fortuna looked at him sadly. " **Physically, I think he's ok, but he should still take it easy. Mentally? I don't think he'll ever get over it** ," She said.

Rome looked at the boy sadly and carefully hugged him. " **I'll keep an eye on him. Thank you.** " She nodded

" **You don't have long though. Make the next few hundred years count, alright? And I never told you that. I just want them to be happy** ," She said. Rome nodded, and readjusted Romano in his arms.

" **I'll make sure of it. I'm going to go on a few trading routes soon. Want to come with**?" He asked.

Fortuna tilted her head in thought. " **How long are these rounds going to be? I don't want to go too far from the boys...** " She trailed.

Rome thought for a moment, " **I was thinking about visiting Alexandria. It's about a 20 day round trip if the weather's good**!" He said, smiling happily.

She thought about it and nodded. " **I can agree to that. I just want to say goodbye to Romano and Veneziano first.** " Rome nodded, and he went to put Romano in his bed.

* * *

They left three days later from one of Rome's only two ports: Ostia. It had taken Rome a lot of persuation to show her how to sail one of his smaller ships, but he got a trusted crew and taught her without too many comments from the sailors. Fortuna had soon was rushing around, helping out wherever she was needed, but the men often pushed her towards the kitchen and below deck. Rome would send her a remorseful look, but she would ignore him. They reached Alexandria after six days on account of good weather, and she peeked out.

A large stone lighthouse stood proudly at the face of the port and busy streets were behind it. "Wow..."

" **Impressive, isn't it**?" Rome said, looking at her. She frowned at him but went back to staring at the city anyway. A small child not much older than Romano, it seemed, ran up to Rome ship and gestured him over. " **Ah, Egypt, it is nice to see you again. Do you have the payment?** " The little boy nodded and several dozen men came out, carrying large racks of sealed bottles, and began loading Rome's ships. Rome smiled and ruffled the boy's hair, but he frowned and stepped back and ran away. " **See you soon, Egypt**!" He yelled after the child.

" **Who was that**?" She asked him. He looked behind her in surprise.

" **That was Egypt, Ancient Egypt's son. She was a very pretty woman, and even prettier in-** " He said, dazng off into old memories.

" **Ooookay, nevermind** ," Fortuna said, and climbed back below deck and hid behind several of the large jars. She hid down there for the rest of the trip except for food. They got back within 6 more days.

* * *

When she came back, two small blobs came flying into her arms, knocking her onto the floor. "You're-a back!" Veneziano yelled, and Romano punched her several times in stomach.

"Why-a did you go, damnit? Take-a me with you-a next time!" Romano yelled. She smiled and picked the two boys up into her arms.

"Sorry, guys. I'll have to check with Rome if you two come with me, alright?" Veneziano cheered and Romano nodded.

The three played within the house for the rest of the week. They eventually learned the game hopscotch and the trottola, or the spinnig top, and they'd just relax and take names or whatever they felt like.

A year would pass, then two and soon five had passed in a similar fashion, Fortuna going on trade routes that Rome taught her and she would come home and play with the boys until it was time to go on another trip.

Sure, she got a lot of critizism and backlash from the men in her company, but eventually, a large group had come to trust her. It helped too, that Rome taught her how to fight properly. But it was after seven years that Veneziano looked at her. "Bella, why don't-a you age?" The family had been eating and suddenly got quiet. She looked down.

"I-I don't know Veneziano, I really don't," She whispered, and Rome was quick to notice her discomfort and sprang in with that day's events and Romano began yelling at him about being and idiot, Veneziano cheering at the fights his Grandfather had won.

Fortuna seemed to stare at the peach in her hand intently, but her gaze went past it. It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed, she had after the first few months, when her monthly 'Friend' didn't show up. But those where the only two things that worried her. Her hair and fingernails still grew, and she still had other normal bodily functions. He skin had regrown, but it was just as if she had whatever made her mortal taken. She shook her head, though, and quickly forgot about it. Live would go on, just like normal.

Life did continue this way until 166 AD, when Rome would send her with a group of ambassabors to China to establish relations. It all went downhill from there.

* * *

 **From here, things get REALLY REALLY MESSY. I'm going to have to dive into several different books to decide on where she should be and when, but we all know where she's going right now. And also, quick not: Rome didn't become christian until around 300 AD to 320 aD or something like that, but she's not going to be with them. After China's part, it's going to get dark for a little while.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, I just got back from the scariest part of my day: driving. But Guys, sorry I didn't do much yesterday, but I sent most of 12- 8 or something like that researching dates and times, but guys- I need someone. Not a beta reader, just someone to privately PM about this story with and to help. I kinda just need** ** _SOMEONE_** **who knows what I'm talking about, and is willing to help me with a bit of research. That's it. Someone to rant to and have help with general storyline. (P.S.: Friend, who I will not name unless you want me to, if you're reading this, I don't want to bug you too much with this, you get it enough, thanks, and sorry... I just don't wanna bug you too much...). Also, I need various names for some cultures. No name is too odd or weird or whatever, but I'm aiming for accuracy and meaning.**

Italian

 **Latin (Because ROMANS)**

Mandarin Chinese (Because HANS)

Note: Edited (12/1/16)

* * *

Fortuna blinked as she held a sleeping Veneziano in her arms. " **What? Didn't Antoninus Pius already send an envoy?(1)** " Rome quirked an eyebrow.

" **Fortuna, how would you know that? And no, I'm just going to mess with them. Do you wish to go? I know you've been itching to see the world, and I don't trust anyone more than you to make sure this goes well!** " He said, dancing around her. Romano huffed as he entered the room as he munched on a peach and tossed one to Fortuna.

" **What's going-a on**?" He grunted as he stood by her and watched his grandpa dance around embarrassingly.

" **Rome wants me to go to China to mess with him** ," She said, shifting the boy in her arms to one side as she chomped into the familiar food. Romano grumbled.

" **When would you be back**?" He asked, leaning against her leg. She ruffled his hair, avoiding the curl, as she had finally asked Rome a few decades ago. Romano took another chunk out of the peach as he looked up at her.

" **She would be back after a few years**!" Rome sang happily, and Romano nodded.

Fortuna swallowed and sighed. " **Alright, I'll go, but when is the envoy leaving**?" Rome grinned largely, taking Veneziano into his arms.

" **You're leaving tomorrow. You're already packed and everthing you need is all ready to go, and you can say your goodbyes!** " He said, spinning around in a circle. Fortuna and Romano shared a look, and then she looked at him.

" **What**?"

The man danced and spun once more before winking at her. " **Toodle-loo!** " He said and took a ballerina-like jump into another doorway. Fortuna shook her head and looked down to Romano, who was staring up at her.

"Roma?"

"Ragazza, come-a back soon, si?" He asked, looking down at his peach. He trotted outside, but she only stared after him. She had spent 90 years with the family, being able to comfortably say she were a part of it now. Fortuna knew he wanted to be alone, so she let him be. She walked to her room and at the foot, a small bundle of fabric. Unfolding it, she found two long tunics and... two pairs of braccae. Fortuna grinned rabidly.

Braccae were a form of woolen trousers or pants and were not well liked. They were a clothing of the barbarians, a law even being decreed to ban the article.

Fortuna's smile dropped and she left out a pair of both. This really was goodbye. It was 166 AD, the year a Roman envoy of ambassabors reached China during a good time of the Han dynasty. She would not be able to leave until maybe 189 if she were lucky, based on the Yellow Turban Rebellion. She sighed and sat down on the bed. It hadn't changed one bit since the night she arrived, but she had begun sharing it with the brothers.

Fortuna rubbed her temples as she looked at the pair of clothes before her and a slight stitching on the right sleeve caught her attention. She clutched it and looked over it carefully. The threads were too uniform to be... Her eyes widened and smiled shakily. Fortuna scrambled for the bundle and all ut ripped it appart. Similar stiching on the left left her crying. Small scraps of her old shirt were sewn into the two tunics and she rubbed her fingers over both, each dyed a different color. The left sleeve was dyed a bright red, the right, an even brighter green.

Fortuna laughed bitterly and wrapped the other set of clothes up and threw herself back onto the bed. "Sorellona(2)?" Veneziano called from the doorway. She sat up and looked at him. "Is it-a true that you're-a leaving?" She sighed as tears appeared in his eyes.

"Venie..." She whispered and climbed off the bed, rushing to him. "I'll be back. I might not be around, but you'll see me again someday, I swear, alright?" The boy nodded, and climbed into her arms.

"I-I-a don't w-want you to-a leave. F-Fratello d-doesn't w-want you-a to leave e-either!" He said, bawling into her stomach. Fortuna pried him away gently and grasped his shoulders lightly.

"Veneziano, look at me," She whispered, wiping away his tears. He didn't 'open' his eyes, but she gave him a small smile. "Venie, open your eyes," Fortuna laughed lightly. Large amber orbs stared at her sadly, and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Italy Veneziano, I swear on all the luck in my body, I will see you again someday," She declared, opening her eyes. Matching eyes searched each other for anything missing or lying within the other. "Wait here a second," She said, pulling away. Approaching a small corner of the room, there sat a pugio (a short sword), a gladius (a sword with a two foot blade), and a bow. Grasping the pugio in her hand, she sliced a small lock of hair from her mid-back tresses.

"Here, I'll tie this up in the corner, but I'll always be here, alright?" She asked, sheathing the small sword again. Replacing by the other weapons, she found a ribbon out of nowhere, she anchored it to the leg of the bed.

"Sorellona- y-your hair!" He said, running over and grasping her leg. "W-Why?" He asked.(3)

Fortuna kneeled and picked him up. "Because, I might not be with you ever part of the day, but I'll always be there when you go to bed. I promise, alright? Now, let's go find Roma and play tag, si?" She asked, smiling.

"Si!" The boy's sadness was forgotten, and she put him down. He raced off and shouting was heard outside a moment later.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, IDIOTA!" Romano's voice echoed, but Veneziano chirped a reply she couldn't hear, but he came in bawling a second later, a lump on his forehead. The auburn-haired boy ran up to Fortuna and she picked him up.

"H-He-a h-hit m-me!" He cried, and Fortuna began hushing him, bouncing in her arms lightly.

"Shh, shh, I'll go talk to him. Calm down, it'll be all better in a bit, I promise," She whispered, and kissed the lump. She placed him down, and pointed towards the kitchen. "Why don't you go get ready for dinner? I bet Grandpa Rome is waiting. I'm going to speak with Roma, alright? Go on," She said, and waved him away. He nodded and trotted way happily. She sighed and walked outside. A small but rapid scrapping sound came from around the corner. She edged along the side of the building and looked. Romano sat there rubbing something against the concrete.

"Idiota, I thought I told you to leave-a me alone!" He yelled, without looking up. Fortuna smiled and leaned against the corner. "Dumbass, I thought I-a told-a you to le-" He began again, but looked up. "Ragazza."

She smiled and sat by him. A large pile of sawdust sat by him, and he grasped the item tightly in his hand. "I'll be leaving you soon, don't worry. As for the idi-"

"I didn't mean that about you," He said quickly, looking down again. "I don't want-a you to leave. Then it'll go-a back to the way things-a were."

Fortuna nodded in understanding. Romano had been able to actually have intellenget conversations with her, whereas his grandpa only spoke about food, women, and war and Veneziano couldn't be serious to save his life. "I understand. What are you making?"

Romano paused, and looked at his hand. "It's a present. F-for you..." He trailed. Fortuna leanedaway and blushed lightly.

"R-Romano, you didn't have to do that!" He looked up at her.

"It's just so you don't forget! You better be back in 13 years..." He whispered, looking up. His hazel eyes glistened in sadness, and she scooped him up. He whimpered and crawled into her stomach.

"I'll try, but Romano? Can I trust you with something?" Fortuna asked him, looking at him sadly. His eyes bore into her own, and widened.

"No, no, you-a helped me through it when you-a first came here, why can't you a do it 100 years-a later?" He cried. He began pounding into her stomach, and she laughed sadly.

"I may have no option, Roma. But I have already made your brother a promise, and I'm going to tell you the same one," She whispered, hugging him tightly, and therefor preventing his attacks. He began crying silently into her shoulder, clinging tightly to her neck. "I may not be back as soon as you want me, but trust me when I say that we will see each other again, alright, Italia Romano?" The boy sucked in a breath and began sobbing even harder, but nodded nonetheless. "Look at the foot of your bed tonight. Venie can explain, alright?"

"S-si. H-Here," He whispered and pressed a small trinket into her hand. A smooth ring with the color of hazel that matched the eyes of the boy she held in her hands sat in her hands and she bit her lip to try to hold back tears. "You-a taught us how-a to make them so long ago, s-so..."

"Yeah..." The peach pit ring slipped perfectly onto her finger and she left some of the tears fall. "Come on, let's go get some dinner. We need some normality. But one more thing Roma?" He looked at her and growled as he spotted the tears, wiping them away.

"Take care of Veneziano, alright? I'll try as hard as I can, but there's only so much I can do. Some nations only need my presence within their clutches, and their luck with instantly get better. They don't need to treat me as well as you all have," She whispered, closing her eyes. Small arms closed around her neck as she hugged him back.

"Always. Take-a care of your-a-self, Carina."

* * *

Dinner was an awkward affair, and it was silent. Rome as the first to break the silence. "Boys, head up to bed, I need to speak to Fortuna for a while."

"But!" Romano started, but Rome gave him a look. He put his head down, grabbed Veneziano's hand and walked out. The two shot her a sad look, and she nodded. She'd be fine. When it was clear the two weren't by the door, Rome looked at her. "You're not coming back, are you?"

She shook her head, and he smiled remorsefully. "I'm going to have to stay for 23 years, about. But it's not eiter of our decisions, is it?" Rome shook his head, and stood up. The empire crossed around the table and pulled her into a crushing hug.

"You'll be fine, Fortuna. You have luck on your side, and things will always get better. You survived living with the Roman Empire! You know why?"

She managed to twisted her head around, "Because we're all crazy?"

"Because you're my granddaughter," He said with a light smile on his face. She froze.

"Haven't I already gone through enough today? Why? Why are you all doing this to me?" She whispered. He pulled her up, and stroked her hair.

"Just let it out, Fortuna, just let it out," He whispered, and she began crying. 87 years of memories filtered through her mind and she soon began to fall asleep.

* * *

Rome woke her early the next morning and she nodded in thanks. The brothers clung to her sides like normal, but she managed to slip out and change into her clothes. It had been decades since she had worn anything resembling pants as she pulled on the braccae and tied the drawstrings tightly. Wrapping her weapons around herself, she slipped by the kitchen and grabbed three peaches. Chomping on one, she left the other two at the foot of the bed. She kissed the brothers on the head and walked out and Rome guided her to the meeting place. The sun wasn't even up yet.

* * *

The men she traveled the seas with were actually rather nice, _especially_ after a group of pirates showed up one night and tried to kill them and take their supplies. They proved to be quite interesting, and they were equally intrigued by the woman who wore barbaric braccae, sliced her hair off (it tangled in some brush after the first week and she got frustrated.), and was a few decades their senior, even the oldest. She told them about Vesuvius and the fire that destroyed half of Rome, and how Hadrian built the his wall on the northern side of England from 122-128.

They day they arrived in the south, where, Fortuna forgot, but she helped them unload the cargo. It was normal for ambassies to bring various items from their land. They began the trek up to the Han capital of Chang'an, and they were brought before a large court, and at the center of which, sat a thin man who worn elegant robes. "State your purpose, men from the west," The man in the throne called. Several of the men shared various looks of confusion at the odd language, a few whispered that they had heard something similar, but most looked to Fortuna, who stood at the center of the group. She was rather short compared to the 5'7" men and the emperor grew impatient. "I repeat, state your purpose!" He commanded in a harsher voice.

Fortuna stepped forward and bowed to a single knee. "Forgive the men. They do not know of the language of the Han Dynasty. We come from Daqin(4), an envoy with greetings to Emperor Huan from Antun, King of Daqin(4). We also bring special gifts from the West." The entirety of the courts' eyes were upon her, but two people caught her attention as she kneeled.

"Rise. All is forgiven. May I ask how a single woman knows our tongue, but an entire envoy of men remains ignorant," He asked, but a man to his left whispered in his ear. Fortuna rose, and managed to catch a glint pass through the men's eyes. The man to the emperor's left wore an elegant red silk robe with bright patterns dancing across it as it caught the light. "May I ask, how old are you, Fu Jun?" The Italian raised an eyebrow at the name: Teacher and truth.

"I begin to fear too old. I am 107 years old as of September," The court instantly began muttering, but the man with the dancing robe's facial expression didn't change, even though a variety of emotions flashed behind his eyes.

"Didn't Antun, King of Da Qin die several years ago?" A court member called, and several other joined in their protests. The romans' itched towards their weapons uneasily at the angered shouting.

"Quiet!" Emperor Huan shouted, and the court stilled. "Fu, why is there a recent envoy from a dead man? Do you actually mean us harm?" The guards across the courts drew several varying weapons, preparing to charge if necessary.

"Men, drop your weapons. We need to show we mean no harm," She called over her shoulder, her gaze never breaking from the Emperor, and began removing her swords, bow, and quiver of arrows. She needed to be calm, or this could end in disaster. Several clatters, alerted her of her followed orders.

"Is this not proof enough, Emperor of the Han Dynasty?" She asked. He narrowed his eyes and nodded. "I will reveal the reason behind this confusion, but I request that only two people hear it. Yourself and a trusted member of court of choice," She said, looking at the man in red. The emperor looked at man and nodded.

"China greets you, Romans," The man greeted and bowed deeply. Fortuna bowed back equally low, and they both rose.

"The Roman empire also sends his greetings, China," She replied. They rose and she stared at him in his eyes. "The Roman Empire loves a good joke and hoped to gain a laugh from this. He also sent me to prevent an incident in court. May we bring in the gifts?" China bowed without giving her an answer and walked up to the Emperor. They chatted for a moment, and the man seemed to have a smile cross his face for a split second and it was gone. China nodded quickly to her.

"Men, bring them in." The men grunted and stepped over their weapons and began bringing in the rhinoceros horns, ivory, and tortoise shells.

"So, Fu, may I ask how a woman manages to get men to listen to her," The emperor asked. China had taken his spot next to his leader once again, and he stood by patiently.

Fortuna smiled, "I have learned a lot in the past 87 years. I have earned some respect in that time."

The emperor nodded, "Tell the Antun from Daqin that we accept his gifts. You may return. My men will escort you out," He said. Fortuna translated quickly, and her men got their weapons back. She went to join them, but two guards cut her off. "I said I accept all gifts. Were you not one as well?" The Emperor asked. Her men were looking at her and their hands were at their swords. They wouldn't make it, and neither would she if she attempted to leave. She shook her head at her men, and they tensely released their weapons.

"My apologies, Emperor. There was a slight misunderstanding. The men will leave and return to Rome. Our greatest thanks," She said. The men were escorted out and she was pulled in front of the emperor.

"So little Jun, you are to remain here, until you are no longer needed. You shall remain until deemed unnecessary, or you will be put to death. You will learn our customs and our culture. Is that understood?" The man asked.

"Yes, Emperor," She said, bowing her head. One day down, 23 years to go.

* * *

 **Alright. yadda, yadda, yadda, end A/N, but mostly, I just need help with various research, especially regarding Han dynasty customs and culture. 166AD-220AD. Anything that could be helpful, please PM. And if I got anything wrong.**

 **(1)Antonius pius. Roman emperor from 138-161 AD. When he died, his (adopted?) son Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD) took all of his titles as well as his own.**

 **(2)Sorellona- big sister in Italian**

 **(3) Roman Women's hair was very special to them. It served to show class and personality. It could be dyed, and apparently got rather long.**

 **(4) Daqin is what the Han Dynasty called the Roman Empire before it was separated in 395. yay.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to the 1 review, 2 favorites, 3 followers, and 187 views... Thanks guys. Seriously, I need your feedback for this story. I need to know what I'm doing wrong so I can make this story more bearable. Please, come on... But that was yesterday. HUGE SHOUTOUT TO QEANI. They offered to help, and has given me a bit of info about Fortuna's escape period! Huge shout out!**

Chinese

Note: Edited (12/1/16)

* * *

Fortuna grimaced as she was forced into a loose shirt and long skirt. It was different from her Roman stolla, and the silk caught on the hair on her legs. The women behind her began the long effort of pulling her hair into coils and pinning it up, and she saw one purse her lips at the single sliced lock. She had to hid a smile.

A knock on the door drew the women's attention and one zoomed to open the door. "Lord Wang wishes to have a moment with Fu," The man, just out of her sight. The women instantly began to send her looks and whisper behind their sleeves. "Alone," The messenger said impatiently. He quickly left, and the maids began bustle around her faster, saying things too fast and jumbled for her to make sense of. Fortuna hadn't spoken Chinese in years and that had been modern Chinese.

"You are going to look stunning!" One said, double checking her clothes, making sure a wrinkle wasn't in sight.

"She's so lucky!" Another said, trying to work with the girl's hair. The things they were saying left her head spinning and left Fortuna dazed. Another knock came from the hallway, and the women all but disappeared, where she did not know.

"Hello?" China said, peeking his head in. "Fu?" He called and saw her. "Ah, you seem to be fitting in," He commented.

Fortuna turned to him with a frown, turning her peach pit ring on her finger. "Not as well as the Emperor may wish. I cannot wait until the next year. What did you want to talk about?"

"You are rather informal," He said blunted, taking in the dress and hair.

"I'm from Rome, what did you expect? I never went outside much, but still," She replied looking at the small jewelry on her finger. China looked at the object on her hand.

"May I?" He asked, holding out his hand. She pulled her hand back.

"I'd rather not. My little brother gave this to me, and, well..."

"Ah, I understand... I have had several younger brothers and sisters of my own... They did kind of hate me though," He admitted, looking into the distance. Fortuna smiled wryly.

"Isn't it always like that in the beginning? They just need time, patience and love. Occasionally space, but that depends on the sibling. Roma... He was grumpy and needed a lot of space and pushing, but I got through. Life with them was good, and I know I'll return later, but I will offer this up: Despite me being here, you will still receive many natural disasters. You get a few more technological advancements, but enjoy your golden era while you can," She said. Fortuna tugged on the long skirt and scowled. "How do people run in these?" She asked, looking at him.

China frowned, "Most women don't run in robes... What on Earth did you do in Rome?"

Fortuna grinned. "I practiced archery, swordsmanship, and played with the boys. Is there anywhere I can practice with my bow?" She asked, looking to her three weapons in the corner. China approached them and picked up her gladius, twirling it in his hand. He peeked at her and tossed it carefully at her. She caught it and swung it to remove the remaining momentum. "Thank you. I am unable to catch an arrow once shot, however. I'm not that experienced," She said, holding her sword by her side.

China nodded again, "Join me in the courtyard in five minutes and bring your weapons. I wish you luck," He said. He bowed quickly and left. Fortuna blinked and looked down at the well-worn blade.

"What?"

* * *

Fortuna managed to find her way outside, her weapons strapped to their old places, albeit a little awkwardly as the robes were thicker than her normal clothes and she wobbled within the high wooden clogs. She found China in a small, secluded area, holding a large spear and a crossbow in opposite hands. He looked at her and looked appalled as she wobbled over. "Fu! Is everything alright?" He asked, approaching her. She pulled the skirt up lightly to show off the shoes and nearly fell.

"It's these stupid shoes. I can't walk in them..." She said and sighed. Fortuna kicked them off, and growled as her robes skimmed the ground she grabbed her smaller dagger and was about to hack it off when China grabbed her wrist.

"I will see what I can do about your clothes, but don't destroy them. We can do some archery for now, but I do not wish for the silk to go waste," He said, and stabbed the spear, rough end down, into the ground. "May I have three arrows?" Fortuna looked at her quiver and pulled out three of her best arrows, ones with grey goose feathers at the end. Passing them over, she watched him notch the first one, and pointed it in a seemingly random direction and fired it off. She looked over to where it soared of to and looked in wonder as a single pear leaf sat on the shaft. China leaned back as he admired his handiwork silently and stepped back.

"Thank you," Fortuna said, standing where he had stood. Suddenly, she realized why he had chosen this spot. Within the space of this single place, he would be able to see a great amount of the courtyard and never have people ever notice him. "Wow..." She whispered, but drew her bow. Plucking an arrow of her own, she notched it and looked around with an archer's eye. A small pear hung from its place on a branch roughly 30 meters away, perfectly ripe. "Everything here is free game, right?" She asked him, pointing the bow down.

China shrugged, "I do not see why not. Go ahead." Fortuna nodded, and aimed for the stem of the pear. She let the arrow fly and smiled as she saw the pear fall, and wandered over to get it. She smiled as she dusted the dirt off of it and turned back around. An arrow flew through the top knot on her head and she froze. "Do not wander out on the shooting range, I thought a 106 being would know that," He said, smiling sarcastically. The arrow hadn't torn any hair as it had passed through, getting stuck in a tree trunk behind her.

Fortuna snorted and reached at her waist for the small blade. Pulling it out, she sliced the pear in two. She tossed one half to China and chomped into her own. Fortuna pursed her lips as the bitter taste filled her mouth, but she chewed anyway. China gave her an odd look, and she swallowed. "What?" The civilization shook his head, looking at his own slice.

"Westerners are so odd," He said, before taking a bite of his own.

They ate their shares of the snack and China paused. "Have you ever heard of the Magic Pear Tree?" He asked randomly. Fortuna looked to him and swallowed the pear she had in her mouth.

"Yeah, but I know it as The Wonderful Pear Tree. I do think it is the same story, though. It was a favorite of mine growing up," She admitted. China smiled.

"I can see that," He said with a small smile and Fortuna looked at him.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

China grinned as he turned completely towards her, "Nothing. I am wondering though, what is your name and title in Daqin(1)?"

Fortuna tipped her head back in thought, "I didn't have any formal titles, but in Rome, I was simply 'Fortuna'. Before that, a name I abandoned. Only one other person knows what it is, and he's too far away right now..." She trailed.

China began to laugh behind his hand, and Fortuna looked at him. "We are nothing but two older than we should be, aren't we?" He said, calming down a bit.

Fortuna laughed along with him. "Indeed we are!"

China paused as a large gong was struck and offered her an arm. "Come, it is time for dinner. And it is tradition for a man to lead in his female guest. Let us make haste."

Fortuna smiled at him as she took his arm. "I thought I heard an ancient Chinese proverb once. It says that 'hasted actions lead to final failure,' I do believe."

China laughed heartily, "That is not so old. I said that last week."

Fortuna looked down, "Well, from a tale for another time, it's ancient." The two began walking to dinner and laughed at various jokes.

* * *

The emperor looked down at the girl as she tucked her legs under her to eat. "So, Jun Fu, what have you learned today?" Fortuna cleared her facial expression as she looked at him from her place a few spots down.

"I have learned that Mr. Wang is an archery master," She said calmly. She desperately hoped he would not question her words, but unfortunately, he did.

"And you would know what a master archer is? We take great pride in our art, and I would like to see what Romans consider a master," He said, not even turning as the servants brought in the food.

Fortuna blinked, and stared him down. "He is better than me, and I have entered and won various competitions disguised as a man. Women were not allowed to participate in such activities," She said. The emperor smiled and leaned back.

"Ah, they are right to do so. Women are meant to stay inside, and tend to the children, weave silk into fine fibers, and cook the meals, such as this one here. I'm sure you are a fine cook yourself, with many fine children of your own," He said, looking at her from the corner of his eye. She grinned in her mind, but had to restrain herself outwardly. She wished that views would change as time went back or forth, but a few views became stronger as time went back.

"I am sorry, Emperor, but I am afraid I cannot have children. Beings such as myself might find it impossible to do so. And I am afraid I don't make food. I hunt it, kill it, and roast it, but I spent too much time away from home, sailing the trade routes of the Mediterranean to do much housework," She said, and then hide a savage grin behind a large sleeve. The emperor and several advisers at the table frowned and shared looks.

"So you know how to act like a man? You know how to kill, to sail, to outsmart another?" He asked, leaning forward. Fortuna dropped her sleeve and China sent her a quick warning shake of the head.

"I have outsmarted death, have I not? I have killed several men in defense of my own, would you, or any woman not do the same? I have learned to sail, through vast and deep waters and through conversations such as this, but is that not what anyone would learn? I wish to learn about your culture, yes, but I wish to experience it all, through women's activities, as well as mens'. Why should the only thing to hold me back be my ability to mother children, which I have already stated I cannot bear. Why limit my education, Emperor?" She asked, eyes dancing with passion.

Emperor Huan frowned, and turned to the nation, "Mr. Wang, you are to teach Fu about any and all activities, so she may spread their glory for all she encounters to know." The dinner table sprung into whispers, man turning the one next to them, and why should they not, an emperor just allowed a woman to learn men's skills.

Fortuna cleared her throat and the table looked at her. "Why do you whisper when your Emperor has allowed your dynasty's beauty to reach the lower? As you all should see it, he has set a woman free from ignorance. Is it not your vast empire that hold the proverb: 'A wise man makes his own decision. An ignorant man follows public opinion.' He has formed his own opinion on the decision, and what form of counsel does not think of the best of their nation. If I learn through this education, then they will stick with me for the rest of my life, whereas you all shall crumble and fade into time. Is in not your duty to think of the best for the future generations? Time changes many different traditions, but with Mr. Wang and I, they shall remain the same throughout the ages? And are you really going to second doubt your Emperor, your ruler?" She ranted, and one by one, the advisors looked down.

China and the emperor stared her down, but the former's eyes were wider. "Are we not going to eat? It is getting cold," She said with a smile.

* * *

Fortuna didn't see China until the next morning, and that was after she had gotten dressed. The clothes were still long and baggy, but not to the extent her dresses were, and at least she got to wear boots so she could actually walk. She was walking through the gardens again when a small flash of bright yellow caught her eye and she walked by it. "Hello?" She asked, drawing her gladius.

"Jun, what were you doing yesterday?" China said, and she relaxed her blade. He was facing away from her, sitting on a log.

Fortuna looked at him with a dull gaze. "I apologize if I did anything wrong, but-"

"You stood up for a man who insulted you," He cut off and looked at her.

"Yes, he insulted me, but-"

"Then why did you stand up for him?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Because I owed him for the training, and I don't want to owe a dead man," She said. China's eyes flashed as he stood. A sword clattered out of his lap and to the ground.

"What?"

"In 168, Emperor Huan dies, of what, I don't know, but I do know he dies with no proper heir. And I know about the college students(2). They do get released, but after a year's time. Your government is going to be in turmoil, and I hope you're ready for it. Because I damn well know I am, and I'm going to help you through it," She spat. China stared at her.

"You're crazy. And watch you're language, little one!" He said, wiggling a finger at her.

Fortuna grinned, "I'm the second oldest one here currently, so you don't have much right to call me that. Not when we're going to fight in a moment."

China looked back to the thin sword and nodded, "All right. Let's get ready, Jun," he said, picking the sheathed blade up.

Fortuna nodded, "I think I'm ready to accept that. Good luck, Mr. Wang, You're stuck with me." She paused, drawing her own sword and pointed it at him. "Old man."

China's eyes flashed with false anger, but seemed to laugh as he lunged. It's not a good idea to fight a being two thousand years older than yourself.

* * *

 **AND THAT'S IT. Again, MASSIVE thanks to Qeani, who has offered to help me and has done so much, patching in a time hole for me! Three cheers, and many more to come!**

 **(1) Daqin- what Chinese called the Romans, mentioned in the past chapter.**

 **(2) Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions- in which a bunch of college students protested to have corrupt officials removed from the government, but instead Emperor Huan of the Han dynasty had them imprisoned, released a year later, but their citizenship rights had been stripped.**

 **That's it, and maybe I can end China's arc soon, because she's there only 23 years. I'll see if I can have the start of her escape in the end of the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright... Wish me luck guys... I don't own anything... Time is weird and recorded history is even weirder. Also, this chapter is a little gory,but I am sooooo holding back. Kiddies be warned, but why would kiddies be reading this?**

Chinese

 **Latin**

Italian

Note: Edited (12/1/16)

* * *

A well aimed foot caused Jun to land on her back, but she rolled as its sibling hunted her down. "Stop running Jun," China said with a frown. She looked at him as he coughed quickly, but he attempted to cover it up.

"Maybe we should take a break," She said, landing in a crouch nearby.

China looked at her and sighed, "You are most likely right. The floods have not been helping..." Jun looked down.

"I'm sorry I can't do more... I'm supposed to bring good luck..." She whispered, falling back so she sat completely on the trampled grass.

China looked to the younger girl in alarm, "Jun, this is not your fault! This is simply the land pushing back! No amount of luck can change that!" He said approaching her. Her hair was falling out of its styles and her clothes were slightly wrinkled and dirty, but she dusted herself off as she stood.

"China, are you alright? I want the truth," She said, staring him in the eyes.

China looked down and sighed, "I have not been feeling well... I need some rest." Jun swallowed and nodded. She picked up the pear that sat on a nearby log and tossed it to him.

"Here, have some food before you leave. I know you are not getting enough to eat. You need to keep your strength up," She said, even though she knew what was going to happen. She had forgotten when exactly, but knew the Yellow Scarf Rebellion was happening this year. He took the pear silently as he stared at it. "Or save it for someone else who might need it more than you do, but take it," She said, walking past him.

He grabbed her arm as she passed and she looked at the man. China bobbed his head in thanks, and she really looked at him. Bags that were carefully hidden suddenly seemed to hang from his eyes and exhaustion sang from the deepest parts. "Come here, old man," Jun said and pulled him into a hug. He looked at her surprised, but pulled her closer after a moment.

"Thank you, little one."

* * *

Jun winced as she settled down of the night and crossed her arms behind her head. She thought back to over the past 23 years and sighed. She had learned several different dances, weapons, and then a form of early wushu. She had to go through training and various looks from the court members, but she ignored it. Although she hated to admit it, it was nice being immortal while you watched the people who shared mutual hatred wither away. Of course, this didn't happen very much because she spent only 23 years there, but a small clatter outside caught her attention.

She looked into the hall and a small shadow caught her eye. The Italian ducked back into her room and pulled out her bow. Notching it quickly, she pointed it at the door. It opened quietly and she pulled the drawstring back. China stood there panting, clutching his chest. "Y-You need to go. They're here," He said, looking at her. Jun nodded, not wasting a moment. She threw on a pair of dark clothes and grabbed her small pack she hadn't touched in roughly twenty years. China watched her as she strapped on her weapons, and kept her bow notched in her hand. "You're going to be a-alright, Jun. Manipulate your chi and disappear. I'll be fine, go. You're time is up," He said as he pushed her out the door.

She looked at him over her shoulder and pulled the man into a tight hug. "It's been nice knowing you. See you in a while?" She asked. China nodded as he hugged her back, and buried his face in her hair quickly.

"Yes, but you need to go. Disappear. Find your brothers. I will see you someday. I am two thousand years old, and I will live for two thousand more, I promise that. No go!" He said, pushing her away. The auburn-haired girl nodded and began running, catching one last look at the man she viewed as a good friend. She had turned into an old lady, laughing and joking with him and criticized the 'kids these days'.

She turned around a corner, but it was oddly empty. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Diving into her conscious, she began dismantling her aura into undetectable bits. Jun hated doing it, it left her feeling empty, but she needed to do it. Her amber eyes opened and she continued down the hall. Yelling came from her right, but she sighed and took the left. The courtyard was coated in shadows as Jun crept through the brush almost silently, and a twig snap to her right made her breath catch in her throat. A man with a yellow handkerchief tied around his head clutched a bow and arrow as he stalked silently through the brush, but rather unsuccessfully as he kept looking down and cursing.

Jun held in a breath as a maid rushed out in panic, and the man drew back his bow. He never got to fire it as an arrow stuck through his head. The worker screamed as he slumped, the arrowed half embedded in his head, and looked around desperately. Jun stepped out of the bushes and held a finger to her lips, and when the woman modded, she crept out of the gardens. She had learned this building like the back of her hand as her shadow danced down the halls behind her. Jun shot two other mercenaries before another caught her off guard to her right. Her eyes widened as the large grey aura crept around the corner, and she was running out of arrows.

Drawing her old Gladius, she stayed behind the corner, waiting silently. The man crossed the crossroads when he drew around the corner, and she swung. The tall man never stood a chance, and she wretched the sword from his back. This was the only corner between her and her freedom, and she crouched and looked around the edge. A large amount of soldiers were gathered in the front foyer, and she backed away. Standing up, she already knew how she was going to do this. Making herself cry never had been very easy, but she just though of Rome, of the brothers, what would happen if she wasn't there to take care of them. Tears slowly crept into her eyes, and she threw a little blood on her face and ran around the corner.

Some men instantly looked at her, but soon all of them did when she ran to the nearest one. "Please, you've got to help me! I've been held prisoner for years, I-I've got to get out! You've got to help me!" She pleaded, looking into the man she had thrown herself at's eyes. His gaze hardened and he began barking orders at another man.

"Miss, please follow his man. He will help you outside, you are free now. Those corrupt politicians will do you no more harm." She nodded, and slumped for extra pizzazz. The man that had come over picked her up and carried outside. The streets were empty, most probably having no idea what was going on inside, and he brought her to a wagon.

"Have some water, young one. You're safe now," The man said, passing her a leather canteen. She nodded her thanks and drank her fill. She wiped her sleeve as she passed it back to him.

"Many thanks. Please, go back to where you are needed. I will be fine. You are needed to bring down the men who have blackened our great nation," Jun said, and the man looked worried, looking between her and the occupied building. "Go, I will be-" She paused looking behind him in false panic, and the man looked at her then at the building in worry. She grinned and slipped away quickly. When he turned back around about 10 seconds later, she was no where to be found.

* * *

Jun made it to the forest just as the sun was coming up. She looked back sadly and gripped her bow. China wanted he out and gone. _Consider it done_.

She looked out on the beaten trail she was currently on and began walking. She'd have a long way to go before she made it back home. She turned over the peach pit ring on her pointer finger as her gaze hardened.

* * *

Jun held her breath as she stared down the deer a dozen meters away. Letting the arrow fly, she smiled as the arrow struck the large doe, and it stumbled before falling to the ground. Her hair trailed behind her as she jumped out of the tree and reclaimed the arrow. She picked the deer up and threw the legs over so it rested like a sheep across her shoulders. She stumbled over to her temporary campsite along the silk road and began to skin it. "Damn it, why did I have to get a big one?" She asked, slipping the blade under the skin.

" **I don't know, Fortuna, that's on you** ," A higher-pitched male voice said. She sprung up, grasping her gladius.

" **Show yourself, coward** ," She growled, brandishing her sword in the direction the voice came from. A tall man in odd battle gear stepped out of the bushes.

" **Now, you wouldn't have called me that 25 years ago** ," Rome said, grinning. She froze and dropped to her knees.

" **You asshole. Don't scare me like that** ," She whimpered, clutching her beating heart. " **How are the brothers**?"

Rome smiled sadly, " **They both miss you very much, Fortuna. Why don't you come home**?" He asked, reaching out a hand.

The wild-girl shook her head. " **I-I can't not like this. I need to go to Rome, but I can't see the boys. Let them know I'm alright, but..**." She trailed. Rome closed his eyes to give her a moment, and sighed.

" **This is going to kill them** ," He whispered.

" **I know. But they can't see their older sister broken** ," She whispered back. " **Does Romano still like peaches**?"

Rome smiled, " **He eats them everyday. He's started crying randomly, but when I see what he's looking at, it isn't so random. That lock of hair is still at the foot of the bed, and Italy prays in front of it every morning**." Jun choked on a sob. Rome went and began to pick her up. " **You've lost some weight. But I don't think I can say the same about your muscles** ," He said, squeezing her arm. Jun snorted.

" **You're crazy**."

" **I know. You love me for it."**

 **"You're right."**

* * *

Jun sat blankly in front of her window in her new home that Rome had provided her with. She had been in the past for 118 years, hiding for six of them, Septimius Severus had just conquered Parthia in his latest campaign, and it was currently 197 AD. Rome had done a good job of hiding her from the boys, even though they tried following him several times apparently. Romano had giving Rome a peach to give to her, and she had eaten it with a teary smile on her face. A small Veneziano ran out back with Romano and she blinked back tears as she saw herself running after them happily. The memory faded just as quickly as it had come.

She hadn't wanted the boys to see her like this, right? " **I'm starting to think differently, Fortuna** ," Rome said as he entered the room. "I **'m starting to think you'll be afraid of them hating you for leaving. Romano threw a basket of peaches across the room before storming out**." Jun looked down.

" **They really do miss me, don't they**?" She said, looking at the man. He just nodded, and placed a hand on her shoulder. " **Italy cries himself to sleep, and Romano blames himself, and hides until it's time for dinner. This is driving you all crazy. Come home** ," He pleaded.

Jun sighed and looked down. Rome straightened his back and nodded and began to walk out of the room. " **Where are you going? I'm going to need help out of this chair** ," She said, her voice breaking. Rome stopped and looked in the doorway and smiled.

 **"Of course, what was I thinking?"**

* * *

 **Alright, I'm going to say this, the Yellow Turban Rebellion had to be improvised because there is little to no information. Literally, try looking it up. The years are also a bit blurry, some saying 184 AD, but others saying 189, so I couldn't really put a year on that. The silk road take a year by traveling caravan, so maybe by herself, Jun/Carina/Fortuna could take longer or shorter, but she gets to Rome around 191, about two years after the later date. This chapter is just really fuzzy altogether, and I apologize.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright, onto the next! I don't own anything!**

 **And in response to FanaticShipper: I'm going to see how this turns out, but so far, no. I don't think a few countries would like to date their luck. Imagine _that_ breakup! But maybe... Maybe... I'm sorry I'm not being very clear, but I'm just trying to find out what I'm going to do, and for everyone, remember she pretty much raises a few nations. (Note from the edit. You can see it small bits in future chapters and in future chapters in general, she does 'date' Prussia, but she's not really allowed too much to favor one nation over another, but she does get attached to him.)**

 **Latin (BECAUSE ROMANS)**

Italian

Chinese

Note: Edited (12/1/16)

* * *

Jun had reverted back to her old name and it was nighttime when the two returned. " **Should I wake the boys? They would love to know you're here**!" Rome whispered once they entered the home. Fortuna smiled once she looked around the older building and raised an eyebrow at the large pink spot on the wall. " **Oh, that... Like I said, Romano got a little mad...** " He muttered.

" **It's fine. Let them sleep. Get some rest yourself** ," She whispered back, and pushed him towards his room. Rome looked at her.

" **You've changed, Fortuna. I'm still trying to find out if that's a good thing or not** ," He said, and took her advice. Fortuna nodded and looked at herself. Her hair had grown a large amount in the past 33 years, and having only trimmed once it reached her lower back and it reached the back of her midthigh at this point. Her skin had been cleaned, and she had accidentally taken to chewing her nails, so they were still rather short. She shrugged and went into the kitchen. There was a small basket of peaches sitting on the counter and she picked one up and carried it to her old bedroom, the one she shared with the brothers.

Romano and Veneziano were sitting on opposite sides of the bed and she placed the peach at the foot of the bed on Romano's side. Fortuna carefully lifted herself onto the bed and settled in-between the two. Veneziano instantly cuddled up to her, but she had to drag Romano closer. He shifted under her arm, but he settled at her side. Fortuna sniffed as tears piled in her eyes and she kissed the tops of her brother's heads. Salty teardrops streamed down her face and she eventually fell asleep as they continued to race down her face.

* * *

A body slamming into her stomach woke her up and a teary eyed Romano looked at her. "Carina? I-Is that-a you?" He whimpered. "T-This isn't another-r d-dream-a, i-is it?" Fortuna laughed and pulled him into her arms. Veneziano was somehow still asleep, but the two just shared their own moment. "I-I-a missed-a you, you bitch!" He cried, clinging to her.

"Romano, I-I missed you to..." She trailed, drawing him closer.

Romano growled at her and pulled away, "Then why did you-a stay away for 33 years?" He yelled, curling his fists. Veneziano began to shift and rubbed his eyes as he woke up.

Fortuna sighed as she backed herself up against the wall, "I think I owe you two a story..."

Veneziano crooned as he woke up, but he stared at her as he opened his eyes. Tears sprung to his eyes, and he asked to Romano, "Fratello, you're-a seeing this-a too, si?"

Romano looked to him and nodded, "Si, it's-a her. She has-a some explaining to-a do."

Fortuna nodded and pulled Veneziano closer, "Yeah. So, when I left 33 years ago, it took us a while to reach the Chinese empire. We were escorted before the emperor, and it was a sight. A large amount of rugged, dirty Romans surrounded by clean, well-groomed Chinese officials. So the emperor is shocked by our appearance and demands why we were there, 'State your purpose!' He shouts, and my mother had taught me how to speak Chinese when I was a child, so I had to be a translator for a while. The entire court got confused as we had to introduce ourselves, but there was some confusion by our part, but we were spared because the emperor liked our joke, but then we brought out the gifts. After, we were escorted out, but the emperor thought that I was one of the gifts, and I had one of two options: Stay and don't start a war between Romans and the Chinese, and even if I said no, I'd be captured and held against my will. My other option, stay willingly, prevent war, and be able to walk around willingly."

Romano and Veneziano stared at her, and they had gotten over their interrupting phase with her, but anyone else was a different story. "I was forced to stay inside a single building, and on my first day, I had to walk in weird shoes with really baggy clothes, and deal with men who thought they were the greatest thing since welled water. But I managed to turn things to my favor, and I made friends with China. But about... nine or so years ago, there was a rebellion," She said looking down. Romano and Veneziano looked at each other. They hadn't seen her, but 80-something years with a person out-shines that, and they knew something had changed.

Veneziano wrapped his arms around her arm. "Sorellona, are you-a alright?" He asked.

Fortuna huffed a breathless laugh and looked at him, "I don't know, Venie, I really don't know. But that night... China burst into my room and told me to leave, that the rebellion was there. I grabbed my old pack, weapons, and left. I killed four men that night, boys. I barely managed to it because of this," She said, and closed her eyes. She had gotten faster at turning her aura off, and she popped her eyes open when she heard Veneziano scream.

"Y-You disappeared! D-Don't-a do that again!" He said, clinging to her arm. Fortuna smiled and returned her ambience to normal.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do that, and I'm always here boys. I can show you what else I learned later. But from that night, I had to travel the silk road by myself. It took me a good amount of time, and I began to break down a bit. To me, I was traveling a never ending road, trying to reach you guys, but I couldn't stop and talk to anyone. I was alone for two years, and my only company were my thoughts and whatever creatures were nearby. Rome found me a few years ago, but... I couldn't face you two. I didn't want you to see me like that. I didn't want to break your hearts to see someone else, who wasn't your older sister, show up. But then..."

"Ragazza, shut up. We don't-a care, we just-a wanted our-a big sister back. Don't-a ever stay away from-a us when you have-a the option. Got it?" He said, staring her down like he used to. Fortuna froze and shook as tears began to pool in her eyes again. She pulled her boys in close and nodded into their hair. "Ragazza, let us go," Romano protested.

Fortuna grinned, and laughed, "Never!" She loosened her hold and picked them up into her arms, "Let's go and get some breakfast, alright?"

* * *

Things were eventually patched up over the next few years, and soon, Rome had her back out on the routes. By 211 AD, Septimius Severus had died in what would later be England, and Fortuna realized that Ardshir I would soon form the Sasanian Empire in 224, and would attack Upper Mesopotamia two or six years after that, sources were unclear. Fortuna shook her head as she returned to her meditation. The Italians were napping on the bed in front of her and she sighed. She wouldn't be able to meditate like this. If Rome sent her up there in 29 years, then she wouldn't oppose the request. But right now, she also had to worry about the Roman emperors. Severus' sons were still at each other's throats despite his dying wish, and the younger was to be assassinated by his older later this year.

Fortuna sighed and buried her face into her knees as she drew her legs close. " **Fortuna, are you all right**?" Rome asked as he popped his head into the room.

She smiled as she shook her head, " **Am I? History is weird..**."

Rome nodded, " **Yeah, and historians later are going to pull out their hair when they look at our records!** " He laughed. " **Do you want to come to a battlefield soon? You've seen enough of the countryside, but what about an actual battle?"** She thought about it, and looked at the boys. **"They'll be fine, and I won't let anything happen to you!"**

Fortuna sighed, " **They'll be mad, but... I hate to say this, but I need to get out there. I really do**." She needed to be ready to transfer. He didn't need to know about the Sasanian Empire, if he didn't already know.

Rome raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. " **Wonderful! The campaign is in six years, so just a heads up! Would you like to go visit the Baths of Caracalla before we leave sometime**?"

Fortuna looked at him with scrunched eyebrows, " **Didn't that start construction not too long ago? And we have do have six years, but no, I'm fine using the ones here."** She looked over to the boys and leaned against the wall. **"I'm fine for now where I am. See you in the morning** ," She said, and got back into her position and closed her eyes. Though she couldn't see it, Rome closed his eyes as he looked down, then left the doorway.

Those six years passed faster than she would have liked.

* * *

Fortuna smiled sadly as she squat down to meet her brothers' teary gaze, and pushed their hair out of their face as she kissed them on their foreheads. "I'll be back a soon as I can, alright? I promise! Romano, I'll try to be back before 279. You're going to be fine, alright?" She said, looking between the two. Romano stared at her angrily and Veneziano hugged her with tears in his eyes.

"Try-a not to get-a hurt, Sorellona!" He cried. She nodded, and set Veneziano down.

"I'll try not to get hurt, and I'll try to keep an eye on your grandpa. I'll return, alright?" She asked, twirling the peach pit ring on her finger. Romano looked at it, and Fortuna smiled. Reaching into a small pouch beside her, she pulled out a smaller one. Passing it over to Romano, she smiled. "I promise I'll be back. Remember the tale of two brothers? So long as I'm alive, this ring will not break. It can get nicked, but it will never become unwearable," She promised, and he stared at it. Slipping it onto his finger, tears pooled into his eyes.

"Fortuna..."

Rome placed a hand on her shoulder, " **We have to go now, Fortuna**." She nodded and stood up.

"I'll see you soon, alright?" Romano twirled the ring in his hand and nodded as if in a daze.

"See-a you later Ragazza," He whispered as he saw his older sister and grandpa walk into the distance.

* * *

It was April 8, 217 AD, and their group was traveling from Edessa when Caracalla stopped for a restroom break. Fortuna paused as she squatted down, and she had been thankful the men had gotten over her wearing pants again. The emperor's guard nodded and waved him off, and a single guard followed to keep an eye on him. She closed her eyes, knowing what was coming next. Rome sucked in a breath and he began shouting. It went silent for Fortuna as he began yelling, and the twang of a single arrow hitting the assassin soared over her head as she stayed in her own little world.

She was unaware how long she stayed like that, but when she opened her eyes, it was dark out and Rome sat in front of her patiently. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be sleeping sitting up, but she knew better. "I can see why you do this. It's comforting," He said, opening his eyes. "Are you alright? You were in your own world for a while, why happened?"

She looked down, "Nothing, but things were a little wild. It's easier to stay calm than to panic in times like that," she said. Rome nodded in understanding and rubbed his chest slightly. "The real question is, are you alright?"

Rome nodded, but said nothing. "We're trying to find a new leader. So far, Macrinus is looking good."

Fortuna looked at him confused, "Wasn't he in the plot to kill Caracalla?" Rome nodded, but didn't elaborate. "Do you need some time alone?" Rome shook his head, but she scooted over and leaned against his shoulder, pulling him into a sideways hug. He still said nothing as he suddenly turned and pulled her into a full hug, pulling her tight.

"Why do they do this to each other? I thought humans were supposed to help each other!" He cried into her shoulder. Fortuna smiled sadly, and returned the awkward hug.

"They get power hungry and they get greedy, but it's not everyone, see?" She said, motioning to a few soldiers and one waved a loner to come join them. "They can be kind, be compassionate, and they can love. It's just those few that set out the rest. Don't let them cloud your vision," She whispered. Rome nodded.

"You used to be human at some point, didn't you? How old were you when this position was forced on you?" He asked, pulling away slightly.

Fortuna looked over the man's shoulder. "I was twenty. I had found out that my life before this had just been to groom me, and I wasn't even completely ready. But currently, I wouldn't have it any other way. I've gotten more family than I could have ever asked for."

Rome nodded. "Thank you. You're so smart, Fortuna. How old are you this year?"

She thought for a minute, "I think I'm 157 currently, but somedays, it feels like longer," she admitted, and the older man nodded in agreement.

"Come on, let's go and get some rest. We old people need it," He joked, picking her up. Fortuna huffed and did a quick backflip to get out of the bridal-style carry. Rome didn't even blink, but smiled as she nodded.

Macrinus ended up becoming Emperor three days later. He began attempting to make peace with the Parthians, much to everyone's dislike and soon, they marched into Mesopotamia to try and get them out, but things began going south.

* * *

 **Yay, that's over, and while I'm sorry about glazing over so much, I need to keep this story moving. Next up- the Sasanian empire, which I bet that you history teacher didn't really go over that! I know mine didn't, but he was cool! And thanks to Qeani for finding out information on the personification! If you have any questions, PM or review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright, I'm going to see if I can patch over the Sasanian Empire, but also known as Persia! This is were things started becoming a little hazy for me.**

Latin (BECAUSE ROMANS)

 **Middle Persian (BECAUSE SASANIANS)**

 **Note: Edited (12/1/16)**

* * *

Fortuna watched as Rome grit his teeth when he looked to the new emperor. "Is everything alright?" Rome shook his head and looked at her sadly.

"Macrinus has been giving contribution to the Parthia, and he somehow found out about you... He's offered you as well, and without even confronting me about it!" He growled, clenching his fists. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Rome, I'll be alright, you know that..." She said, but Rome shook his head.

"It isn't just that, it's who he's giving you up to. He and I don't really see eye to eye on many things, and I promised Romano and Italy I'd bring you back," He said. Fortuna looked down in understanding.

"I'll be fine Rome. You don't have much of any choice anymore, do you?"

Rome shook his head, defeated, "I don't understand, I used to be able to have a say in this kind of thing, but now..."

Fortuna nodded again and brought him in for a hug, and whispered in his ear, "Well, if it makes you feel better, he looses all popularity and gets executed 14 months after his 'rule'." Rome looked at her surprised.

"I thought I gave you that name referring to your luck, not just your fortune telling." She smiled and winked at him.

"Trust me, things get really weird for me in the future, but don't forget what I said all those months ago. Come on, let's go get this over with..." The auburnette trailed, and looked over to see the emperor surrounded by his guard, and snorted when she saw how irritated some of them were. Rome stepped up beside her and pulled her into his own hug.

"In case I never see you again, take care of the boys..." He whispered, pulling her close. Fortuna swallowed thickly, startled, but hugged him back.

"I'll do whatever it takes," She promised, and they stood there for another moment. They separated at the same time, and nodded, walking in the direction of the Parthian Empire.

* * *

Fortuna bit the inside of her cheek as she waited for the leaders and nation of the Parthian Empire to show up. A smaller group finally showed, with a medium guard surrounding them, and the groups stood eye to eye. She looked across the group and saw the man who had the air of a nation. She closed her eyes and let her own show through, and when she opened them, he looked dumb-struck. Fortuna grinned as wildly as she could allow, and waved.

The man had dark hair with what looked to be a large curl springing forward from the back of his head, and her eyes looked to the scarf around his neck. The man seemed to huff, and Rome stepped closer to her. Their idiot of a emperor motioned back to her without even looking and Fortuna stepped forward with a large frown on her face. She gripped her smaller dagger that sat by her side, but didn't draw it. The humans chittered and chattered uselessly, and she paid them no mind as she took her place next to her new 'guardian'. He grinned and placed an arm around her, but she drew her dagger and placed it at his side. "If you don't want a hole in your side, remove your arm," She growled, barely looking at him out of the corner of her eye. His thick eyebrows came to meet each other, but he got the clue, and removed his arm. She looked at Rome from across the meeting and grinned as he mouthed 'that's my girl'.

" **I'm going to have to teach you greek, girl,** " The man said, but she couldn't understand him, and he sighed. "I'm going to have to teach you Greek, aren't I?"

Fortuna huffed, "If that's what you want, whatever," she said looking over from Rome to face him. "I'm not too happy about this, alright?" Persia blinked and grinned.

"Don't worry, you will be. It's better than staying in Rome's house, isn't it?" She heard Rome growl, but there was nothing he could do without starting another war. But she could.

"You mean in a homier house that holds happy memories in each room and staying with my little brothers who I love with all my heart?" She growled, ranting into his ear. The empire looked slightly ashamed as he looked down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. So old man Rome has grandkids?" He asked quietly, looking over with an unreadable look over at the quietly seething man. Fortuna's frown deepened and the nation's eyes widened. "No, I'm not thinking about conquering them, yet. I just have a few kids and grandkids of my own. Maybe you can meet them someday. They don't live in the same house, really, but I just don't want to have to worry about them fighting," He explained. Fortuna nodded and looked away. "They haven't gotten into any trouble with each other yet, so I must be doing something right!" He crooned happily, tucking his arms behind his head.

Fortuna began slightly praying that this man would hurry up and shut up, or that the meeting would just end.

* * *

Fortuna walked with the group silently, even though her tongue burned with the need to snap, and Persia continued to chat her ear off, but eventually pulled out a small trinket and a carving tool. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he chipped bits of...something away from the knick-knack. She didn't notice when he caught her looking and smiled, but he knew he could use his hobbies to become closer.

"I'm making a small toy for one of my boys. Would you like to see it?" He asked, holding the smaller block out to her. Fortuna carefully took it and turned it over in her hands. It had several different landscapes imprinted onto it and she nodded.

"It's a piece of art, good job," She said, and plopped in carefully into his hands. Just because she didn't like the man didn't mean she should ruin a toy for someone he cared about.

Persia tapped his chin, "How about, if you learn Greek, I'll teach you how to carve your own reliefs." Fortuna blinked and huffed a laugh.

"Good luck, I have the artistic sense of a ball of mud!"

Persia tapped her on the shoulder lightly, "Mud can create beautiful pieces, and don't doubt my ability to teach!" Fortuna shook her head, but didn't bother to hide her smile.

"Fine, but good luck teaching me art. Languages are the easy part," She agreed. Persia grinned as he went back to chittering excitedly, and began teaching her a few words.

* * *

Over the course of the next six years, Fortuna had learned how to speak Greek and a large amount of Persian. Her carving would need some work and Persia wouldn't dare let her anywhere near his silver carving supplies. But in 224 AD, things began to change. First thing to change, Parthia was conquered by Ardashir I, and suddenly he was the Sasasnian Empire. Not much had changed, but suddenly, Zoroastrianism had become a large part of the household. While Fortuna hadn't gone out of her room much in the first six years, after the empire shift, she tried to stay in her room more. A smaller corner of her room had an ever growing pile of wood shavings and the amount of toys next to it grew, but everything would disappear from that corner on occasion.

Another six years, and she and Persia had grown more and more distant, even though they rarely interacted together anyway. The only time she saw him was in quick passing on her way to dinner or to use the restroom, but in 230 AD, he stopped her in the hall. "We're going to Mesopotamia!" He sang, and walked off.

Fortuna ran to her room and meditated for the rest of the day. Why? He was going to try to overtake Upper Mesopotamia, but fail, and try again in 237-238 with eastern Roman provinces, and gain two... She opened her eyes and looked to her ring. Her three weapons sat under her bed, and she never got a chance to practice them, but that damn peach pit ring... Fortuna wondered if Romano still had his and twirled the one in her hand. Thinking too much wouldn't do her much good right now, and she stood up. Rummaging through her clothes, she pulled out clothes similar to her first traveling pair: two pairs of legging like clothes, two shirts and her knee-high sandals. Digging out her sword, dagger, bow and quiver, she set those out to the side.

Fortuna's eyes hardened when she realized she would have to help take down Rome. "Damn it, why? Why the hell does this have to happen? Mom, how did you get through this?"

" **Who**?" Fortuna's hand instinctively went for her gladius, and the tip was under Persia's chin when it came out. " **Whoa, put the big sharp pointy thing down, girl**!"

Her hand tightened on the hilt as she trembled. " **You haven't spoken to me in years, and the first thing you tell me after ripping my heart out is 'Put the big sharp pointy thing down!?' Why the hell would I do that?**!" She growled, taking a few steps closer as he began to back away.

Persia's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. " **Girl, you don't have to go out on the field, just-** "

 **"JUST NOTHING!"** She roared, and she lead him backwards out the door. **"YOU TOOK ME AWAY FROM MY FAMILY AND NOW EXPECT ME TO HELP CONQUER THEM?! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU**?" Persia frowned and placed his hand behind his back. " **Go ahead, draw your weapon, I will take you down** ," Fortuna growled, and began to grasp her dagger with her other hand.

" **Girl calm down** ," He said, bringing his hand back empty.

" **My name isn't girl. Even China called me something better! It might not have been my first or second name, but he gave me a new one. And even he, who I stayed with for 23 years, saw me more in my first two years with him than you have in the past twelve! Is this how you treat your kids**?!" She ranted, and suddenly she was against the wall.

Dark eyes bore into hers' as Persia's voice whispered dangerously into her ear, " **Don't bring my family into this, girl**."

Fortuna stared back with a raging fire, " **You brought mine in first. By the way, you don't even capture Mesopotamia** ," she growled lowly and pushed him off. She stalked into her room.

" **Forgetting something**?" He called back to her, and she turned. An empty feeling encompassed her hand once she saw the ring in his hand. Fortuna knew he was using his careful hold as always, but she still froze in horror. " **I wasn't going to make you even go onto the battlefield, but now? See you on the front line** ," Persia said, throwing the ring over. Fortuna caught it dazed and stared at it, and tried to calm her pulsing heart so it didn't echo through her ears. " **I didn't want to have to this, but I need to survive. Right now, it's me or him. You're just my lucky charm. But one more thing**."

She looked up with a hollow look, " **What**?"

Persia shrugged off the slight guilt, and looked her dead in the eye. " **You go through life with hardship, you learn to cope. Learn already** ," He said, and turned to walk down the hall.

Fortuna looked at the memory in her hand. " **How**?" She whispered.

" **You learn that for yourself, Girl. Now go chill. We leave tomorrow** ," He said over his shoulder before disappearing around a corner. Fortuna nodded dully and slipped her ring back on.

* * *

 **Sorry about this (and the rushing!), but the only thing on Persia's personality is on a wiki page, and I don't know how to do "Carefree and self-assured". Shout-out Qeani for finding the info out about Persia!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, thanks for all the support from everyone!**

Persian (BECAUSE PERSIANS)

 **Italian (BECAUSE FORTUNA)**

Latin (Because ROMANS)

Note: Edited (12/3/16)

* * *

Fortuna sighed as she marched in line behind a large line of war elephants, horsemen, and archers, and Persia looked back at her, just daring her to do something, with something akin to regret dancing behind his eyes. The men had stared at her a lot when Persia had stood by her, making sure she didn't run when they settled down for the night, but mostly at her weapons, which were still Roman. " **Damn everything** ," She muttered in Italian. The foot soldiers next to her didn't spare a glance at her and she sighed quietly.

 _Fortuna twirled the ring on her finger as she all but limped back to her room. He was right. Why was this such a cliche?! The person she hated the most helped her in a time when she needed it!? She breathed in shakily as she remembered her brothers and remembered what Rome asked her to do. She'd try to do what she could, but she's just going to have to make sure she made it through to see them another day._

Ardashir raised a fist and the troops halted, and she shifted nervously. The emperor lowered his fist and then chatted with some advisors quickly. He then swept his arm forward and they began marching forward again. Fortuna grit her teeth as they began moving again, and as they passed over a hill, and her breath caught as she saw the large civilization. They continued to march until they were on level ground and set up a base camp a distance away. Fortuna sighed as she removed her sandals and scrapped off the dirt and sand that had crusted on the bottom of her feet and then leaned forward over her knees.

"We attack tomorrow," Persia said, coming next to her. Fortuna nodded wordlessly, twirling her ring. "You really do hate me don't you?"

"With all of my years," She said with little hesitation, looking up at him.

"Your eyes look better, ya know, less dead," He commented, tucking his hands behind his head. "And how old are you anyway?"

Fortuna looked at the setting sun as she counted the years in her head, "It's 230, right? Then... 171 years in September." Persia nodded wordlessly. "I remember each minute of each day, you know. I didn't used to be like that, but now... I just can't forget. I remember meeting Rome for the first time, my brothers, Vesuvius erupting, I remember telling the boys fairytales, all of it. I remember staring at young people with China and shaking our heads at how oblivious some were to their other's affections, but you know the sad thing for us?"

Persia hummed looking at her, "We can't date without things becoming potentially very awkward or sad because if we fall in love with a mortal, then our hearts will be broken when they die, but if we court another country, that can almost never be erased, and interactions will always be weird because you both have to live with the memories, and never have the comfort of growing old and dying with those memories. Do you get what I mean?" She asked, looking at him. Persia stared at her with an unreadable expression.

"What?"

"You're too old to be just 170 years old. Where did all of this come from?" He asked and took a seat next to her. She laughed emptily.

"I'm just trying to live to see my brothers another day, and I know I do, so I just have to keep my shit together for another few hundred years. I've told Rome this years ago, but use what time you have wisely, you don't last for forever," She finished, and prepared to go to sleep.

* * *

Fortuna leaned back as she dodged a sword swipe, and thrust its near identical twin up into the man's chest. Wrenching it free, she turned to find her next opponent. They had charged upper Mesopotamia earlier that morning, and even though they were slowly gaining ground, she knew it would only be so long before they would be pushed out but she had no option. Persia wasn't far from her, leading a charge. Soon, several roman troops rounded a corner and Persia paused. "Back up!" He yelled, and his side took to the defensive as they began backing up.

Fortuna swore under her breath as she saw a roman soldier raise his sword as Persia's head was turned and she sheathed her gladius. As the man's arm began to lower, an arrow embedded itself into his temple. Persia looked over in confusion and saw Fortuna had drawn her bow. Lowering it, she notched another arrow, and nodded to the nation. He nodded back and grinned. The Sasanian Empire waved his hand back, "Move back! Return to base!" He looked over his shoulder as he saw another group of Roman soldiers charging. "Girl, stay here and defend!" He yelled, brandishing his bloodied sword.

She nodded, and came to stand beside him and loosed an arrow at who she assumed was the leader and then loosed another quickly after. The romans began getting too close, and she slung her bow across her back (1) before drawing her sword. "That isn't my name!" She yelled, and dug her blade into another soldier. Ignoring the splash of red, she quickly began trying to cover Persia, and he did the same. "We need to get out of here," She panted, and growled as another wave came.

Persia grinned at her over his shoulder, "Nah, we'll be fine." The two were standing near side-by-side.

"Trust me, I have spent over 100 years with these guys, I know how they fight," Fortuna spat, and swung her sword at another Roman who got a little too close.

Persia groaned as he rotated his head, "Fine, let's go, _girl_ ," he joked, and the two began retreating back to their camp. Fortuna sheathed her sword and drew her bow. The nation watched their front as she cleared to back and sides. They returned to the encampment, clearing any stranglers that followed them, and when they made it back, the moon was high in the sky. "Go clean yourself off. There's the creek. Not too many people should be there," He said nodding in the direction of said creek.

Fortuna raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she nodded and walked off to her tent to drop her bow and quiver off for the night. The other men wouldn't dare touch them. Persia had had her fight several ranked officers to display her fighting ability, and that was yet another reason all of the men avoided her. She all but strolled down to the large creek and pulled her weapons out. She shrugged as she stepped into the murky water with her sandals still on, but sat on a small ledge and began to clean her sword and dagger.

She smiled once she could finally saw her face gleam in the scarred metal, and set the two to the side, and began to strip. Stepping into the water fully, she smiled at the cool relief. A few small nicks in her skin caught her attention and she really looked at her skin, or at least what she could in the moonlight. The inside of her fore-arms were paler than they should normally have been, and more than two dozen other tiny scars littered up and down her arms from her adventures. Her legs and stomach had a similar story, nothing larger than a thin branch, and each had its own unique tale. She twisted around to try and look at her back and she finally managed to see what that black tattoo was from all those years ago was.

" **Black chains? What**?" She asked in her mother tongue, but shrugged. She scrubbed the blood at her skin and smiled as it left for the water, but it caught her breath when she couldn't get the blood out of her hair. " **No, no no no nonononono...** " She muttered and all but clawed her scalp, but she let let her exhausted arms fall to her sides after a while. " **Why**?" Fortuna muttered. She shook her head and pulled herself out of the water. She changed back into her now damp clothes and hiked it back to camp.

* * *

Over the next how many years, Persia and Rome continued to butt heads and Fortuna was pushed to the front lines next to Persia throughout all the battles. They might not have gotten along in normal life, but out in the fray, the two watched each other's backs. Ardashir lead his army against Roman border outposts in 231 AD, but it still failed and Fortuna received her first arrow to her shoulder. Persia showed her how to remove it, breaking the arrow end and pulling the shaft out carefully, and it thankfully didn't cause any major damage. In reply to the attack, the current Roman emperor, Alexander Severus, attempted to smooth things over with diplomacy, but it didn't go well...

In 232 AD, Severus tried a three tiered attack, but each branch were so poorly organized that every one was easily destroyed. Then, finally, Ardashir and his son Shapur I launched another attack against Mesopotamia in 237 AD. Persia hadn't shut up as he strolled the street later, blabbering at his success, and Fortuna tuned him out. Later that year and into the next, the father/son duo overcame Hatra, a rather stubborn fort. In 240 AD, Shapur was already leading the empire, despite the fact his father died in 242 AD. When his father died, the king marched into Syria, and Roman emperor Gordian III set out to crush them.

Fortuna grit as she loosed another arrow at a Roman soldier and dodged one aimed her way. "Get down!" Persia yelled, and swung his sword over where she was, and stopped a Roman sword that would have beheaded her and she stabbed the human with her dagger. Her hair had almost been permanently stained a bright red, caused by similar dunks in the red substance that ran down her front. She pushed the man away from them as she stood and nodded to her battle buddy. A few Roman soldiers popped up from higher vantage points, and an official grinned as he appeared.

"Hello there. Rome wants you back, Fortuna. Come with us, and your friend can leave to fight another day," He said, keeping his arms tucked close to him.

Persia looked at her out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow. "If I don't come?" She asked, gripping her dagger tightly in her right hand, bow in her left. The Emperor looked to an archer to his left and the man fired an arrow just past Persia's head.

"Girl, don't. We can take them," He whispered, gripping his sword tightly. Fortuna shook her head.

"No, Sasa, we can't," She whispered back, and sheathed her dagger and unstrung her bow. "Sheath your sword. We can't win this. Leave. You'll see me again, we both know that." Persia looked down and gripped his sword.

"Fine, but I'm coming to get you," He swore. "I need someone to watch my back."

Fortuna nodded, and looked up at the Roman leader, "Let him go. I'll go with," she said. Gordian nodded to his archers and they lowered their bows. "Go, Sasa," She whispered. Persia grit his teeth and walked away. "Alright, now what?" She asked, staring at the Emperor.

His grin grew savagely, "This is war, and you now are a front line soldier."

Fortuna's eyes flashed, "Emperor, I have been forced to kill Roman soldiers for the past whatever amount of years. Is that really a good idea?"

The seventeen year old raised an eyebrow, "Unless you'd rather stay with me, that is your only choice."

Fortuna hung her head. Either get hit on by a creepy kids more than a hundred years younger than her, or fight against Persia... Decisions, decisions... Persia. "I'll fight. And besides, I'm a little old for you," She said, frowning. The Emperor, raised a brow, but shook his head.

"Men," He said, and a fist impacted the back of her head. Fortuna wobbled and stumbled, but looked back. A large man stood behind her and she growled.

"Was that really necessary? I was going to come willingly!" She roared at Gordian. He nodded, and she received a second impact, and this time, she did pass out.

* * *

When she awoke, the sun was down and Rome was sitting next to her. "I'm sorry, Fortuna."

She looked down, "No, Rome, I-I'm sorry. I didn't want t-" She struggled to sit up and grunted when she felt the bruise at the base of her neck throb.

Rome shook his head harder, "No, you had to do that, you had to live for another day, you were forced on the front lines, but Gordian shouldn't have done that to get you here." She smiled and placed a hand on his.

"Chill, Rome, we got this. I'm alright, and-"

Rome looked sharply to her, "Are you though? Romano started freaking out so badly when a random hole appeared in his ring. What happened? And why are you so quiet?"

Fortuna moved the shoulder of her tunic and stuck a finger into the scar. The tip of the digit disappeared and Rome raised an eyebrow. "I got the wrong end of an arrow at an outpost and I never really had anything to say. Sasa had that covered, but I kinda see why you hate him."

Rome nodded, "Alright, but be careful. We're going to begin charging to gain land back from him." Fortuna nodded and twirled her ring.

"Alright. Am I still going on the front lines? Gordian is a bit young to be leading an entire Empire."

Rome snorted, "Isn't that the truth, but he's smart. But yes, he is my boss, and we both have to do what he says. Get some rest. We charge in the morning," he said, and carefully lowered Fortuna back. "Sleep well."

He stood up to leave her, but she grabbed his hand. "How are the boys though? I miss them..." Rome nodded, smiling.

"They still miss you a lot, but Romano stares at that ring a lot. It doesn't fit, so he wears it on a silk ribbon around his neck, and Italy often looks at it as well. They're growing a little bit, too, but we all know what that means, right?" He said sadly, and walked out.

Fortuna swallowed and looked at the ceiling. For a nation under another to grow... The ruling empire was on its last legs... She closed her eyes and dreamt of fruit.

* * *

 **Alright, just an FYI, I'm going back to band camp from the 18-21. Yay.**

 **(1) So it turns out that if long bows are left strung for too long, it warps the bow. But most unstring them once not in use and soldiers can't constantly be stringing them and unstringing them, so... yeah.**

 **FINAL SIDE NOTE. I AM GOING TO CHANGE THIS STORY TO M BECAUSE I WANT TO GET MORE DESCRIPTIVE.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Alright, so I've changed it to M and from here on out, it gets a few darker themes and gore is a little better. But also, I've been reading too many headcanon's lately. And haveway through writing this, a third of my work got deleted...**

Greek

 **Latin**

Italian

 _Thoughts_

 _Note: Edited (12/3/16)_

* * *

For the next two years, Rome and Fortuna caught up, both on and away from the battlefield. Rome began pulling her out of her shell, and she made small trinkets for him and the boys. Rome left the small wolves behind every time they charged into battle, and finally Gordian finally staged an attack on Eastern Mesopotamia in 244. Rome and Fortuna charged into the ancient civilization first, and blood soon slicked the streets. The two turned a corner and Persia stood in the street and had several scrapes from before today.

"Girl," He breathed. He clutched his sword as he looked over to the tall Roman who stood by her side.

"Sasa," She said coldly. Rome looked at her and placed a hand on her shoulder as he moved past her.

"Rome," The Sasanian Empire growled to Rome.

" **Persia. You're looking worse for wear. Anything I can do to help**?" He asked, gripping his sword.

Persia grinned casually as he snorted, "Yeah, you can hand over Girl and leave."

Rome laughed, " **I think you mean Fortuna, and you can still surrender now.** " Persia snorted and looked to Fortuna, but she frowned. The empire sighed and plopped down, sheathing his sword.

"Fine, it'll stop the fighting at least, right?" He breathed. Rome nodded and approached him.

Grasping his enemy's sword, he attached it to his own hip and pulled the man up. " **Yeah, come on. Let's go find our bosses**."

Persia nodded and slung an arm around Rome's shoulder, "Thanks, Rome."

Rome paused and crippled lightly, grasping at his chest, " **Not again. Damn**." Fortuna rushed forward and frowned. She and Persia shared a look and Fortuna heaved his empty shoulder over her own.

"Come on, Gramps, we're heading back. Sasa, please don't try anything right now. We need to get him to camp," She urged and Persia nodded wordlessly for once in his life.

And so they returned to the Roman camp and by then Philip the Arab had taken over, and the Emperor and Empire share a quick hug before the four sat. She slipped out silently and went to clean her weapons. Wandering down to a nearby creek, she began scrubbing to get the blood out and began thinking as to what Rome told her two years ago. _I had given the ring to Romano, but why would it be on a silk ribbon? It fit him just fine. And I thought he hated anything to do to my travels. And why would Venie be looking at it? Romano knew that it would get nicked, unless he forgot but_ he _never forgets..._

Fortuna stiffened as she realized what had happened and began grappling to get out of the water. "ROME!" She roared, and strapped the swords on. The Empire stuck his head out of the tent as he found her, and just about ducked back in until she grabbed his throat. His eyes widened as she pulled him down, twisting around so she sat on his chest as her hand clenched around his throat. "I KNOW YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME, SO DON'T YOU DARE. WHY DOES VENEZIANO HAVE ROMANO'S RING. WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She yelled, and Rome's eyes darkened.

He tried to sit up, " **Fortu** -" Her hand slammed the empire's head back again.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ROMA AND VENIE!" The red-head screamed, and tears began to well in her eyes.

Rome was barely able to get a breath in as he closed his eyes. " **I made them forget each other and separated them.** "

Fortuna froze and tears poured down her cheeks. "Why?" She whispered. Rome removed her loose fists and bundled her up. She began struggling and slid out of his grasp. "How could you? They loved each other!"

Rome frowned and looked to her, " **Because they were tearing each other apart**."

"They were all the other had!"

Rome growled, " **Romano can't stand to look at Italy because of you! You two look too similar! Italy is becoming scared of the world because his brother tells him demented tales**!"

Fortuna shook her head. "No, but why would you give Roma's ring to Italy? I made it for him!" Rome hung his head. "Why?"

" **I don't know**!"

Fortuna heaved as she tried to get air. "How did you do it?! I need to reverse it!" She said and began pacing, as much as her shaking knees allowed.

" **I don't know exactly, I had Britannia did it. She said it would be removed with time**!" He yelled, standing up and lunged for her carefully. Fortuna darted away and ran back first into a solid mass and tried to duck around the other side. Persia pulled her behind his back and punched Rome in the face.

"Now I'll pay those 500,000 gold denarii. Stay away from the Girl, Rome. She loved her brothers and looked up to you. You just lost whatever respect she and I had for you. Take your price and leave."

Rome sat dumfounded on the ground, grasping his cheek lightly, and looked up to Fortuna.

" **Fort** -"

"Don't call me that. Screw you and the horse you rode in on," She growled, and stood next to Persia.

" **I had to, you don't know how bad things were! They remember you at least!"** He said. **"They remember their big sister!"**

* * *

Fortuna shook as the two entered Persia's house, her being carried by the other Empire. "You really do care for your baby brothers," He whispered. She nodded and let a few more tears slip out. Persia carried her to her room, "Hold on, there's someone I want you to meet. I brought him over not too long ago. Hold on," he whispered and darted out of the room. Fortuna looked over at the dusty corner that normally held her wood shavings and trinkets and smiled as she saw the wood still there.

"Here we are. I want you to meet Turkey. He's one of my children, and in all honesty, my heir. I thought now would be the best time to introduce you," Persia said, coming into the room. A kid was bundled in his arms and she waved at the little country. He waved back and squirmed in his 'dad's' arms.

"Let me go, I can walk myself!" The kid protested and Fortuna choked on a sob. "What's wrong, miss?"

Fortuna's smile must have looked more like a grimace, because when Persia set him down, the kid instantly went to her side. "Y-You just remind me of my siblings, that's all. Who are you?"

Turkey gave her an odd look, "Persia already told you my name."

Fortuna shrugged, "Well, I want to hear it from you. There is no reason someone can't introduce themselves unless they don't want to or can't."

"I'm Turkey and don't forget it!" He said, grinning as he placed his hands on his hips. "Who are you?"

Fortuna laughed, "I won't forget it, and how about you name me? I don't have one right now." Persia raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Neylan. I've been wishing for a new friend, and here you are!" Turkey said grandly. Fortuna smiled.

"Thank you Turkey! What does it mean?"

"Fulfilled wish!" He chirped. He looked over at her wood pile, "What's that?"

Fortuna smiled and stood from her bed. "That's a hobby Sasa taught me. You can pick on of those trinkets if you want, I don't have any use for them," She said. Turkey nodded and looked through them carefully, evidently picking up Persia's delicate touch. A small tulip made it into his hand and he looked at it curiously.

"What is this thing, it looks weird," He said bluntly, turning over in his hand. Fortuna blinked and picked it up. She picked up the light piece of wood and walked over to Persia.

"Hold still," She said and began tucking it into his dark hair, just a shade or two darker than Roma- She paused but quickly shook herself out. "There, doesn't Persia look pretty?"

"Neylan, Turkey, do I look good?" Persia joked and struck a few poses, and the three shared a quick laugh. The man wearing several beaded scarves with an unstained wooden flower and striking several poses looked very odd.

Fortuna blinked for a moment. "Sasa, can I speak to you for a moment?" He nodded and jerked his head towards the hallway. He followed her out and leaned against the oposite wall. "What the hell? For years, you call me just 'girl' for the past how many years, and all of a sudden your kid names me and you call me that?! What the hell?!"

Persia snorted, "Yeah, pretty much. Come on, Turkey's waiting for us." Neylan sighed and nodded.

* * *

The peace and quiet didn't even last for a full year before Philip began invading again, but Shapur finally invaded Mesopotamia in 250, and Persia and Neylan were on the front lines. Some trouble popped up in Khorasan, and the Emperor had to run off to deal with it, but quickly returned, and the invasion of Syria and a few other Roman provinces an annihilation of 60,000 Roman soldiers continued. Shapur pulled the two from the fray as he moved to Armenia, and the twisted bastard had a Parthian assassinate the current king, even though the man was killed by court officials later. Neylan shook her head when she heard the Emperor place his son as the new king of Armenia, and Persia laughed. Over the next ten years, the two rulers ruled a golden era of Persia.

When Georgia surrendered without a fight, they finally received word that Emperor Valerian was on their tails. The Sasanian Empire under Shapur had a particular technique of storming a place, raiding it for what worth, then abandoning it quickly. Despite losing Syria back to the Romans, they retreated back to Edessa.

The two were currently sitting inside Persia's tent, Persia sitting at a chair, watching Neylan's hands carve out a puzzle box for Turkey. She had already made one each for her other little brothers and was currently carving a track. "Sasa?" Persia hummed, watching her hands carefully dig the small trench into the wood. "Why did Rome do that? He had no reason to separate the brothers and he had even less to give Romano's ring to Veneziano. I mean, I made that ring for Romano, and not to say I don't love Venie, but I'm not going to lie when I say that Roma is my favorite. I just need someone to talk to every once in a while, but Venie can't hold a serious conversation to save his life and I can't talk to Rome without him breathing down my neck for something I said! But still, I can be myself around him, and he knews that I love him a lot... What the fuck Rome..." She trailed and shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this..." Neylan looked at him for a response.

Persia stared at her with large eyes, "You've changed a lot, you know that Neylan?" The red head froze, staring at him with large eyes before growling.

"Never tell me that again. I've heard it enough," She said.

Persia held up his hand and made a blabber-mouth gesture, and she grinned before throwing her knife a few milimeters from his toe. "Ok, ok, geez! Where did you learn to throw like that? What else can you do?!" Neylan smiled as she went back to carving. "Neylan?" She barely blinked before she, as Venie liked to call it, 'disappeared'. "Woah! Where did you learn to do that?" She reassembled her aura and got her dagger.

"I learned from an old man. I believe you know him," She said.

"Neylan, that isn't a real answeeeer!" He groaned, flopping over in his seat. Neylan laughed and began working on the slides for the box.

"Was it supposed to be?"

In the beginning of 260, Emperor Valerian had evidently had enough after the Battle of Edessa and arranged for a peace meeting, and to be honest, Neylan and Persia haven't ever laughed do hard. "He-he can't be serious, can he?!" He laughed, curled up into himself. Neylan tried to wheeze out an answer, but she couldn't.

Shapur entered the tent and nodded to the two, "Come, we're leaving. Valerian won't know what hit him." The immortals nodded and got their bearings. She strapped her sword, dagger, and strung her bow and followed Persia out as he strapped his own weapons on.

Valerian never stood a chance.

* * *

 ***Sigh* I'm sorry for rushing this and making Rome a bad guy, but... hmmm. And the 'damage' to the brothers does get reversed. Somehow. This is getting weirder and weirder and wish me luck! out of the 1937 years I have to cover, we're only through 181 years of it!**


	14. Chapter 14

**This thing got overwritten (Thank you so much KittyBear98!) so I'm going to have to redo this chapter, so it probably has a few things different. (As I'm writing this note a few days after this) I'm only going to put some of the interactions, not the history, so it'll be a bit... more entertaining. I really F***ing hate myself for letting this happen and thanks to my friend Natsu, who tried. If you're reading this, thank you so much for taking the time to look, you sadistic bitch. Don't start crying, I miss you too.**

 **I'm not doing reviews for this, sorry.**

 **This will be more like the snapshots chapter and there won't be languages. I'm too heartbroken.**

* * *

Persia grinned as he lead her outside, "Girl, c'mon! We're going to see the old man!" Neylan blinked as she stumbled after him.

"Sasa, hold on! Who?"

His grin didn't disappear as he lead her around the front of the house to show her two beautiful horses, "Rome! Get on, we're going to be late!"

The woman sputtered nervously, "Persia, I haven't been on a horse in years-"

"Don't worry, you'll pick it up! Pull on the reins to stop, use the bridal to turn and and kick the horse to go!" The man lifted her up and she tensed on the horse. He climbed onto his own and grabbed the edge of his friend's bridal, "C'mon!"

"Sasa!" Neylan grabbed onto the horse's mane in terror as they raced out of the city and into surrounding forests. Her mind flashed back as her sense of panic rose and suddenly she was galloping through the streets of Rome behind her grandfather. Her breath quickened as she wove between the trees, ignoring her friends calls when her horse suddenly reared.

"Whoa, whoa!" Rome shouted as he tried to calm down the woman's horse and grabbed Neylan as she slipped off.

The horse got back onto its feet and calmed down as Persia rode around the otherside with wide eyes. "Persia, what the hell, are you trying to kill Fortuna?"

He looked between the two and dismounted, "I-I didn't know. What was that?"

Rome frowned and put Neylan down on her feet, "The last time she rode that fast, her brother was going through a volcanic eruption." The man got closer to Persia and grabbed the front of his clothes. "Were you trying to hurt her?!"

Persia raised a clenched fist, "No, I wasn't, I was trying to teach her how to ride a horse, which you obviously didn't do-"

"Damnit, you two, don't-" The men's fists flew and a sharp crack echoed in the small glen. She winced as each other them grabbed their noses in pain. "Dumbasses."

Rome chuckled, "You love me-" He paused before he remembered what happened not long ago.

She smiled, "Yeah, you're right, Nonno." He grinned tearfully and pulled her into a hug which very quickly turned into a friendly wrestle. Persia stood to the side and waited until they stopped.

"You're getting stronger," The European noted as they relaxed to sit on the ground. The other man grinned and pinched some of the muscle in his arm.

"Are you sure? This muscle seems to be rather useless," Persia chuckled.

Neylan sighed as her grandpa began to attempt to defend himself, "It's not useless! It works as a pillow for young ladies!"

"Really? It looks more like fat than muscle!"

"Fortuna! Tell him it's more muscle than fat!"

She frowned, "Well, there is muscle in his arms-"

"Ha!" Rome yelled, pointing at Persia's face.

"-There is fat in the limbs as well."

"Ha!" Persia jeered back, pointing in Rome's face.

The man growled, "At least Fortuna loves me more!"

"No, you fucked up a few years ago, she loves me more!"

"You all but kidnapped her!"

"Guys, hold on!" Neylan yelled. They looked at her and she sighed from her place on the ground, "You guys have spots in my life, ok? Rome's the father figure I never had and Sasa's the best friend I haven't had who's not related to me."

They grumbled, but seemed to accept that, "Girl still loves me more-"

"Sasa!"

Rome chuckled, "It was nice seeing you again, Fortuna. Romano has his ring again, but you better be getting back." The woman nodded and looked down. Her grandpa pulled her into a hug and ruffled her hair, "Hey, they're ok, and all's well. Romano said he's still counting, whatever that means."

Neylan nodded and hugged him back, "Don't worry, I understand. Tell them I miss them and I'll see you soon. Sasa, I'll be back at the house." He nodded and they watched as she left with the horse.

"Let's make two agreements right now," Persia said, looking at Rome. The rival frowned, but he continued. "The first, we keep an eye on her whenever we can so nothing like what happened earlier happens again.

He nodded, "Agreed. The second?"

Persia grinned and leapt on his horse, "You're getting slow and fat!" Rome yelled and began to chase after him, but the Persian was already leaving.

* * *

Neylan sighed as she returned from cleaning her hair after a battle and sat down to sharpen her blades when a huff by her ear made her jump, "Holy-" A horse looked at her and his eyes seemed to laugh as he looked at her and she sighed, "Holy shit, you scared me." He neighed a little bit and it sounded suspicously like a laugh. "Are you laughing at me?" The white horse bobbed its head and its yellow main shifted.

"Well then, if you're going to laugh, at least me nice about it!" It bobbed it's head again and she sighed. The tip of one of her blades caught on a nasty snarl in her hair and she winced, "I need a hair cut." The horse made a sound similar to a chirp and nipped at a length that was just over the tops of her shoulders. "Right there, huh?" He bobbed his head again and she laughed. "Great, I'm getting fashion advice from a horse." Nonetheless, she grabbed her freshly sharpened pugio and began cutting. It took a new moments, but after years of cutting her hair this way, it was clean.

"Girl, what did you do to you're hair?!" She looked over and grinned at Persia.

"It needed a cut and somebody agreed," Neylan chuckled and the horse stuck his head under her arm so it rested right behind his cheek. "Excuse you." The two males laughed.

Persia nodded, "It looks good, and the horse, you can keep. The officer who had him died not long ago." The horse's head dropped and she rubbed his snout in comfort. He walked off and Neylan looked at the horse.

"You need a name." He bobbed his head in agreement and she thought, but her gaze landed on his mane and tail, "Flavio?"

The horse seemed to laugh again and nodded, "Well then, nice to meet you, Flavio."

* * *

Years later, Flavio laid in his stall as Neylan rubbed his head in comfort. In simple terms, the horse was dying of old age. He had been a kind comfort, even if he was a bit odd, not including the near human aura he had. Tears poured out of Neylan's eyes as Turkey crept into the stall doorway with Greece and Cyprus in his arms, "Neylan?"

She wiped her eyes quickly and continued to rub Flavio's head, "Y-Yeah, Turkey?"

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked carefully.

The woman chuckled, "You're very mature for your age, Turkey. Come sit with me?" He nodded and carefully took a seat next to the horse. Flavio nudged Turkey's knee and the boy giggled. As the evening wore on, Flavio's breathing eventually evened out, then stopped all together. The family had a moment of silence for the companion and Neylan removed her cloak, draping it over the large body. "Rest well, Flavi. I'm going to miss you."

Turkey lowered his head, "Can we go inside and you sing to us?"

Neyland chuckled weakly and took Greece in one arm to pick Turkey up with the other, "I sound like an elephant when I sing, Turkey. I don't want to wake the neighbors."

"Please?" He asked as they entered their bedroom. Greece and Cyprus went into their padded, crud cribs and Turkey curled up to Neylan.

She smiled and sighed, "Fine, but the moment those two begin to cry, I'm stopping."

Turkey grinned, "It can't be that bad-"

"Twinkle Twinkle little star-" Cyprus lasted longer than Greece, but they both ended up bawling. "Told you."

He chuckled, "That was pretty bad."

* * *

 **This is all I remember from the chapters, with help from AnonChan1's review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, and again, huge thanks to Qeani for helping me fill in a bunch of holes in my story! And WHY ARE THERE GOING TO BE SO MANY LANGUAGES?!**

 **Germanic (General?) (BECAUSE GERMANIA)**

 **German (BECAUSE NEYLAN)**

Middle Persian (BECAUSE TURKEY AND PERSIA)

 _Italian (BECAUSE ROMANO)_

Latin (BECAUSE ROME)

 _ **Gothic (BECAUSE GOTHS)**_

 _Thoughts (BECAUSE WHY NOT)_

 _Note: edited (12/3/16)_

* * *

Neylan growled as she tried to get the two puzzle boxes she had made for her italian brothers into a managable and safe bundle. "Come on..."

"Neylan?" Turkey's voice from the doorway shocked her and she turned around. The sleepy child rubbed his eye as he looked at her with his other.

She sighed and quickly sat down and gestured him over into her lap, "Morning sleepyhead," she whispered, kissing the crown of his head.

"Are you leaving?" He questioned, leaning into her. Neylan hummed and hugged him tighter.

Placing her chin on top of his head, she closed her eyes, "I'm only going to go visit my brothers for a while. You might find I'll be back sooner than you think."

Turke moved his closer so his head was over her heart, "But what's the occasion, I thought Persia wouldn't let you leave ever?" The question surprised Neylan a little bit but Persia never cared if his sons heard or not.

She sighed and turned over her forearms, so the insides of her wrists were showing. "Almost 200 years ago, I came here and one of my brother was having a volcano erupt on his land, and it was pretty bad. Do you see how the skin tone changes quicker here than it should?" She asked, motioning to the scar line. "I refused to let him go, even though it hurt. I would do the same for you or Greece or Cyprus, or anyone I consider family, but he needs me right now. I'm leaving a bit early because I've learned that if you don't leave a few years early to cross a large swath of land, you might find yourself late!"

Turkey nodded, "I'll see you soon?" Neylan nodded, and picked him up to set him back on his feet.

"I promise. I know if I don't come back, you'll come searching for me," She said with a grin. Turkey nodded and hugged her again.

"I'm going to miss you," He whispered, and Neylan hugged him back.

"Me too, now back to bed. Keep an eye on your brothers, alright?" Turkey nodded and toddled back to his room. Neylan sighed and grabbed her weapons. She unsheathed her gladius. "You've kept me alive long and well, old friend," She whispered, running her fingers over the many nicks and scratches.

"And I haven't?"

Neylan laughed as she looked up, "You've taught Turkey to sneak into doorways, you know that?" Persia nodded as he walked over to her.

"That sword is ancient. Do you want a new one? You're going to need it. I've heard that Germania's taken a few of Scandinavia's kids as well as his own and is leading a few attacks against Rome. I'm just giving you a few headsup. I want you to reach your brothers so you can return to us in one piece, alright?" He said, removing a new sword from his waist. It was 266 and she was about to travel and then sail back to see her family.

"Sasa, I don-" Neylan put her hands up to deny it, but Persia shoved the heavy weapon into them and closed her fingers. "This better not be yours," She glared, and opened the sheath.

"It's not, and fresh from the armory. There isn't a scratch on it and it's just as strong as your Roman gar- sword," He said, tripping over his words.

Neylan raised an eyebrow, "That's weird. Over the past, what, twenty years, you've taken Roman artisans as prisoners and increased your trade from those crafters?" Her drew her attention back to the weapon in her hand and tested the edge. She didn't have to press down too far to draw blood, but the auburnette frowned nonetheless. "It's a little dull..."

Persia raised a thick-ish eyebrow, "When has that ever stopped you?" She laughed and stood up and went through a few motions.

"It's a good sword and there's something that I like about it, but I can't put my finger on it..." Neylan noted to the friend. He shrugged, and drew her into a one-armed hug.

"It'll take care of you where I can't, alright girl?"

Neylan shook her head in amusement, "What's going on with you Sasa? You're being kinda serious..."

The dark haired man shook his head in return, "I'm just worried about you, now hurry up, your horse is outside. Be careful too, there's a few rising empires, so you'll have to disappear." He kissed the crown of her head and she watched him walk out. "See you soon. The kids'll miss you if you're not back within the next 30 years!"

* * *

Neylan sighed as she galloped along the Cilica coast, " _Why couldn't I just sail_?" She had been riding for roughly three months and it was already 267. It was also the longest she had her aura hidden and normal people wouldn't be able to pick it up, so it anyone stared at her for too long, she got out of there as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she caught the attention of a tall blonde man with a stoic kid with matching hair and two other toddlers on his back. She was unaware of their presence until Anatolia, where she was sidetracked. She was halfway home.

* * *

A small child was in the middle of the road she was traveling through and there weren't any cities around for a parent to lose their child this far out. Neylan pulled the reins back and dismounted quickly. The small brunette was sitting playing with a stick in the dirt and looked at her with panic in his eyes once he heard her coming. The kid garbled in an unknown tongue and she chewed on her lip a little bit as she debated bringing her ambience back out, but brought it out after a moment of quiet contemplation. The toddler instantly brightened and reached for her. " **See, I'm alright, I'm not going to hurt you,** " She said as she picked the kid up into a comfortable hold.

" **No, but I may hurt you if you don't put the boy down,** " A gruff germanic voice said from behind her. Her teeth grit at her stupidity as she slowly brought the boy down, but he clutched onto her neck. The deep voice garbled a few words and he dropped down and ran behind her. " **Well, now I see what Rome kept blabbering about. Turn around slowly**."

Neylan held her breath as she turned around and came face to face with not only a sword but a familiar face. " **Germany**?" The man cocked his head.

" **Who**?" He asked, but the sword remained at her neck. She could tell from where she stood that it was very sharp. " **I am Germania, and I would not recommend running**." Neylan gulped and nodded, even though her fingers twitched and felt empty without a weapon in hand. " **Good. Remove your weapons, you're going to come with us. We're going to Rome**." Neylan sucked in a breath and nodded again. " **Good**."

For the next few weeks, the kids would attempt to chat with her and she picked up their gothic language. Germania had passed the child carrying to her as she walked along the horse the tall man had taken for himself. " **Ragin (1). Get ready, we're setting sail**." The girl grit her teeth and nodded. " **Is there something you want to say?** " The girl shook her head. She had held her tongue more and more often as she spent time with him. He vaguely reminded her of her early years with Persia.

" **Alright then, head down. I will meet you in a few minutes. Don't run** ," He grunted and rode off quickly.

The three kids she had come to learn were Sweden, Lithuania, and Estonia, in order of age, looked at her with varying looks. " _ **Alright let's head out, I have a slight idea what's going on, but let's hurry**_." Sweden nodded stoically and began heading to the coast as the other toddlers looked after him with a giddy look on their faces and turned back to hurt with their arms up. Neylan sighed in slight amusement as she shook her head and picked them up. "Y _ **ou two are adorable**_ ," She whispered.

Lithuania and Estonia hid their faces in her shoulders as she followed Sweden down to where he was waiting patiently. " _ **Sweden, do you know where we're going**_?" Neylan asked, trying to hide the sweet tone in her voice. Despite their appearances, they were more than old enough to be a human father at this point.

Sweden grunted, " _ **I think Greece**_." Neylan nodded shakily and boarded the ship.

" _ **Ragin, are you ok**_?" Estonia asked her with large eyes and Lithuania looked up at her as well. She ducked her head as she headed belowdeck and shee her head.

Lithuania tilted his head, " _ **What's wrong**_?"

She looked down at the wooden floor, " _ **I-I know the country we're about to invade and I'm pretty close to them. I've known them for... about 188 years."**_ The two young nations looked down in respect. _**"It's fine though, Rome will find me, I know he will. I'll see all of you in the future, except Rome and Germania and Persia, though**_ ," Netla admitted. The two toddlers nodded sleepily, probably not even hearing her.

* * *

Over the next year, Germania, with the help of various goths, ravaged and ransacked several cities in Greece, and the tall man forced her to remain on the boat, tied extensively after he returned from the first battle with the knots undone and just heading for the door. The small troupe and their armies were forced North and encountered the Roman army at the river Nessos River. For the first time since their meeting, Rome caught her eyes, even if she were chained to a tree for safe keeping. She was forced to watch as the Goths and the Romans battled it out, and the Romans began pushing the Goths back, eventually having to step over red ground and still squirming corpses until Rome managed to reach her. "Fortuna," He said, and began fumbling with the chains.

"No, go back out there. You're needed there!" Neylan shouted over the roars of the fighting and kicked him away. Rome looked shocked but nodded. Fortuna looked up the pine tree and grinned as she began attempting to shimmy up the tree. The rough bark tugged on her limbs, but years of fighting had made her skin tough. She was ok until she came to her first branch and she attempted to bring a leg over the thick limb. The auburnette had barely managed to hook a clothed leg over it when she slipped. The world was upside down as her free leg swung back and forth and she worked it over carefully and heaved herself up so she straddled the branch.

Deciding now was better than ever, Neylan began meditating, and as she entered deeper into the dark, she caught the auras Rome fighting another immortal. Traces of her own character hung around the other in the form of her two swords and dagger. Rome and who she assumed was Germania battled for sometime until something interuppted them. The two paused and Germania passed her weapons over to Rome, and he and any of the remaining men still able to amble out did so. Rome trudged back to the tree over the rough terrain and came back to the copse of trees. "Fortuna?" Neylan slowly began pulling herself out of her 'zone' and looked down at him.

"Yes?" Rome looked up in surprise and laughed joyously.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" He said with a grin.

Fortuna nodded, "About, what, 8, 9 years?" Rome nodded and carefully put her weapons down and dug into his side pouch, pulling out a key.

"Can you do it yourself?" The girl nodded and Rome carefully threw up the key. Neylan undid the chains and rubbed her chaffed wrists. "Just fall, I would never let a pretty lady hurt herself!" Rome joked as he held his arms out. Fortuna rolled her eyes as she let herself fall to the right and into the Roman's arms.

"You're crazy," Fortuna said without hestiation.

"I know, you love me for it!"

"You're right..." She trailed.

Rome looked at her with a smile. "Let's get you home, Fortuna. You want to see Roma first, right?" She nodded without saying anything, unable to trust her voice at the thought of seeing her brother after 55 years.

* * *

Rome knew she had seen enough of battle for a while, and he was pleasantly surprised she hadn't had nightmares yet, God above knew he did. He gave his daughter-figure a horse, enough provisions and directions to Romano's house and sent her off. She didn't need to see any more bloodshed for a while. Sure, he had been a bit mad that Persia wanted her back soon, but he couldn't help mentally thank him that he let the girl come home. After all, she was one of Rome and Romano's citizens!

He sighed as he looked at the small wooden wolf she had carved him and had to hold back tears. _Why did it have to be a wolf...?_

* * *

Fortuna gazed at the small house behind glassy eyes as she walked over to the home. She peeked her head in and looked around for a small child, " _Romano.._.?" She wandered in and began looking in various rooms. " _Romano? I'm home_!" She yelled louder, and walked out back. Two large peach trees stood out back and she gapped at them. _This must have been planted the year I left_... A small blob was sitting underneath the one on the left, sleeping peacefully. She grinned and made herself 'disappear', and quickly scaled the tree. Fortuna grabbed a peach nearby and dangled over her brother and dropped it.

Romano sat up quickly, " _Who-a the hell was-a that_?!" He yelled and looked up. Fortuna waved with a grin and Romano froze. " _F-Fortuna? T-This-a better not be a fucking-a joke_."

She laughed and grabbed two more peaches and dangled from a brach, offering one to him. " _Do I look like a joke? I can go change my shirt if that helps-_ " She made her ambience reappear.

Romano shook his head with teary eyes, " _N-No, just get-a your ass down-a here, Ragazza_." Fortuna nearly- no actually, she did fall out of the tree. " _You dumbass_ ," He said, hugging her quickly.

Shifting so she actually sat upright, she hugged the toddler back, " _I missed you, you little shit. It's been forever since I've heard that name_." Romano nodded into her shoulder and looked up at her.

" _What-a happened to you? I-a lost my ring and Grandpa Rome says he-a finds it years later and there's a giant fucking hole-a in it! What-a the hell?"_ Fortuna frowned and tugged one of the shoulders of her tunic off and Romano's face turns bright red, _"I-a didn't mea- WHAT- WHO-A THE FUCK DID THIS-A TO YOU_!"

She grinned, " _Some human that's dead by now. What to see something cool_?" Romano nodded suspicously. She stuck a finger into the hole as far as it could go, and after years of sewing up, it wasn't that deep, _but still, to have a hole in your shoulder and be able to wiggle it around, Romano did a pretty good job not throwing up._ He slapped at her hand.

" _Take it out, that's creepy!_ " A neighbor passing by attempted to look over the fence curiously, but shrugged it off. She laughed harder and she snorted when Romano paled at the pop! her finger made when she took it out. " _You-a bitch_!"

"Y _ou love me and you know it! Come on, here_ ," She said, passing him a peach. Romano took one and chomped on it. " _So, did you plant these? They're beautiful_!" Romano blushed and nodded. " _You have a real green thumb, these are better than those at the market._ " Her brother snorted. " _What, you know I don't lie, but those ones were too.._."

" _Yeah_..." Romano said as he settled onto her stomach into a comfier position. " _So, what's been up with you_?" Fortuna took a chunk out of the peach and chewed, taking her merry time.

" _So for the first twelve years, Persia barely spoke to me, and I stayed in my room a lot those years and_ -"

" _You stay in your room anyway,_ " Romano said carelessly, and Fortuna raised any eyebrow. " _Sorry_..." He mumbled as he sunk his teeth in again.

Fortuna nodded, " _But we had a massive fight, and I may or may not had threatened him_." Romano laughed and a moment later she joined in. The two laughed and laughed and at some point, both had tears coming down their faces. " _I'm sorry Romano, but I haven't laugh_ -"

Romano wiped his eyes, " _Just shut up Ragazza. Just shut-a up._ " Fortuna nodded and pulled him into a hug. " _I missed you, Carina_ ," He whispered. Fortuna paused at the name, but gripped him as he embraced her back.

" _I missed you too. But after I shared a few unsavory words with Sasa, he actually got some sense into me. But I got sent to the front lines and we actually became friends for one reason: we watched each other's backs on and off the battlefield. Soon, Rome managed to get me back, but the Emperor was a fucking asshole. Rome and I caught up but after the battle... I kinda... lost it at Rome. I got really really mad because of a decision he made and-"_

" _What decision_?" Romano asked, " _you-a never get mad. Even my-a definition of 'lost it' is-a miles away from yours. What got you-a so mad_?" He shifted and looked her dead in the eyes.

Fortuna clenched her jaw and looked away, " _What's ever gotten me super pissed? He did something stupid with you and Veneziano. He remo_ -"

" _Isn't Veneziano's name Italy? Why do you call him Veneziano and not Italy like everyone else? Isn't he my little brother_?" Fortuna's heart stopped and tears came pouring.

" _This is why he shouldn't have done that! The three of us used to be so close! I never called Venie Italy because you're not just Naples! You're not just Rome! You're Italy too! You're just as much as Italy as your brother! Remember four days before I came?! Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii, Italy, and it effected you, not him! I held Italia those nights, and Rome took both of your memories away from you! You two don't remember each other! He looks like me, so much so that you couldn't bear to look like him and he's one of the friendliest people who loves you, and would constantly try to hug you and comfort you, but you couldn't bear to look at your own brother, Roma! I choked Rome because you two cared about each other and Rome went and destroyed that_!" She bawled, and Romano put his forehead on hers.

" _Ragazza, stop it. Grandpa Rome loves us, and he-a probably did it because he was worried about us. If-a someone looked like me and-a hung around you when you're-a gone, wouldn't you-a hate them at-a least a little? Calm-a down, Carina_ ," He begged. She nodded and lifted her arms but they shook too much.

" _I-I can't, Roma. I can't h-help it-t. I-I've kn-nown you bot-th for ye-years! I-I..._ " She tried to spout, but she couldn't get any words out.

Romano had panic dancing behind his eyes and he didn't know how to help with his sister's panic attack. " _Carina, c-calm down_!" He yelled, and hugged as much of her neck as he could. Her shaking calmed down after a while and she took an uneasy breath in.

" _T-Thanks Roma..._ " Romano nodded as he slid down to sit against her propped knees.

 _"I have-a no idea how you-a managed to do-a that so many-a times a few-a years ago,"_ He joked lightly and Fortuna laughed lightly. _"But if you-a say I knew-a Italy-"_

" _Don't call him that. You're Italy too, dumbass_ ," She said seriously.

Romano snorted, " _Me? You're-a the one who fell out of the-a tree, Ragazza!_ "

" _Roma_!" She grinned at him. " _Well, anyway, I eventually met some of Persia's kids. They're cute, but-_ " Romano looked down and frowned, and Fortuna hooked a finger under his chin, " _-but they could never replace you. I would never do that. Ever. I swear on my ring_."

Romano's eyes widened as he looked at her fingers and the hazel gaze settled on the old thing. " _Y-You kept it? All these-a years_?"

She smiled and nodded. " _Why wouldn't I? You kept your's_."

Romano looked down, " _But I-a lost it.._." Fortuna frowned, and mentally cursed Rome in every language she knew.

" _It's fine, Roma, we all lose things from time to time. I almost lost a few things on my way over here, the gifts_?" Like any little kid, Romano's eyes lit up at the mention of presents. " _First, something I learned from Persia- A hand-carved puzzle-box! You have to open it a very specific way to open the hidden drawer. Here, let me show you_ ," She said as she pulled the medium rectangular box out and began showing him to open it. Romano repeated the action and was pleasantly surprised by how well it was done. " _I may have the creative ability of a toad, but it works, and that's all that matters_." Romano nodded in agreement.

Fortuna then looked at her old Roman sword at her waist. " _Next, it's more of an agreement. I want you to give this to someone you trust enough with it, alright_?" She unhooked the sword and passed it over. Romano looked over it and removed the sheath.

" _What-a the hell happened_?" He questioned with a mix of wonder and disgust as he looked over all the nicks and dried blood.

Fortuna's eyes clouded to a darker brown as she remembered all the blood spilt on the metal, " _War. War happened_."

* * *

Romano and Fortuna spent the next 11 years getting closer again, and she managed to teach Romano to help clean and he taught her how to cook in turn. He was actually a very good cook and she was surprised. She taught him Spanish and he taught her how to garden. But then came the 200 year anniversary, the one that Fortuna promised to go to Veneziano's. On August 24, 279 AD, they began the journey towards the mountain. Several dozen other people got to the base and a brave few began to trek the mountain, but they were quickly ushered down. Fortuna put Romano on her back as she began the hike up to the top, ignoring everyone else. The people's cries weren't heard after a while and when they reached the top, she put Romano in her lap and the two sat quietly. They sat in silence into the night and stayed awake until the late afternoon, and they assumed the same position as they walked back down. The villagers stared at them, but left them alone.

Fortuna said her " _See you laters_ ", and her " _I swear I'll be backs_ ," and left the next morning.

* * *

 **Alright, another chapter, yay! And again, thanks Qeani for helping me! Next up- Veneziano!**

 **(1)Ragin- Old Germanic or something for Advice/counsel.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm kinda proud of yesterday's chapter. Kinda not. I AM JUST 9000 WORDS AWAY FROM 50,000 WORDS BECAUSE OF LAST CHAPTER. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO PROUD. Also, I'm a little out of it and I have band camp in a few days. yay.**

 **AnonChan1: I'm sorry, but I kinda want to laugh (not really really hard though. And I may have lied), because Spain isn't coming in for a looooooooong time! I kinda hate to say that, but I have an idea already written up for it. But yeah, I'm mean and laughing because that's not going to happen for a while... Sadly.**

 **I own nothing.**

Italian (Seriously?)

 **Greek (Do I have to?)**

Flashback (Whyyyyyy?)

 _Thoughts (nuuuuu...)_

 _Note: Edited (12/3/16)_

* * *

In Fortuna's mind, it was unfair that Romano got her for 11 years and Veneziano got her for 21. She knocked on the doorway to the boy's home on a hill, "Veneziano?" A small child toddled up to her slowly and looked up at her from behind closed eyes.

"Who's-a there?" He asked in a terrified voice. The older girl blinked in confusion before she realized she had hidden herself.

She smiled lightly, "Sorry, Venie," she whispered and built the air up again. "Is that better?" The small mass threw itself at her legs and she barely caught herself before she fell. "Venie, calm do-"

"I've-a missed you, Sorellona!" He bawled and she felt her shins get wet.

Fortuna smiled sadly and carefully picked him up, wiping away his tears, "I missed you too, Venie. Let's head inside, alright? I need to tell you a few stories. And remember, I will always be your and Romano's-"

"Who's Romano?" She took a large gust of air in. She had Romano stories and some he liked, most he didn't, but now to have the other brother be completely clueless, it was almost as bad. "Isn't he-a my brother?" Fortuna pulled him into a close hug and stroked his hair as she nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, he is. And I thought I told you not to interrupt!" She smiled, releasing him a tiny bit. Veneziano laughed and threw his arms up.

"Si!" Fortuna shook her head at the Veneziano's antics and walked him in.

* * *

The two caught up quickly and Veneziano quickly fell asleep. "Crazy boy..." She muttered as she picked him up and carried him to the room she had spent several decades in. She set him down and went to the far wall and sat in the corner closest to the door. Crossing her legs, Fortuna was preparing to meditate, but something was bothering her. She opened her eyes and looked around.

Everything was just as she left it but there was something bothering her. The same thing had bothered her when she was at Romano's, but the feeling wasn't as strong. Fortuna stood up and began looking around the empty-ish room. The only two things she found that was out of place were the lock of hair that had grown thin and dusty around the base of a leg and a stack of paintings in the corner.

She sighed and ran a hand through her long locks and closed her eyes. _It has nothing to do with the things in the room maybe... Maybe it's what wasn't in the room._ Fortuna's eyes snapped open. That was it. The feeling was strong because this was the house the three of them grew up in. She was so used to having two presences here that just having one worried her! She sighed again collapsed on the bed next to Veneziano. "Good night, Venie..."

Fortuna had trouble sleeping that night.

* * *

After her 21 years, staying there, Fortuna probably cried herself to sleep more often than not, and Veneziano never found out as far as she knew. She enjoyed and loved Veneziano's presence, but sometimes... she just put on a mask. Her brother had the curiosity of a, well, child, and she told him of her travels and of his brother when she could, but she didn't know why it was so rough for her. She was happy during the day, but when Venie fell asleep, her life eventually began catching up with her. Persia's words echoed in her mind some nights as well as her resolve, but now that she had spent time with the serious brother who she told everything to, and Rome was constantly away, she couldn't really talk to anyone. It bottled up and it kinda hurt not having anyone to talk to who could understand.

She didn't dare spill to Venie because she was supposed to be the older sister who stood up to anything for them. Fortuna did one night, and it came in the form of a robber.

A small rattle that couldn't have come from the bed quickly woke Fortuna up and she turned over in her 'sleep' to reach for her sheathed Persian blade under a sheet. The burglar's breath hitched, and she heard him walk closer to the bed. She heard her brother whimper and that was the last straw for the both of adults.

A loud metallic ring zoned throughout the room and Veneziano hid behind her leg. The sword that had clashed with the person's dagger lit a tiny spark that landed harmlessly on the mattress below. A man's eyes widened as he looked over her and the large blade in her hand. "Never mind!" He yelled and tried to run out of the room. Fortuna roared and tackled the man.

"Veneziano, hide!" She yelled and kicked the robber's blade away and dragged the struggling man outside. "I don't know who you are, but you have made a very big mistake," Fortuna growled as she continued to heave the man around out front.

"I'm sorry, it'll never happen again! Please, just let me live!" The man begged. She looked down at the man and released his toga.

"Never come back here, you hear me? I just don't want my little brother to hear me kill a worm," She spat and walked back inside. "Veneziano? Are you alright?"

A flying blur crashed into her stomach and Fortuna clutched her shaking and teary brother with her swordless hand, "That-a was so scary! Are-a you alright, Sorellona?" He blabbed, trembling.

Fortuna smiled lightly as she carried him back to his bed, "Shh, the bad man's gone. I can teach you how to fight if you want when you're older!" Veneziano nodded and she held him until he finally stopped shaking. His breathing evened out and she sighed. Thank goodness she had her sword there...

Then there had been the day he decided to paint her...

Her back was ramrod straight as she smiled at Veneziano who held a paintbrush and palette with a concentrated look on his face. "I'm-a almost done!" Her eyes squinted minutely.

"That's what you said an hour ago, and then an hour before that, and an hour-"

"Sorellona!" Veneziano whined looking at her with a large pout on his face.

Fortuna didn't move much as she grinned, and was happy that the cloth she had been using worked decently to keep her teeth free of debris, but they were unfortunately still about as yellow as the sun, "Sorry, continue," she said. Veneziano nodded and resumed his work, declaring a short time later that it was done. She stood up and came to see it and was blown away. "Oh my god, Veneziano, this is beautiful!" A photograph in paint stared at her with a master's eye.

Veneziano cheered and was about to toddled off to clean his brushes. "Aren't you going to sign it?" He looked up at her confused.

"Sign it?"

She nodded and pointed to the black paint, "Yeah, so others know who painted it and can't steal it later!"

"Why-a would someone do that?" Fortuna shrugged, but Veneziano nodded and turned to the painting. With a swirl of his brush, his name stood proudly in the corner.

Fortuna shook her head lightly as she got a horse and prepared to leave to meet Persia and her other brothers. "Do you-a have everything, Sorellona?"

She grinned as she faced her brother and swung him into her arms, "Almost, but I'm missing something."

Veneziano cocked his head and he seemed to be hiding tears, "What-a would that be?" Fortuna smiled sadly and hugged him close, hooking her chin over the top of his head.

"A hug from you," She whispered and Veneziano let a few tears out. "Sh, let it all out, it's fine to, I'm here for you."

Veneziano rubbed his eyes, "Si, but I couldn't-a be there for you..."

Fortuna pulled back a tiny amount and looked at him in surprise. "You knew-"

The child nodded, "I know I'm-a not like Romano who-a you told everything-a to, but I'm not an-a idiota. I-a noticed you-a cried yourself to sleep a lot, Sorellona, but I-a didn't want to say anything... I didn't want-a you to get mad at-a me!" He bawled. Fortuna let a few tears slip as well and pulled him close.

"Shh, Venie, I wouldn't get mad at you for tell me. I didn't want to ruin the image of Sorellona, a girl who could take on anything for her brothers," She murmured, stroking his hair.

Veneziano shook his head, "You'll always-a be Sorellona, but everyone needs to-a cry every once in a while." Fortuna hummed and rocked herself back and forth.

"Veneziano, no matter what people may tell you, you pay more attention than people give you credit for. If the person cares enough, they'll you come and comfort them, but just be there for them, alright?" He nodded and released her slowly. "I have to be going now, but if I'll see you at some point, alright?" Veneziano nodded again, and wiggled his legs. "Alright, but can you open your eyes for me? I want to see them before I go."

As Fortuna placed him on the ground, wide eyes stared back at her with a glassy sheen, "I'll-a see you later, Sorellona..."

* * *

Neylan walked through streets of Pars, after eight years of drifting around the environment, trying to stay away from the Goths, and her eyes glinted in barely concealed anger as she unsheathed her blade and rested across the her lap. She closed her eyes and did something she hadn't ever done before: built up her aura so it radiated farther. She continued through the streets, occasionally stopping a stray kid here of there to ask for directions, heading in the directions they had pointed in before a parent had dragged them off. The auburnette had just turned a corner before a presence caught her attention. " **Persia**?"

The man was running down the street to greet her and practically pulled her off the horse. " **Neylan! You're back! It's been 33 years! Come on, the new prince is about to be born**!" She blinked and was carried against her will as Persia dragged her and her horse towards the building where everything was going down. " **Can you help calm the boys down?! I have to be in there**!" He asked quickly, passing the equine over to a servant.

She blinked, trying to get her head together, " **What, why do you have to be in there?! There's a woman-"** A woman's scream cut through the house, **"-going into labor!"**

Persia stopped suddenly, pinching the bridge of his nose, " **Because I just do, alright? Go find the kids**!" He turned tail and ran head first to where the woman was screaming. Neylan looked around confused and sighed, pulling herself together.

" **Turkey? Greece, Cyprus**?" She called, and closed her eyes. Four immortal ambiences popped up and she blindly began walking towards the small cluster of three.

All of a sudden, the group charged her way and she opened her eyes. Her three other brothers charged her and she squat to catch them. Turkey's arms were full of his baby brothers, but she still managed to pick him up with a grunt. " **Neylan! You're back**!"

She grinned as she nodded, " **Yep! How are you guys**?" Turkey hummed and kicked his legs. " **Oh, sorry! I haven't seen you guys in a while**!"

" **It's fine! We just missed you! These two can't talk yet, but I know they do**!" Turkey declared, bright green eyes sparkling. Her heart melted slightly as she looked at the three siblings, remembering her other brothers.

She nodded, got onto her knees and pulled them into a hug, " **I really, really missed you three. You remind me of better times...** " Turkey looked at her confused but another scream sent the two reeling. " **Let's get out of here first**."

" **Agreed**." Neylan took the two children out of Turkey's arms and let him grab the edge of her shirt to lead the way. "W **hy are you panicking? You've been through war**!"

Neylan laughed a little bit, but grimaced as another yelled ripped through the air, "B **ecause I'm not cut out for pregnancy! I'm a decent mom, or at least I hope, but-** " several wails cut through her sentence "- **that is not for me**." Turkey nodded and continued pulling on her shirt. " **How have you been**?"

" **I've been pretty good. Persia's been busy, so I've had to take care of them** ," Turkey admitted, looking back at her. Neylan nodded and twisted her hand around to ruffle his hair.

" **You've done excellent so far, and I'll help as much as I can. I have a feeling I'll be around for a long time**!" Turkey grinned and nodded.

The bright light outside welcomed their view as she heard a bellow mix in with Turkey's whoop of joy.

* * *

Shapur the Second was born in 309 in Pars, Persia, and Persia placed him under Neylan's care and guidance along with his three charges. He was groomed and played alongside Turkey, who hung around the various lessons. He blossomed quickly as the years zoomed by, and soon, it was the king's 16th birthday, and his mother and the nobles handed power back over to him. Shapur II set out soon after with a large group of soldiers, and Neylan, on the suggestion of both Emperor and Empire, rode by his side through it all. In 325, he set out to secure the borders of his empire, and he killed off much of the Arabian population and stopped up their wells.

Neylan hated turning a blind eye to all of the death, but he 'spared' many by pushing the people into the Arabian Peninsula, and relocated a few tribes, some by force, others not. She understood faintly why he was being so harsh; they had done the same to his homeland and Shapur was growing the Sasanian Empire to its height. He had a wall constructed near al-Hira to prevent further attacks, and it came to be known as the "Wall of the Arabs."

She looked at the blood that stained her sword and shook her head as she prepared to charge again. They where getting ready to charge into Nisibis for the second time and they currently didn't allow Neylan to scrub her blade clean. A messenger approached her and placed his hand on her soldier and she nodded. The man left and she sighed. "Now I know how Rome felt all those years ago with the assassination of Carcella. Humans are vicious when on a warpath..." She muttered, standing. Sheathing the blade, she headed to meet the Emperor and lead the charge. Neylan tried to ignore her silent hope she would get hurt enough to go back to her Persian family.

* * *

 **Alright, I'm not very proud of the second half, scratch that, I'm not proud. I hated the last part or two. And as I've stated, I'm a little out of it today... Or really out of it. If I've made a few characters OOC or I got something wrong, please let me know.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey, guys, against my better judgement, I'm going another chapter, but it might be a little short... Also, my mom's been watching a _lot_ of game of Thrones with me in the room, so, yay, violence!**

 **Qeani: Thanks, and I can't wait to have the two meet again!**

 **AnonChan1: LL does kinda need a therapist, but I don't think that would go very well. And I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by " a way to make it so the Super Mama Luck doesn't need to show up?" But Veneziano, yeah, he probably would feel jealous, but remember a lot of people prefer him to Romano, so at least he has Grandpa Rome a little bit, even though he's not home much. Sasa's a little frantic because Shapur the Second is about to be born, and I feel it would make sense that a nation has to be present for births of the royal family, so he has to be in the room for that, but he's picking LL up. Get what I mean?**

Middle Persian

 **Latin**

 **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**

* * *

Neylan stayed silent as she and several others snuck around the camp and sliced through various men's necks like butter. She sighed as she took out her dozenth man of the night and swung around as a sound caught her attention. A cloaked man raised his thin, but no doubt sharp, sword and she raised her own to block it. Metal clashed and almost immediately, chaos erupting around them. Armed men trickled from nearby buildings and Shapur's men charged into the village. Her head turned towards her support troops and barely managed to dodge a swing from her opponent. He growled, swinging his blade, and shouted something, but she cocked her head and blocked every attack.

She lunged, and the man's sword went flying. Neylan swung her sword again, and the man's head joined the sword in the air. "Sorry, but I have to live to see my br-" A feeling erupting across her back made her pause. It was a cool feeling, and she felt it sweep over her ribs and spine, digging in a little deeper into the former. A growl in her ear whispered something incoherently, and she almost fell, but a hand grabbed her hair just as pain blossomed and she felt blood pour from the wide gash. The hand in her locks suddenly went limp and both bodies tumbled.

A scream ripped from Neylan's throat in a similar way over two hundred years ago, and a familiar hand clamped itself over her mouth. "Shh, teacher, everything will be ok. You will be sent home for a proper burial..." Shapur said, and she felt a dagger over her heart. Neylan knew what he was going to do; Shapur did not want her to suffer, so he was going to put her out of her misery.

Neylan squirmed and managed to push him away and pain flared, but she choked back another scream. "I-I can't d-die. J-Just send me-e h-hom-me..." Shapur blinked and nodded after a moment.

"Let us get you home, Teacher," He began to pick her up and she tensed as blood dripped onto the ground in large globs. "I am sorry."

"Just g-get me to the b-" She screamed again and blacked out.

* * *

Turkey watched the horizon carefully and he turned to Greece and Cyprus sleeping and smiled. He enjoyed watching the sunrise and seeing the skies light up, and a familiar presence caught his third eye. His two visible ones opened as he ran out the door, "Persia!" He screamed and tried to find the father figure. "Persia!" The dark haired man rubbed an eye sleepily.

"Turkey? What's- oh my god," He whispered. The empire took a running start outside and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the open back of her tunic. "Neylan!" She moaned and turned her head.

"Hey, how bad is it?" Her hair was sliced just at the tips of her shoulders. Persia snorted and approached her a little slower and looked over her back. A wide gash that slid over several of her ribs, but the only tattoo it touched was the chain one, and even then, the blackness seemed to seep deep into her skin. He could see the several nicks made in her ribs and a slighter one in a few of her vertebrate. It danced diagonally across her back befroe curving at her spine, leaving a wide and deep cut about an inch and a half thick.

Persia swallowed lightly and looked into her eyes. They were a little clouded, but she seemed to hold together just fine. "It-uh, it's fine!" He laughed, scratching the back of his head. "H-How long has it b-ben like this?" The wound was well scabbed over, but it wasn't washed off yet.

Neylan hummed, "I think about... six, seven days? The first few were a blur, but... They're still a haze..." Persia nodded in understanding.

"Neylan?" Their attention turned to the child looking up at her from the foot of the horse. The rider shifted uncomfortably at the family moment. Turkey's wide eyes skimmed whatever he could, but he was too short to see the damage.

The girl smiled, "Hey, there, Turkey! How are you and your brothers?" Turkey frowned.

"What happened? You're really out of it!" As much as the small family hated to admit it, she really was.

Persia shook his head and went to remove Neylan from the lap of the rider, but she slid off and hissed. "Girl! Are you trying to hurt yourself?!"

The rider shook his head, "Sir, this is what we have done for the past week. She was very stubborn to do things this way every night. She hasn't eaten at all, only had a little water. She is crazy," he said dully.

His boss nodded, "I know, I've lived with her." Neylan stumbled to Persia and leaned against him as she grit her teeth, and Turkey's eyes widened as he caught sight of her slightly reopened wound.

The horseman nodded and prepared to ride off, "I wish you all well and her a long life." Persia nodded and lead the injured in carefully.

"Neylan, you're scaring Turkey!" Persia hissed in her ear. Her eyes sharpened as she looked back at the child. His eyes glistened lightly in worry and she smiled as she held out her hand for him to grab. Turkey nodded, silent for the first time in a while, and scampered to grasp at her hand.

Neylan smiled and ignored the feeling of her back as it burned in the open air, "I'm sorry, Turkey. I should have been more careful..."

Turkey nodded, "Of course you should have! We can't stand to see you hurt!"

"What, this tiny scratch? This is nothing compared to an incident 200 years ago!"

Turkey shook his head, "I don't care, you shouldn't let yourself get hurt!" Neylan growled down at him and the boy growled back, but both looked at Persia when he started laughing.

"You two are crazy, you're going to be close friends when you grow up!" The corner of the girl's lips twitched and she snickered. Turkey was a step behind her and soon the three were laughing happily, well until Neylan hissed in pain. "Come on, let's go get that cleaned up. Turkey, can you go make sur-"

"Sasa, can he stay and help? He needs to learn how to dress wounds. **If he's your heir, he needs to learn, because being an empire is painful. I haven't missed those times when you're in pain either.** " Turkey looked at the two confused at the strange words, and Persia relented.

He shifted his gait to be able to look at his son more clearly, "Turkey, go check on your brothers while I bring Girl to my room. Meet us in there as soon as you can."

The boy nodded and ran off, "I'll be right back, don't hurt yourself anymore!"

Neylan laughed lightly, "He's just like you, you know that?"

Persia's chest swelled with pride, "Well, I would hope so, he's a son of the best Empire currently!" She just carefully shook her head.

* * *

Hissing could be heard from the room, Turkey watching with a sick expression as Persia carefully pulled up the scab before slapping some odd and stinging cream on before it bled too much. "What the fuck is this stuff?" Neylan growled, her arms and hands tense from gripping the sheets as she lay on her stomach. Persia continued to run his filleting knife along the edge of the healing skin, peeling away the skin with an artist's hand. (1)

"Trust me, you don't want to know..." Persia trailed as he pulled another segment away, grimacing when he accidentally felt his blade make contact with one of her ribs. "Turkey, talk to Neylan so she doesn't distract me..."

"So, Turkey, has anything happened with the boys yet?" Turkey blinked as he looked over to her on the bed. His face was a little red because his sister was pretty much in front of him on a bed without a proper cover on her, but he was still considered a 'child' in nation terms. "Come over and sit by the bed, you look so awkward over there." He nodded and came over, his eyes sweeping over the older girl's back and shivered a little. "Hey, don't worry, I'm going to be fi- OW!"

"Sorry, I'm just taking the rest off, so be ready," Persia said, though he wasn't so sorry. Turkey looked back at her with wide eyes. "Hey, Turkey, like she said, she's gonna be fine," his guardian reassured, waving the knife around.

The boy looked down and sat and grasped Neylan's hand, "The human."

The adults looked at him, "What?" Neylan asked as Turkey began playing with her fingers.

"Is he dead?" Neylan closed her eyes slowly.

"Yeah, yeah he is. The Emperor killed him."

Turkey nodded darkly, "Good. He got lucky." She just nodded. Persia looked down at the two with wide eyes and then snapped himself out of his stupor.

"Well, Neylan, you're good to go! Just keep things off your back and sleep on your stomach, alright? You should be good to go in a month or two. Maybe as your status as... never mind..." Neylan was asleep and Turkey still played with her fingers, completely unaware of the world around him, if his glazed eyes were anything to go by. He kneeled in front of Turkey, "Hey, little man. She's going to be ok. She's always come back around, hasn't she?" Turkey nodded, leaning his head against the bed frame. "Why are you so quiet?"

"I don't know, but I don't like seeing her like this..."

Persia nodded in understanding, "I don't either, but you know she'll always be there for you if you really need her, so just do the same when the time comes. You'll grow big and strong, and you'll have to protect your brothers and your sister, so all we can do now is wait, alright?" Turkey nodded lightly. "Good, now off to bed, she'll be better soon, and you need to get back to being yourself. You scare her when you're like this."

* * *

 **Ok, I suck, this chapter sucks, yadda yadda yadda, but good news is is that it's around 337, and the good stuff starts around the 5t and 6th centuries and on. France and an older turkey will be showing up later, yaaaaaay...**

 **(1) So I have no idea how the Sasanians healed major injuries, but I don't think they had tweezers and scabs are actually pretty bad, so I just had Persia remove the scab carefully with something very thin and very sharp, and a filleting knife is the first thing to mind. He was also slapping on a cream because to have a wound scab over will slow the healing process.**


	18. Chapter 18

**YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Also, I'm going to make this a long ass chapter because I am just over 4000 words away from 50,000 words! I'll make a pol as well as for a romantic interest later, and I need recommendations to put up there (FanaticShipper, please help).**

 ** _But prepare for a heart attack!_**

 **Guest: That warms my heart and makes me feel like I'm actually doing something with my summer, thank you!**

 **AnonChan1: Alright, and in Shapur's defense, even though he's like, 30, right now, he was trying to give what he though was a quick death because he didn't want LL to suffer the pain of having your back sliced open. Persia will be pissed, definitely, but Rome... *mumbles*. Six to seven days, yeah, and she's been mostly sleeping, her back has been exposed to air, and it's been scabb over, and she has a fairly good immune system, bt there's one other thing that I'm going to bring up later, yay... And Persia does have a pretty big pain tolerance, seeing as he hasn't gone a few hundred years berfore the newest Empire falls and is carved out. Imagine that. Damn.**

Persian

 **Latin**

Italian

 **Spanish**

 **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**

* * *

When Neylan blinked awake, she noticed a few things. First, she wasn't on sandy ground or on the horn of the saddle, she was in a comfortable bed. Second, the back of her tunic was still sliced open and she had people on either side of her, a small hand holding her right and a large one holding her left. Her vision shifted and she had Turkey curled up nearly on top of the pillows next to her. She smiled and pushed some hair out of his face.

"He's going to need a haircut soon," Persia said, and she moved her head, ignoring how the sheets caught on her face and Persia was curled up in a nearly identical way, smiled at his charges. "How are you feeling?"

Neylan shifted her back and winced as a bit of skin stretched, "It's not as bad as before, but still hurts." He nodded and began to pull himself up.

"You barely moved it, and maybe you'll heal faster because you're not human, but whatever," He said shrugging. "I also noticed a tiny scar right here, what's with that?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow, poking a small dot over her heart. Neylan laughed and went to move her arm, but stopped again when her back stretched awkwardly.

"Yeah, about that..." Turkey shifted and Persia looked to him before his gaze flicked back to the girl. "He must have thought that I was human because he just about actually killed me with a knife to the heart because he didn't want me to suffer or some bullshit," She whispered. Persia pursed his lips and after a moment of tension her sighed and relaxed.

"I'll have a talk with him when he gets back. I've left you some clothes in your old room, why don't you go and get ready?" Neylan nodded and began pushing herself up, pursing her lips as she felt her back, for the third time that day, stretch, but she managed using her legs and pulled her shirt close all the while. She didn't blush easily, thank goodness. Her friend helped her out and left her to her peace once she made it to the hallway. "Are you going to be alright?"

She smiled at him, "Aren't I always?" She walked off, and ignored the burning stare of Persia. "I'll be fine, Sasa!" Neylan yelled over her shoulder before she turned a corner. She found her old room and smiled as she saw her old wood pile, even though it had all deteriorated into a blackened mess. A pile of orange silk sat on her bed and she lifted it up.

A light dress with a bare back, no sleeves hovered inches above the ground and she made sure no one was around before she slipped out of her ruined clothes and into the garment. It hung halfway down her calf and it left her back completely open to the elements. "What's wrong with me?" She asked, slumping down on her bed.

A small hand put itself on her leg, "Don't worry about it too much, you just went through a traumatic experience! Maybe a game of 20 squares will make you feel better!" Turkey said, grinning, but Neylan knew from his eyes that he was begging for her to play and return to normal.

Neylan grinned and nodded, grabbing his hand, "Sure, I bet I can beat you there!" Turkey's eyes relaxed and he raced off, his sister in fast pursuit.

* * *

Throughout the week, Neylan began relaxing more and more, between games with Turkey, taking care of Cyprus and Greece, napping and telling stories and cleaning her weapons. She hadn't seen Persia much, but it was beginning to bother her. Her back was healing exponentially and she noticed when she began doing a few stretches, when blood didn't make it's typical appearance and she smiled. "Girl?" Persia called, looking into her room.

She turned and grinned, "Yeah, Sasa?" He smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing, just checking up, how's your back?"

Neylan turned around and spread her shoulders as much as she could, "It's been doing amazing, I don't know what happened!"

Persia hummed, "It's looking better, and I think I know what it was." She turned around and was surprised to suddenly see him right there. "It's probably because it was caused by a human, remember this?" Careful fingers brushed over her shoulder, where a roman soldier had gotten in a lucky shot. "It healed to its full extent rather quickly, but we never knew that."

Neylan looked up at him worried, "Sasa, are you alright?" Persia smiled.

"Aren't I always? Don't scare us like that again, alright girl?" She nodded as he pulled her in for a close hug, burying his face in her hair.

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "Sasanian, what's going on with you?" Persia hummed and she paused when she felt water seep into her hair and Persia start to shake. "Oh my god, Persia..." She whispered and hugged him back. He sniffled and shook, but didn't let her go. "H-How long have you been holding this in?" He shook his head and Neylan hummed. "I'm here, just let it out." He nodded lightly and pulled her as close as he could.

"I-It scared me t-to see you like that. I k-know it scared T-Turkey too, but I've s-seen you on the battlefield. I-I've never seen y-you get h-hurt that b-bad! I-I've a-always had y-your back! The one time I-I wasn't there, and you-u could have gotten-n k-killed!" She rubbed his back and hushed him.

"Sasanian, I want you to calm down and look me in the face. I am not going anywhere. But I know whether its here, a thousand miles away or even a million, you will always have my back, and I will always have yours! No matter what, alright? Even if it's years from now and we're old and wrinkled, and the world is about to get hit by a space rock that has tiny animals that mutate shocking fast and are stopped by idiots with fucking hair products!" Persia sputtered a spitty laugh and Neylan laughed, wiping the spit out of her face. "Are you feeling better?"

He nodded and rubbed her hair, "Neylan, you're crazy... That's one reason I love you..." The auburnette's eyes widened. "Oh, no not like that!" Persia stumbled to cover his mistake. "No, nononononono! I mean as a friend!" She grinned and laughed a little.

"Persia, you're insane, you know that?" Persia grinned and wiped his eyes.

"I know, but you are too." She chuckled and pulled him into another hug.

* * *

In 359, Shapur II invaded southern Armenia, a 73 day siege which had a lot of Persian losses, and they continued on to capture Singara and Bezabde. She asked had asked if she could go back out there, but he shook his head. Neylan had nodded and gone back to letting Turkey kick her ass at 20 squares and let Greece and Cyprus play with her ever-growing hair. Her old wood-dust pile was beginning to pile again, and around her room sat dozens of peaches, pears, tulips and wolves. Her back had long since healed, but a large scar still remained. Four years later, though, the battle came to Ctesiphon, where the small family was residing for the time.

On May 29, 363, when Shapur was away, Julian the Apostate attacked the walls of the city, and that was a great mistake.

Persia was in the family room with the four others, the older two playing chess and the other two watching with intent eyes on the game, when a loud clashing caught their attention. The head of the house grit his teeth and stood up and Neylan's eyes widened. "Turkey, hurry, grab Greece, I'll get Cyprus, you three need to hide," She said, rushing and pulling the three out the door. Persia nodded his thanks, "I'll join you once they're safe. We need to watch our backs." He nodded again wordlessly and marched briskly out. She turned back to a worried Turkey.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked with wide eyes, Greece sat quietly and attentive in his arms.

Neylan tapped the top of his head, "Don't say that word, and the capital is under attack. You'll need to keep your brothers safe, alright?"

"But you say it all the time, and I'll make sure no one comes near them," The kid said. Neylan nodded and turned into her room, passing Cyprus to Turkey

"Wait here." She tore the wood shavings away from the wall and ripped the mattress off her bed. Turkey watched her work with a silent eye, peeking out into the hallway every once in a while. Grasping her sword, she drove it into the underside of the bedding and gutted enough for someone to hide underneath but not too much to change it drastically. "Come and sit on the frame, I'm going to hide you three under here. If they check here, they're being through, and that's not good. I'm leaving you my old dagger, kill anyone who isn't me or Persia, alright? I promise I'll be back," Neylan ranted and helped the boys under the mattress. Before she folded down for good, she slipped the boy her ancient blade.

Turkey reached out and grabbed her tunic, "Be careful, alright? Please come back?"

She grinned as she quickly strung her bow and attached her weapons, "Always. I'll be back soon. I promise." Turkey nodded and let her go, and she let the bedding fall. "I'll return soon."

* * *

When Neylan managed to find Persia amongst the fighting, she grit her teeth as she battled her way to him. War elephants roared in the distance and catapults made their presence known. She sliced through a man before he could take off Persia's head and he grinned. "Well, Neylan, nice to see you again under such nice- Duck!" She grinned as she did the same routine they had done years ago, fighting side-by-side as Romans laid siege to their city, and sadly, the fighting would go on for weeks, the two taking turns during the fighting to sneak back to the house to check on the boys before heading out quickly again.

On June 16, 363, Julian ordered his troops to retreat and the two imortals werea able to breath easy for a bit as they returned home. Turkey had found a better spot to hide and had carved several of toys to play with while he waited and had been relieved when the two had come back together, smiling and laughing.

Eleven days later, they were having dinner when they recieved word that the Roman Emperor who had caused them grief had died on the 26th, and Persia and Neylan had to hide their grins. He had taken a spear to the kidney, and spent his last hours in agony. The Romans were continuing in their retreat, but they were forced to a stop on the banks of the Tigris River, and the newest Roman Emperor was forced to embarressing peace terms. Rome was not present for the terms, which was probably wise, Persia wouldn't stop laughing.

Armenia would be free of Roman influence and placed under Sasanian power, and Shapur removed the king of the kingdom, placing him in the 'Castle of Oblivion'. He would later commit suicide. Persia tried to convert the area to Zoroastrianism over the years, but they remained true to Chrisitianity. She remembered vaguely from the history her mo- Liberty drilled into her head that a prince was somewhere in the kingdom. Apparently the newer Romano emperor didn't want to risk having another war breakout and had the prince assasinated in 374 AD. In Georgia, Persia had access to the eastern half, and he took over the area rather quickly, rebuilding a large city of Susa. Finally, in 376 AD, Rome and Persia signed an Armstiance to ceize fighting.

Neylan knew that 379 AD was approaching fast, and shot a quick side glance over to Persia. His eye closed in understanding as he leaned over. "Go ahead, I'll speak with Shapur, but just hurry, alright?"

She smiled, "As always, Sasa. Hopefully I'll see you again soon," she whispered. He nodded and waved her off and quickly went to speak with his boss. The short girl instantly closed her eyes and did the small trick she learned decades ago, sending out a small wave of aura out to anyone who was observant enough and then made herself disappear. Neylan silently crossed the room, no one paying the girl any mind. A dark haired man was slumped at his spot by the door caught her attention and she made her aura reappear.

Rome instantly looked up and grinned when he saw her, " **Fortuna! How are you**?" The man that looked so defeated was quickly replaced by one of charisma.

Neylan crossed her arms, **"I'm good, and I hear that Southern Italy is a good place to visit around this time of the year.** " Rome grinned and drew her into a large hug.

" **The boys will be happy to hear that you're visiting! Anything exciting happen**?" She froze and Persia caught her eye from across the room.

She swallowed and turned back to Rome, " **Other than a few good old conquests and the siege of Ctesiphon, we were fine!** " Rome choked on air for a moment, and Neylan slapped him on the back. " **Hey, are you alright**?" He winced when her hand hit his back.

Rome shook his head, " **No, but I should be asking you that! I didn't know you were there! You've heard the casualty rate there! 2500 Persians to-** "

" **To 75 Romans, I know, Persia had my back there, but you made me leave more of my brothers for a longer time, but other than that, we're fine Rome, what about you?** "

Rome laughed breathily, " **To quote a citizen of mine long ago, 'Rome has grown since its humble beginnings that it is now overwhelmed by its own greatness'. Titus Livius said that a few hundred years ago, and it's stuck in my mind, and I'm afraid I'm in my decline right now, Fortuna. Germania is constantly invading my home, Persia hasn't been helping, so this is a godsend from he himself, and I've been split in two too many times, Fortuna. I'm not going to last much longer**." Neylan looked down and nodded. " **I had it coming though, I grew too large in a rough time. But promise me one thing**?"

" **Yeah**?" She asked looking up. Rome smiled down at her, brushing a stray piece of hair out of the way.

" **Keep an eye on the boys for me. For Persia too. I don't know if he'll last, but I don't want our descendants fighting too much and destroying themselves like we did. They don't need that...** " Rome trailed, pulling her into a hug. " **You told me centuries ago to make the most of my time, and I'm almost afraid I tried too hard, but I know you'll keep an eye on Romano and Veneziano, right**?" He grinned, pulling back to look at her.

Neylan smiled back, " **I'll try my best, yeah! Right now, I just really need to go see the boys. Have they reunited yet**?" Rome's smiled fell, then brightened.

"No, but I'm still giving them some time." Neylan nodded in understanding. The two shared another few laughs and they left soon after the armistice was signed. Persia smiled as they left, but he brightened when his Lady Luck turned and waved back to him. When her back turned, a few tears slipped from his eyes unnoticed.

* * *

It was August 23 of 379 AD, and she rushed to make it in time for her to meet up with Romano in time. The sun was beginning to set and she ran inside. "Romano? Romano, are you here?" The boy walked out, rubbing his eye.

"Si, si, here-a I a-" He paused once he realized who was speaking. "Fortuna? H-How are you-a still alive?" The girl froze. The ring. She forgot about the ring.

"Romano, I'm fin-"

"Don't-a lie to me! That wasn't just a small scratch! You can almost look-a through that dent! What-a the hell happened?" Romano yelled, balling his fists. Fortuna looked down, forcing her eyes shut. "Well?"

She sighed, "I made a mistake. I went into battle without someone to watch my back." Romano sighed, relaxing his body.

"I'm-a sorry, Ragazza. I-I just got really worried, but I didn't get any word from-a you..." Fortuna smiled and nodded.

"I understand. Come here and give me a hug, I've missed you, Roma." He laughed lightly and lunged. His head butted into her stomach. "Romano, if a person can withstand this everyday, keep them close," She laughed, bundling him up into her arms.

Romano's face flushed, "S-Shut up, Ragazza!" The girl continued to laugh, even when he beat on her shoulder.

Fortuna ruffled his hair, ever careful of his curl, "Come on Romano, we have a huge trek tomorrow, we need some rest. Will you stop fussing if I show you what scared you so much?" Romano paused and seemed to weigh his options.

"Where is it?"

Fortuna laughed soundlessly quickly, "All over my back. Maybe some other day." Romano nodded, and the two crawled into bed. Romano curled up at her side into a little ball.

" **Do you remember**?" She looked at Romano in surprise.

" **You remember**?!"

Romano shifted his head look her in the eye, " **Why would I forget? I've got nothing better to do than go over this shitty language**!"

Fortuna sighed and nodded, "Fine, but can I let you in on a secret?" Romano nodded, "We're the only two who speak Spanish right now. In the future, it's a widely used language." Romano shifted his head to process the information quietly.

"Why-a did you teach it to-a me?" The girl shrugged and he finally settled down. "Thanks, bitch."

She grinned, "Goodnight ya little shit." Romano threw out a fist and slammed it into her stomach. "You gotta work on that. Isn't as strong as it could be. I'll show you in a few days." He nodded, closed his eyes, and Fortuna followed suit.

* * *

The next morning was a quiet one as it passed in a very similar manner to its predecessor and the two collected a peach for the trek ahead. Juice ran down both their chins as Romano clung to her back and she began walking to the mountain. More people were there at midday when the two arrived and several men joined her at the top of the mountain, a few hitting on her but most got discouraged by her silence. One dick face, though, was not.

To break a bit of the unspoken wall, one must understand what this poor man looked like, to be so stubborn and idiotic to pursue our dearest Lady Luck with Romano by her side. Some may picture a huge hulk of a man with the pudgy chihuahua of a friend who is nothing without the hulk, or some may find a scrawny man with a nasally voice (A/N: none of these are meant to offend and are simply here for comedy.), but not this fool. He was a beautiful man with a strong jaw, chiseled arms that many a woman would probably swoon over, and a smile so bright, she was tempted to ask him where his time machine was so he could get his toothpaste.

" **My Lady, may I ask you what pains you so**?" His voice was like thick chocolate, deep and rich. The girl didn't even spare him a glance, but squeezed Romano's hand in a silent prayer that the dumbass would go away. " **Might I say that it is a beautiful day, but it's preciousness is nothing compared to your own**." If it had been any other day, literally any other, the two would have kicked his ass right away. " **May I ask where your husband is, so I may ask him if he would be willing to strike up an agreement for your hand**!"

Fortuna still said nothing, but the way Romano was gripping her hand, he was going to soon. " **Even your deafness makes me wish to-** "

" **Even your stupidity makes me wish that I had my dagger right now so I could cut off your small balls and shove them down your throat with one hand and choke you slowly with the other. Do you have any idea what today is**?" She asked, looking up at him.

The man frowned, but slid a smile on instead as some of his buddies got the rest of the men's attention to watch the display. "Fortuna..." Romano whispered with a hidden warning.

She looked at him with a smile, "Don't worry, I left my good blade at home. I might have borrowed a knife from the kitchen and strapped it to my ankle though."

Her brother grinned, "Go get-a that asshole, bitch."

"Gladly, you little bastard." The man had no idea what they were saying, but the moment she pulled a small, thin double-edged blade out, he smiled, flaring his arms out.

" **What are you going to do, my dear? Make me dinner**?"

Fortuna growled, "Romano. Close your eyes. Do not open them until I tell you, understand?" Romano blinked. He knew, from stories from his grandfather, that his sister was very scary on the battlefield, but this was his first time seeing it, and he wasn't even facing her in the fight. Her posture was tense, ready to spring at any moment, the blade held with the expertise of a seasoned warrior. The dumbass might have called her deaf, but _damn_ , was he _blind_.

"I-a promise, Sorellona." His world went dark as he closed his eyes, even as he heard liquid splash and the other men shouting.

" **C-Crazy bitch**!"

" **Get that knife away fro-** "

" **Run**!"

All sound ceased but the sound of Fortuna grunting and something rolling away several times. "Alright, I'm sorry you had to hear that. You can open your eyes, Roma." The girl in front of him was smiling pleasantly, twirling the knife in her hand, and she had several blood splatters all over her. The men were nowhere in sight.

"Ragazza, what-a the hell just-a happened?" She sighed and threw the knife into the pit that was the currently inactive volcano.

"That was a side of me that I never want you to see, Roma. It's kept me alive so far, but I'm not proud of it." Romano looked down and nodded. "Thank you for not opening your eyes."

Romano raised an eyebrow, "How do you-a know I didn't?"

Fortuna took her place next to him, spitting into a clean patch of cloth from her shoulder, "You're not running for the hills. Roma?" He hummed, staring down into the death pit. "Don't ever make me fight against you, please."

"I'll try, Carina. I'm-a not going to-a make any promises I can't keep." Fortuna closed her eyes and pulled Romano into a hug.

"I know, Roma. I know..."

* * *

 **And another shit chapter. And Anon, that's something I like to say. And sorry for all the seriousness, but we'll be moving on soon~! Yay~! And also, she had to kill all of them because as soon as she lunged, Sir dickface would have drawn his own blade, and his friends would have come to help him.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I hit the 50,000 word mark last chapter, and I'm really happy!**

 **AnonChan1: I'm comfortable for her to be with almost anyone, kinda except America, Greece and Cyprus in the future. And Don't worry about Shapur, he's dead already. He dies in 379, from what, I don't know currently, but he died. And LL is pretty used to getting hurt by now, and when someone's in pain and recovering, the thing most do is sleep. The 'thing' is is that Lady Luck is an immortal who can't be damaged by mortals. Any injuries that have taken a while to heal are either caused by any clumsiness that she has or by another country. And in all honesty, I don't even know if I'm going to have her meet up with Persia again! But Turkey will be popping up again in a rather... uh... you'll see... And yeah, Rome and Venie don't know, it's long healed, but the scar will always be there. As for the curl... Thank you~! I had been considering it, but maybeeeeee~! I'll make sure it becomes clear later on! And yeah, those guys are dead and down a mountain. And remember in season one when Spain was really really down and telling Venie to make the most of life before things went sour? :D And I just like saying my chapters are shit! They're not, but I like saying that so I can feel alright brushing off a new chapter...**

 **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**

* * *

The climb down the next day was awkward, with Fortuna still covered in blood, but they managed not to attract too much attention. Romano was yelling in her ear again on the 26th, mostly how she had needed to throw the bodies over the edge of the mountain. She smiled and shook her head, and Romano ended up falling asleep again. "Good night, Roma. Things are gonna get rough..." He made no indication he heard and the two continued the small journey.

She smiled as she entered the home and set the small boy on the bed as she grabbed a fresh change of clothes and set off for her bath. Fortuna stepped into the baths and pulled the clothes off, ignoring the feeling of dried blood tugged stubbornly at her skin before tearing off. Skipping the exercise room completely, she all but jumped into the water. The auburnette sighed as the warm warm seeped into her pores and she scrubbed to remove the red stains. Running a hand along her shoulder, she looked at the still-massive hole in it. Digging a finger in, her face scrunched in disgust at the small flecks that came with it as it come out, "Ewww..." She grabbed her washcloth and began scrapping all the grim she could off.

Fortuna got out not long after and threw on her clothes, but misjudged what she grabbed. It was a normal stolla, but the back was a little lower than anything she's worn in Italy. It cut off just above the tallest part of her back scar, and she was still a little uneasy about it, but her eyelids refused to co-operate, and she ended up toddling to bed and collapsing. Staying up for two days straight, hiking up a mountain and killing a few assholes did that to a person.

* * *

Romano woke up before she did the next morning, rubbing his eyes. His stomach grumbled, "Bitch, wake up," he said, pushing his sister's shoulder. Fortuna groaned and turned over. He blinked when he saw the back of her tunic and her tattoos standing out in the early morning rays, as well as the scar. Romano shifted closer to her and pulled the backless stolla down as much as he was comfortable with. From what he saw, the scar was a thick pink line that clashed against her tan complexion and it disappeared under the shirt, more than he was willing to go.

"You could have asked, Roma," Fortuna said.

"Shit!" He yelled, and almost fell off the bed, but she lunged and caught him. "Don't scare-a me like that!"

Fortuna laughed, "Sorry, Roma! I'm just so used to you jumping on me to wake me up!" Romano grumbled and wormed his way out of her hold.

"Come on, Ragazza, it's breakfast time!" The auburnette laughed again and nodded, slipping off the bed. Following him into the kitchen, she blinked as he began whipping something up.

"Have there been any more fires?" Once or twice, Romano would leave and Rome would figure it would be a good idea to throw a large amount of wine into the mixture, and as a lot of people know, alcohol and fire don't mix, resulting in a huge fire.

Romano shook his head as he continued working his magic, "No, and I still-a have no fucking clue how that-a happened." Fortuna huffed smiling, and put her head in her arms and closed her eyes. It couldn't hurt.

* * *

Fortuna swam in an ocean of green and white that seemed never ending. She was able to lay on her back, so she was trying to find if there was a sun, but the only colors she saw where green and white... and was that grey? She blink and it was gone, but another streak danced in her view. She swam towards it, but it disappeared before she could reach it. "Where am I?"

A dash of shiny bronze swam by, and continued to swirl around her. "Hey, Bella, are you-a alright?"

Fortuna's eyebrows scrunched, _those words..._

Amber flew by, joining the predecessor, "Who are you, miss?" _...sounded..._

Another vein popped up, this time a radiant gold, "Y-You're not-a here with Grandpa Rome?" _...familiar..._

Warm brown sailed through, "China greets you, Romans." Fortuna's eyes widened, the pieces falling in place. Those were the first words the countries she met said to her since she came here...

A near black-shade of brown danced around her, "I'm going to have to teach you greek, girl." _Sasa..._

"What's wrong miss?" Fortuna whirled to see a friendly green float by.

She waited for the other nations to pop up but they never did. "What the hell?"

Rome's color faded to black, "They remember you at least! They remember their big sister!"

Veneziano's color followed suit, "I-I-a don't w-want you to-a leave!"

"No."

"Then why did you-a stay away for 33 years?" Gold rusted to nothingness.

"Stop it."

"No amount of luck can change that!" Brown faded.

"No. Please, stop."

"You're just my lucky charm!"

"That's not true!"

"Are you leaving?"

"I had to! I can't leave my boys alone! Shut up!"

She was floating in black and a worm of the ink shot towards her stomach. Fortuna cried out, grasping her stomach and a larger mass assaulted her side. Several old faces appeared, all twisted in the final agonies of death that she put them through. "Stop it!" The assaults stopped, but various words didn't. They all blurred together as her old name haunted her.

" _Carina_ ~"

"Carina!"

" _ **Carina**_..."

" _Carina_?"

 ** _"Carina!"_**

A final slap to the face finally dragged Fortuna back to the world of the living and three things were obvious:

One: it was hours from when she had fallen unconscious.

Two: she was crying and her face stung.

Three: Romano had been crying as well and his hand was raised.

"R-Romano..." She choked out as she continued to bawl. "T-They won't-t leave m-me a-alone!" The sobbing girl choked, curling in on herself.

"Carina-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"NO. YOUR NAME IS-A CARINA AMALIA BREWSTER, AND-A YOU'RE RUNNING. STOP IT!"

"SHUT UP, I'M JUST A LUCKY CHARM, NOTHING MORE!"

"BULLSHIT, YOU'RE-A MORE THAN THAT," Romano shouted, placing his forehead on hers.

"You're-a not the girl I-a grew up with..." He whimpered. Fortuna sniffed, pulling him into a hug.

"I'm almost 320 years old, and I just had my first nightmare in years, Roma."

Romano shook his head, "That wasn't a nightmare, Ragazza. Grandpa Rome calls-a them night terrors. You-a scream and thrash, and Nonno says he-a sees his past and his mistakes and his-a worst fears..."

She nodded, "Yeah, sounds about right... I have no idea what caused it, it's actually the first dream I've had in a hundred years."

Romano curled into a ball close to her, "I-a tried to wake you up, but it didn't-a work."

"I felt that... If that doesn't wake someone up, Roma, get help, alright?" He looked up her and nodded. "Come on, let's get some food, I bet you're hungry!" Romano snorted and nodded.

"Whatever. The-a nut tarts are-a done by the-a way, He grumbled, clinging to her neck. "Let's-a go get some food."

Dinner was a quiet affair and the ended up playing some Morra and compared the Spanish language to Italian one. They laughed at them and ended up crashing for the rest of the night peacefully.

* * *

She stayed with Romano as Theodosius I raged his way defending Roman's final stances against Goths. Fortuna swallowed thickly as 395 approached. "Romano? I have to go soon. Someone else needs me right now..."

Romano paused mid-chomp into the peach and looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "Alright. When will you-a be leaving?"

Fortuna looked at him then stared intently at a peach from one of the two trees out back, "I don't know, but Roma? I am really sorry, the Roman Empire, rather the western part falls in 476 AD." He closed his eyes as he nodded, and she patted his back before turning away. He needed his space, but someone could be there for him. Romano leaned his back against hers.

"He doesn't have-a long, then. Get-a going, but remember-"

"Never forget," She cut him off. Romano nodded and stood up. Fortuna looked at him in concern until he plopped down in her lap. "Take care of yourself and find Veneziano. You two are going to need each other. Don't be too hard on him. And you remember-"

"You'll always come-a back. You-a better," Romano said gruffly, shrinking into her stomach. Fortuna stroked his hair and smiled. "Hey, Ragazza, when's your-a birthday?"

She laughed, "What brought this on?" Romano grumbled, "Well, it's on September 21. Why?"

"None of your-a damn business," He spat. Fortuna shook her head and continued to pet his hair.

* * *

It was difficult getting to Ireland, but Fortuna's years of sailing had not escaped her. She managed to get a ride from a crew heading back with a man with a large fever. The other crew had been looking for help, and she snagged the chance. The Irishmen were friendly and lively and more than once she caught herself laughing along to the long tales they told as they sailed. They told her of the king Niall's reign and how he seemed like a good king so far.

She just hoped the sailors were telling the truth.

* * *

 **Another chapter done, and I have two people to thank~! Qeani for providing me with information for the next arc/10 or so years and then AnonChan1 for proofreading this chapter! Guys, seriously, I have no idea what I would do without you two, you guys are my biggest supporters so far, so thank you both, and anyone who has read my story and made it this far, thank you!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, guys! Sorry about the last chapter, it wasn't very long... And guys? Please, if anyone does manage to read this far, please say thanks to Qeani and AnonChan1 for filling in holes and providing ideas to the story. Reviews:**

 **AnonChan1: Alright! And Chibi!Romano is really cute, and I'm going to miss it when he can't curl up into her lap anymore! And they do deal with him in similar ways, but sometimes I wonder if Spain... ever just... tries to understand him and trust him. Like with the German soldiers when Roma attacks them and Spain scolds him with no idea why he did it. I do like that Spain comes to trust Roma though. And Roma does get some guidance with his punches and headbutts over time. And a country-specialized therapist? I'm pretty sure that's Lady Liberty! And maybe, but that's for the future. There's also a fun date attached to September 21! It's international peace day! And yep, she's in Ireland, but she has yet to meet those two because they haven't been born yet! They will be soon!**

 **Qeani: Thank you and I hope it keeps coming along smoothly!**

Latin

 **Primitive** **Irish**

 **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**

* * *

Fortuna smiled as she breathed in the fresh air, it being different from the smell of the sea. "Thanks again!" She called to the Irish sailors who helped her from the Western Roman Empire to the near solitary island of Ireland. The men grinned and waved, shouting goodbyes. They had been kind enough to 'lend' her a set of clothes, a long sleeved, woolen tunic and a cloak with a brooch and belt. She might have slipped them a few coins and they were happy to share.

The men at the dock paid her little mind as she watched down to the village, but she quickly realized she was at a disadvantage and she had no idea how to speak any form of ancient Irish. The men had taught her a little bit, but not too much, and it was mostly, " **Hi, I'm from Rome** ," and a few other phrases. She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword to comfort herself. She could do this.

A shout from her right and the sound of pounding hooves caught her attention and she looked over in horror to see a large cattle bull charging her way. Normally, she would have sidestepped and killed it, but it wasn't Kansas anymore, so the auburnette was forced to play by new rules. It continued on its warpath and she watched as it almost passed by her when she saw a small child fall as he tried to run from the angry bovine.

"Oh my god," Slipped from her lips as she dove for the kid and covered him if the bull came too close. It huffed and turned minutely, but still stepped on the underside of her foot. A small crack could be heard and Fortuna grit her teeth as a few of her toes cracked. "Lovely..." The cow continued on its way, the Shepard not far behind.

Fortuna sat up and helped the kid do so as well, and a redhead with thick braids ran up to them, garbling 'nonsense'. She shook her head, "What? I'm sorry, I don't speak...?"

The woman nodded, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Thank ye for saving Attie. His name might mean strong as a bear, but he only has the hair o' one, sadly." Her thick accent made it a little hard to understand, but Fortuna nodded and looked around.

"You're welcome, but I have several little brothers and I would do the same to protect them. And thank you for speaking Latin, I feel like I'm at a disadvantage here, though. I've yet to learn this language... Could you point out somewhere where I could stay for a while? I'm going to be living here for a while, I think."

The woman hummed, picking up the small child, 'Attie', and offered a hand to Fortuna, "You are more than welcome to stay with me an' Attie. If ye 'elp with the housework an' raising Attie, our home is your home. What's yer name?"

She smiled, "I've taken a habit of having others name me, could you do the same, miss...?"

The redhead's eyes widened, "Oh, pardon me! I'm Eryn! And ye seem like a good person... Why not Alma?" Alma smiled and took Eryn's hand, standing up. Her broken toes ached and begged to be reset, but she couldn't fix it right now. Most of the marketplace had gone back to its business and simply passed them by. "Come on, let's show ye home then. Do ye know 'ow te 'andle an ax?"

Alma grinned, "How much?"

* * *

The steady thud of an ax made Eryn smile as she made stew. Attie was sitting nearby, playing with small straw figures. A large pause made Eryn look toward the door and the sheer amount of wood the newcomer brought in made her nearly drop her knife. "Dear god, Alma! I've seen strong men lift less an tha'! Wha' kinda life did ye lead befo'e ye came 'ere?!"

The odd girl shrugged, finding the old wood pile and began stacking it next to the roaring hearth, "It was an odd one, that's for sure. I've had to fight a lot, and I have more than my fair share of scars, Eryn," she said cryptically. Alma grabbed three small blocks from some hidden recess in the pile, showing her sword as she also removed a small dagger from her side. Eryn paused, watching her as Alma began carving the first of the palm-sized blocks.

"Wha' are ye doing with a swor' like tha'?" Alma looked up at the sudden question.

"What?"

Eryn waved the sharp knife around, "Tha' one, the one by yer waist. I've never seen anythin' like it."

The girl nodded and unstrapped the sword, "Yeah, I spent a little bit of time in Per- the Sasanian Empire. The family I stay with were close friends of mine and let me stay there for a while." Her hostess nodded and went back to her cooking.

"Do ye know how te use it?" She asked over her shoulder.

Alma grinned, "Yep! I'm been swinging weapons and shooting arrows for a long time!"

The 'older' woman smiled, "Would ye mind teachin' Attie when he's a wee bi' older? He's a tiny thin' now, bu' I wan' 'im to live te be as big as 'is name is!"

Sheathing her sword and picking up her woodcarving materials again, Alma nodded, "Sure. I do better with outdoor work like that... I can cook a few basic dishes, and my brother tried to teach me, but household work..." The face she made made Attie laugh and Eryn bellow. "May I ask where Attie's father is?"

Eryn smiled, "He's a sailor and 'e's also the reason I can speak Latin. An' ye still need te learn te speak gaeilge! Do ye want te start now?"

With another stroke of her dagger, Alma nodded, "Sure!"

* * *

Eryn was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Alma was picking up Gaeilge and how well Attie had taken to her. The three would be going out today so Alma could learn which berries were good or not. The clan had been fine with her staying, as long as she kept herself in check and helped Eryn around the house. She cast a sideways glance at the redhead who held Attie's hand. Their relationship was close to brother and sister, and her past relationships with brothers shown through easily. "Alma, where are ye brothers now?"

She looked over, startled, "They've grown up enough to keep house by themselves. And while they're not my blood brothers, I love them as such." Eryn nodded and pulled her over to teach her the differences in edible plants and poisonous ones.

As the sun began to set, they began to head home, and Alma picked up a large straight stick, "For Attie," Alma had said, looking at the five-year-old in her arms, who smiled at her. Eryn shrugged as she carried a basket heavy with forage. They continued on and made it home soon and Alma stayed outside to do something with the stick. "Can I have Attie stay out here for a while?"

"Why?" Eryn asked, shifting the basket in her arms.

Pointing to a medium-sized rock next to the house, Alma began to explain, "Strength isn't gained in a day. If he carries that rock around for a while, he'll get strong enough to carry it with ease and then we'll move to a heavier one. I want to help him as early as possible so I can help him as he gets older."

Eryn pursed her lips in thought. On one hand, Attie would get stronger, but on the other, someone else was raising her only child, but then again, fostering wasn't so weird and he would be just outside, so she nodded. "I'll call ye two in fer dinner in a wee bi'." Alma grinned and nodded.

" **Attie? You go get rock for me**?" She asked as she placed the small boy down. The redhead nodded and toddled off and picked it up with some difficulty, bringing it back to his 'sister' and dropping it at her feet.

" **Good**?" He asked, smiling at her, showing missing teeth.

Alma shook her head and pointed at a tree not far from the house, " **Take rock to tree. Come back. Do it again after.** "

Eryn smiled as she watched her son nod eagerly and pick up the rock, and quickly headed inside. When she called them in a while after, Attie's arms hung at his sides, clearly exhausted, but both were grinning, "Alri' you two. Dinner, c'mon." Alma ruffled his hair and Attie squawked, but couldn't do much to stop her.

"Qui' i'!" He yelled, knocking his head weakly against her hip. The girl froze and Eryn raised an eyebrow.

"Alma?"

Said girl shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm not very hungry. May I just go to bed?"

Eryn shook her head, "Girl, ye can't jus' excuse yerself because Attie hi' yer hip! Ye ain't gonna run!" Alma huffed and broke eye contact, smiling.

"You guys just reminded my of one of my brothers, that's all. He actually once said almost the exact same thing... a long time ago..."

The mother looked down, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Ye can 'ead te-"

Alma shook her head, "Nah, it's fine. You're right."

That night, Eryn noticed her guest tossed and turned that night. "Roma... Venie..." She had seen the scars on the girl on occasion, catching a glance at her shoulder every once in a while, but didn't question it.

* * *

Over the next year, the small family was proud to say that the six year old was a lot stronger, but Eryn's husband had finally come home. Alma was outside teaching Attie how to sword fight with a pair of carved wooden swords and Eryn was sitting outside, watching them while patching up a tear from the girl's dress. A tall, beefy man walked up to the thatched house, his beard hanging proudly halfway down his chest. "Woman! What is goin' on?" He bellowed, dropping his sack and drawing his thick sword. Alma looked at him and dug her wooden sword into the ground and her hand disappeared under her cloak to place a hand on her new sword.

The clan had a skirmish with a neighbor and she had gone to help. The men had laughed lightly, but they knew she was capable, and when it was taken care of, they let her keep the blade.

Eryn jumped and stood, " **Donald! You're home**!" The man grunted and pushed past her to look in Alma's face. The mother was worried, Donald was a violent man, and Alma barely blinked.

" **Who are ye**?" The large man growled in her face.

Alma blinked, " **I'm Alma, nice to meet you. You're Eryn's husband**?"

Donald nodded, " **Aye. Let me rephrase. What are ye doin' he'e**?"

" **I've been helping out a bit. Ask around, I have done nothing wrong** ," She stated and grabbed the wooden sword out of the ground, facing the six-year-old. " **Attie, again**."

Donald grabbed her none-sword arm, " **What are ye doin' wi' my son**?"

She shot him a look as she repeated the order, " **Attie, attack.** " The small boy roared as he charged. Alma wrenched her arm out of the sailor's grip and began to 'duel' the boy. " **You can do better than that! You gotta be quick**!" She yelled at the boy and dodged as a thick hand reached for her. " **Sir, I'm teaching your son to live up to his name, so if you'll excuse me**."

" **You'll do no such thin'** ," Donald roared.

A neighbor came by with a few friends, " **Hey, Donald! Leave 'er alone! She's done nothin' wrong**!"

He growled and grabbed for Alma again, but she smacked his hand away with the flat edge of the stick, " **She's brainwashed you lot!** " He roared, brandishing his iron blade.

" **You daft idiot! Alma's taught yer kid to be stronger, but-** " A blonde man approached them, but Alma shook her head at him.

She grinned, " **Noland, leave him be. If he wants a fight, he'll get one."** The lady drew her blade.

 **"Swing first, if you dare**."

* * *

 **Aaaaand weird cliff hanger!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Well, today's rather slow...**

 **AnonChan1: I have a small scene where the men of the village kinda get together and summarize the past year she's been with them. And she eventually did get her toes set when she had to start chopping logs, so nothing too bad! And her's the thing, thank god for the websites (just add a dot com) Babble and Behindthename for these guys's names. Eryn means peace, Attie means strength of a bear (guess who'll be getting that nickname!), Noland means noble/famous, and Donald means Ruler of all, so if a person's not canon, I usually go there for names, and I intend to have a meaning behind each one! Oh, and Alma means good! And she would fight some of the men in the village just to mess with them and I could never forget those guys! And yes, aaaaaall the bros! And I think that as time goes on, a few nations don't have to study languages ver much because their citizens know the languages (I loved that US headcanon (I'm trash :P)). And LL has had to learn very quickly, and she's taught her brothers to do stuff too, so she'd have a basic idea! And his pride will be crushed, but not as bad as when the village realizes he tried to kill her!**

 **Latin**

Primitive Irish

Note: Edited (12/3/16)

* * *

Donald snarled showing his yellow teeth, and he charged. Alma grinned and parried the harsh blow and sidestepped, "You remind me of a few Roman soldiers I've taken down. Have you ever fought a Roman, Donald?" The man growled as he seemed to swing his blade wildly, but she knew better, sidestepping where she couldn't block.

"Stop moving," The man snarled, pushing forward, causing Alma to grin.

"Oh, I haven't had this much fun in a while, **you fucking ass**." The vein in Donald's forehead bulged and he roared.

Eryn's eyes watched in little horror as she saw her husband fight the woman who had taken a spot in Attie's life, "Alma, don' kill 'im!"

Donald's eyes flashed over to her, as he turned, "Bitch, you should worry about me killin' 'er! No' the other wa' 'round!" The woman shrunk but said nothing more.

A sword's broadside hit him on the side of the head, "Don't talk to Eryn like that, you angry pig!" The sailor took a wild swing to try and take off her head as he lurched in the other direction.

"Fucking squirrel, stop moving!" Alma grinned, eyes flashing as she swung at the hand holding the sword. The man's eyes widened as an edge caught right under the hilt of his and knocked it out of his hands.

"Donald, calm down," She stated as she kept her sword raised. Donald grit his teeth and turned around. Attie stood next to his mother, gripping her tunic in one hand and his sword in another.

Eryn's dark green eyes silently begged him to calm down. Attie smiled and waved at his father. "Boy. Come o'er he'e an' strike me. Let's see 'ow this bitch 'as done in my place." The boy's light blue eyes darted to the right and Donald saw the girl nod out the corner of his vision. "I didn' ask you, girl," He growled quietly. "Boy! Attack!"

Attie nodded, readjusting his grip and charged. Donald snorted until his boy skidded to the left out of nowhere and stumbled lightly when the wooden sword crashed into the back of his knees. Using the slight distraction, the boy struck his father on the side of the ribs when the goliath's arms were up to steady himself. Donald growled lightly with a small smile on his face and he turned to go after the boy. A sword met his chest right under Donald's breastbone as a squeaky voice chirped out, "Yield."

Donald laughed, "I yield, boy. Put down the sword and come give yer ol' man a hug!" A large smile lit up across Attie's face as he put the toy sword down carefully and leapt int his father's arms.

"Papa!" Alma smiled and picked up Donald's sword, swiping the dirt off on the bottom and waited for their moment to be over.

The father's grin matched his son's, "Well, done Attie! Whe'e'd ye learn te fight like tha'? Di' the Cummins finally teach ye?"

Attie shook his head, "No, Ally taugh' me! She fough' wi' te men in town to defen' agains' te neighbors! She's hel' me git strong!" The boy's vocabulary was doing very well, he was a fast learner.

Donald snorted, "Yer lyin'."

The blonde man from earlier came up, "No, he's no'! Come down fer some drinks and you'll get caugh' up (1)!" Noland slapped Donald on the back and the men laughed. Donald set Attie on the ground, ruffled his hair and prepared to walk off with his drinking buddy.

"Go back te where ye came fr'm, girl," He growled in Alma's ear.

She snorted, "Don't forget your sword, ass." Donald swung around.

"What?" Alma held up his blade. "Don' touch my sword, girl." The auburnette shrugged as Donald wrenched the weapon from her. "Eryn, pick my stuff up. Nol, let's go."

* * *

Donald got several cheers as he walked into the building, "Hey! Donald!" He grinned as he waved a hand and a mug of alcohol made it his way. "Have ye met te new gurl ye'?" Some random guys shouted and a few more cheers rose up.

"Why are ye lot cheerin' fer tha' bitch?" A silence stretched over the pub.

"Wha'?"

The man waved his mug around, "I mean, wha's the big deal? She's brainwash'd ye!" Shout came from around the bar and a pounding staff quieted them down.

"Alma 'as done nothin' bu' help out 'round the clan. She hel'd Aodh build 'is house. She's been teachin' Conall 'ow te figh' properly! Alma hel'd defend us! She saved yer Attie!" The clan leader said. Donald blinked.

"Grandfa-"

"Donald. Nothin' but good has 'appened since she arrived. If ye scare 'er off, Attie loses a sis'er and Eryn loses on' too."

Noland snorted, "He fough' her. She only disarmed 'im!" Laughs went around the room as many of the drinkers raised their glasses.

"Ye got lucky, Donald. She killed more people than Berach!" Donald laughed, Berach had the highest kill count in any battle! "Eh, none o' this matters anway. She's headin' north. She wants te join Niall in 'is conquest an' leavin' in two weeks."

The man raised his glass, "Praises te tha'!"

"Really? I know dozens of ways to kill you, but the only reason I'm not is because Eryn asked me to. And I'm leaving tomorrow, I need to get a heads up on this. Conall will take over teaching Attie and Eryn will have more time with Attie. I'm just here to tell you guys. I'm going to miss you all and look after those two. Remove Donald's hands if he ever raises a hand to either of them for me, alright?" Alma was leaning against a far wall with her arms crossed underneath her cloak.

The clan leader pounded his staff, "Ye got it gurl. Go ahead and take one o my steeds and this." Raising her hand, she caught a large pouch of coins.

"Cian, I can't accept this..." Alma trailed and prepared to throw it back.

He all but stabbed the ground, "Gurl, take it or stay. Just know tha' if yer 'ere in te morn'n, ye aren' leavin' til I'm lon' an' dead."

Alma nodded, "Thanks Cian. Goodbye, the whole lot of you." Two bits of smallish jewelry were thrown at her. Alma dodged it as best as she could, "Guys, stop it! I'll come and visit when Niall dies, but just don't forget me, alright?" Picking up the bracelet and brooch, she ducked out.

Donald snorted after her, whispering "Coward," into his mug. Noland smacked him upside the head.

* * *

Alma breathed as she picked up her sack from the just outside the pub door and lit her lantern to look at the jewelry. An open silver bracelet with two ram heads faced each other on the slip-on accessory and a bear necklace on a solid chain. Smiling at them, she attached them in the proper places before heading to old man Cian's stables. Pushing the door open, a few horses lazily raised their head, but two twitchy colts at the end caught her attention. Walking up to the two shaking Connemara ponies, she stroked their noses. The sleek black one on her right calmed under her touch, but the gray one under her left hand continued to quiver.

"You... Don't worry, I'll take care of you," Alma whispered, kissing it on the nose. The pony butted her head away, and Alma smiled toothlessly. "Don't worry, Brendan, we'll be just fine..." The black horse next to her snorted, "Oh hush, you'll get someone who matches, just wait." The girl stepped away and grabbed a simple bridle from the rack and slipped it over the lighter pony. Brendan lipped the bit, but didn't protest. Alma smiled again as she secured her pack on her back and let her new steed out. Leading him into the fresh air, she grinned and mounted the bareback equine. "Hyah! Let's go!"

The sun hadn't set long before she set out into the night, and Liberty had taken her camping once. It had been just outside town and not far from what she now knew as Romano's home, maybe five kilos, but the older version of herself had let Carina lead the way 'deep' into the copse of trees. They slept and had a bit of wild vermin Liberty had hunted down, but when the time came to leave, she had realized she was lost. Liberty had laughed and pointed up, where the sun was beginning to rise in the East. 'You see how it rises over there? The sun sets in the West. If you have those two directions, you can find North, you can likely find civilization. Take us North.' Thinking back, they had passed by Romano's home, the two peach trees in the back thick and growing around each other, and Liberty had waved to a strange man that she couldn't tell what he looked like or who he was, but Carina now guessed it was the house's owner.

Heading in what Alma knew to be North, she crossed her fingers that she wouldn't run into trouble.

The two cantered on over the rough terrain for maybe two hours before Brendan, 'prince', began to pant. Alma hummed and brought them over to a nearby creek, "Thank the gods..." She whispered, taking out Brendan's bit from the foaming mouth. Alma took a thin cord from her bag and tied it around his neck and led the colt to the water. "Go ahead and drink, I'm going to do the same," She said, and the horse's ears swiveled. "Go on, silly boy." Cupping her hands, Alma dunked them under the clean fresh water and drunk deeply. Her ride finished slightly before she did and had begun chewing on nearby forage.

The auburnette grinned as she pulled out a small sliver of bread and a few veggies and began chomping into them. "Greens here taste different, different from Rome, did ye know that? Oh god, I'm getting a bit of an accent, shit..." Brendan snorted at the random chatter he couldn't understand and continued to munch. "Why did you shake when you first met me? I couldn't have been that scary, could I?" No answer. "I hope not. I'm going to bunk down for the night. I'm hoping to make it to Niall by nightfall tomorrow and..." Brendan looked over to see his new owner sleeping peacefully, clutching her box tightly to her right side and another invisible bundle to her left.

"...Good night boys..." Alma whispered as she thought of Veneziano and Romano, Turkey and Greece and Cyprus, China and Sasa and Rome.

* * *

 **By the way, funny story... As I was going through editing these, I accidentally wrote over this chapter! I was panicking so much and then I remembered that I had a randomly saved load of early chapters, and it was sa** ved!


	22. FILLER: CHRISTMAS

**Hey, guys, due to the fact I have marching band practice for a while, I'm not going to be able to post much, but I do have this stored away. It's just a small filler from a chapter with no clear time, but it is after America gains his independence, sooooooo, maybe late 1900s, early 2000s. And thanks for putting up with me for so long! And the nations are all speaking English!**

 **Reviews:**

 **AnonChan1: Lady Luck does always have to leave sadly, and she's the new man in the clan and it helps that they're reaaaaaaaally friendly and she's helping out a lot too! And if she becomes too much, and enters Mary-sue territory, SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME. And yes, the jewelry does play a minor part. But sadly, Brendan's only a slightly intelligent horse. There might be more others like Flavio, but not quite... I don't know right now... And she will!**

* * *

It was the Nation's Annual Christmas Party, and due to the fact that she owed France, he got to dress her up. Walking up to the front door, she knocked and was almost instantly whisked into french christmasy hell. "France, put me down!" Liberty yelled, pounding on the frenchman's back.

"Oh honhonhonhonhon~! Why would I want to do zat when you could easily run away?" France laughed, looking at her. "You will be making heads turn tonight, Belle!" The girl huffed, crossing her arms and admitted defeat, even though both knew she could easily overpower him. He carried her to a familiar room and made sure she didn't hit her head before shutting the door. "Go wait over by the mirrors, I'll get out the dresses!" He clapped his hands excitedly as he walked into her old walk-in closet.

Liberty sighed as she went over to stand by the full-length reflections and started tapping her foot. "France, just nothing too short, alright?"

France popped his head out with a raised eyebrow, "Belle, I thought you would trust me by now to put you in something comfortable!"

She grinned and waved her hand, "You're right, apologies!" Her friend grinned and ducked back in.

"I'm thinking white or a dark green!" France said as he walked out, his arms full of various fabric. She began to walk forward as the blonde put the clothes on the queen sized bed, but he pushed her back with the tips of his fingers. "No, nonono, Belle! Go behind your magic divider, and let the magic do it's work!"

"Whatever you say, oh grand one!" Liberty said, walking behind her old room divider. Though they both knew France knew almost every inch of her, he respected her privacy. France threw the first dress over and it disappeared to her side. He waited patiently and she stepped out.

A full-length, emerald green dress with tight sleeves hugged her body, "No! This is not the one!" The man declared and Liberty sighed and walked back. He grabbed the next dress and they traded.

They repeated the process several times: A loose white dress that's ends danced across her knees, a lacy floor-length lime beauty, a shapeless Irish green (That didn't go over well). "Last one, Belle, I promise!" France swore as he carefully pushed the large white mass above the thick slabs of wood.

"Fine, but it better not be a wedding gown!" She declared, shoving the hated green fabric over the mini-wall.

"Oui, oui, I know, my dear, I would not do that to y-"

"Oh my god. France-" She didn't get to say anymore as said man looked behind.

"Mon dieu! I believe we have found the dress, ma cherie!" A beautiful floor-length white dress that clung to her upper half before gently flaring out at her hips sat proudly on her. Delicate beading created a mirage on her right side as it traveled from where her knee would be to just under her ribs, and as the sunlight filtering through hit the decoration, a small rainbow of colors danced up her side.

"It's beautiful, but what about my arms? You know how some people get about them..."

France shook his head and grabbed her shoulders, "Annabel, any man that dances with you tonight either knows of you and your past and respects that or he shall be not-so-nicely escorted out, trust me on zat. And if any ladies give you trouble, show them the tongue that sent my royals running for the hills!" She grinned and nodded, wiping away a stray tear.

"Frank(1), you always say the stupidest things..."

France held up a finger, "Ah, ma cherie, wasn't it you who said some of the stupidest things said are some of the more meaningful?" Liberty smiled larger and nodded, "Oui, now get out all the tears you have, I'm going to start on your makeup, come to the desk~!" He sang. She shook her head at the man's foolishness, but followed him none-the-less. "Hurry, the shadow isn't going to apply itself!"

* * *

France smiled as he watched some of his fellow nations squirm as they tried to make pleasant small talk, which to anyone it was, but it took a trained eye and years of friendship with some to see the fidgeting. Romano was hiding behind the punch bowl, peeking anxiously at the door every few minutes; Spain was chatting with a few women, but his eyes were closed off, making the frenchman frown a little; America was distracting himself with sports talk with some of the humans, and Britain kept tugging at his collar every so often.

The noise in the room dropped a few decibels and France smiled as he admired his handiwork under the chandelier light. Raising his wine glass to her, she nodded, her smoky eyelids closing a smidge. Her scars danced across her skin, and she clung almost awkwardly to the wall once she made it down the steps. Several mortal men stopped by her, asking for a dance, but she turned them down with a shake of a head and an apologetic smile.

"You really weren't kidding, France. She does look like an angel."

France put the glass to his lips as he peered at his old friend from behind one eye, "Angleterre, have I ever failed when it came to fashion?"

The Englishman snorted as he brought his own glass chalice closer, "Well, the codpiece speaks for itself." The purple-decked man's face withered.

"Yes, well..."

"What are you two fighting over now?" They turned to see the angel of the hour herself standing there with a smile on her face.

"Not much. The frog actually did something right for once though. You look stunning." Liberty smiled and nodded to Britain.

"Thank you Arthur. You look rather dashing yourself, but the pine needles in your hair aren't helping much." He mini-squawked and began leafing through his hair. The wine glass in his hand splashed all over him, but he failed to notice, even as the crystal fell, somehow unharmed, onto the marble floor.

"Thank you, love, but I'm off to the loo to try and get this debris out. Have a nice night you two," He said before running off.

"Does he know he just splashed wine all over himself?"

"No and he never will, Belle. Now if you'll excuse me-"

Liberty nodded in understanding and waved her arms to shoo him off, "Go find your poor one night stands, Frank. Good luck!"

He looked over his shoulder to shoot her a wink, "I won't need luck where I'm going!"

"Ragazza, y-you look..." She looked over and saw a red-faced Romano.

The woman grinned and hugged him, causing the Italian to blush a bright red, "Roma, it's been so long! You're looking handsome tonight!"

He swallowed, raising his cup, "Y-You too. M-May I have a dance?" Liberty nodded and Romano put the wine down. A lively dance came on quickly, an odd kind for a Christmas party, and it wasn't long before she was passed off, to both of their displeasure. America took Romano's place and a grin lit up his face, as well as a faint blush.

"Liberty! Dude, you look amazing!"

She grinned, "Thanks, Alfred, you're looking good too! You might want to fix your hair though. Your duck tail is showing." Alfred's face lit up like the Christmas trees.

"T-Thanks, Liberty. I'll get that fixed... YO AUSTRIA, CUT IT!"

The man didn't stop conducting as he looked over his shoulder, "I will not stop playing simply because one man demands it! I will finish this piece!" Liberty chuckled at the two, and she was passed off again.

A mortal man was her new partner and he instantly began hitting on her. "Hey there beautiful, did you get all those scars when you fell from heaven, because you are an angel~" Luckily for her, they were passing right in front of the stage and she looked up at Austria. He nodded to her and instantly began conducting faster.

"No, I got them from showing men like you a lesson. Stay with me, will you?" Liberty asked, cocking her head with a sweet smile. The man's face seemed to glow as he nodded. She blinked and her aura disappear, but only the immortals knew what was going on.

"Alright, everyone except the crazy hot chick and her partner, clear the floor!" God bless America and his sudden ability to read the mood. The other guests were spread out along the walls, several nations watching in amusement at the poor man's expense. One did not mess with the girl to her face and get away with it. The tempo of the music picked up again and she grinned.

"Try to keep up, love. I'm not letting go until it's over." The man almost froze as he realized his mistake, but Liberty kept him moving. She pretty much dragged him through the fast movements until he had tears running down his eyes. "Think about how you asked a girl a risky pickup line next time."

A hand on her shoulder caught her attention, "Wow, Carina, you really weren't kidding about that time on Vesuvius, were you?" She raised an eyebrow at Spain. "Right, sorry, dumb question, but either way, you really do look beautiful tonight!"

"Thanks, Antonio, you don't look half bad," She said, crossing her arms. A girl caught her eye from the corner watching them. "Hey, Spain? I'll have a dance with you next christmas if you go ask the shy little ray of light in the corner for a dance, she looks really lonely." Spain looked over to where she had been looking at.

"Ah, si, I'll see what I can do. You know how I feel about wallflowers at parties. I'll skip the dance with you if you go ask your own little wallflower for one. He's been waiting to chat with you again all night, especially with how France was saying he had dolled you up! I'll see you!"

Liberty blinked at him, "My own wallflower?" She looked around quickly and a small smile lit up her features as Romano raised a glass of wine at her. Picking up her gown carefully, she walked over to him, grabbing her own glass of most-likely-spiked punch. "So, I've heard you wanted to talk to me?"

Romano nodded as he looked out on the dance floor, "It's-a been a while since-a we had a good chat, si?"

Liberty also shifted her weight on the wall, "Yeah it has. I've never properly thanked you for what you did-"

"Stop. You-a know I can't stand-a that bullshit, Carina."

The girl laughed, "You got me out of a fucking hell-hole! Almost quite literally! What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Romano looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "Never bring-a that room up again, it scared-a the shit outta me when I saw you like-a that. To never have-a to see you like that again is thanks enough, bitch." Liberty hummed and nodded.

"Come on, let's go dance. I'm a little surprised some of the women haven't flocked over here already. Everyone else is practically talking over each other."

Her friend flushed, "S-Shut-a up! I didn't want-a to flirt tonight. American women are-a crazy..." A few girls shot her varying glares her way as they made it out to the dance floor. A viennese waltz song came on and the two smiled at each other. "Ragazza, let's-a give them hell."

Liberty grinned widely and winked, "Weren't we going to anyways?" The two bowed to each other and began the slowish dance. Austria peeked over his shoulder into the crowd and smiled once he saw how many people were dancing to the music and sped the tempo up a step. Spain and the girl stared over the two Italians.

"T-they're so cute!" The mousey girl in front of Antonio squeaked. Spain grinned at her.

"They do, don't they? My little Romano is all grown up!"

The blonde girl cocked her head, "Is that man your brother?"

Spain blinked and his face flushed, "Uh, something like that. Those two are just old friends of mine!" The girl nodded.

"You loved her a long time ago, didn't you? I can see it in your eyes."

The nation looked down, "Si, I did, but that was a long time ago. She doesn't want things to get awkward between us, and we agreed to be friends. I wouldn't want to lose her... Let's talk about something else. What are doing here, Mary?"

Mary looked down, "My brother's in the government and thought he'd bring me along. I-I didn't want to, but he promised he wouldn't get drunk this time. He gets a little..." Spain's eyes darkened for a brief moment as he lead them to a far wall. Mary's free hand waved as she thought of the words, "Loopy! That's the word! He tends to act as a general embarrassment when he gets-" A drunken man with nothing but his underwear was escorted out "-drunk. I'm sorry, I should go take care of him. I hope you find your own love, one that you can look at in the same way you look at her. Best of luck!" She cheered quietly, trying to get away. Spain's face had relaxed considerably after hearing about Mary's brother, and he smiled.

Bringing her hand up to his lips, he whispered, "I hope you find amor yourself, Señorita. Have a nice night!" Mary flushed and nodded, stumbling towards the door after her wasted brother.

A small punch to his shoulder alerted the man to another's presence, "Spain, you old dog! How could you let a nice frau like that go! She was beautiful!"

Spain grinned, "Hola, Prussia! I wasn't aware you were here, but I'm glad you are! I just wished you had been here sooner, I could have spoken to you before you got drunk, amigo! Ah well, but anyway, Mary needed to go keep an eye on her brother. I'm surprised you don't have a girl hanging off of you by now!" Gilbert grinned, swinging his beer glass around. His red eyes glinted oddly, as it he knew some inside joke that only he knew.

"Who said anything about me being drunk! I need to find zem so I can show zat arschloch what a true drunk looks like!" Spain shook his head as his old friend turned around and marched back into the crowd. Spain sighed as he grabbed a nearby glass of wine, ignoring what would probably happen later.

The music had sped up again and soon only nations were left on the dance floor, or rather Romano and Liberty. The two managed to keep up with the beat and Romano managed not to trip over her feet. Liberty had a large grin on her faces as her partner twirled her around the room and Romano was smiling as he swung her around. "You two really do trust each other, don't you?" Spain muttered, peering into the blood red wine. The music began to slow, and they two ended in a dip.

Romano had a large grin on his face that matched the one on Liberty's face. "That... was really... fun," She panted, sweat dripping down her face.

"S-Si. Up you-a go," He grunted, pulling her up. Sweat dotted his forehead, "It's-a been a long time since I've-a done that..." He said, putting an arm around her shoulder to lean on her.

Liberty laughed breathlessly, "Roma, you hardly ever dance. Nice job." She leaned into him as the two stumbled off the dance floor and the room had various claps burst out. Romano shrunk a little at the attention, but lead her to their corner. "Thanks, Roma. It's been nice seeing you again. I-"

"Yeah, yeah, you have-a to go to bed soon. It's-a been nice to see you again, too, Fortuna." Liberty paused and laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, you too Roma. Get your ass down here," She said as she tugged on his tie a little bit. Romano's face turned a bright red as she kissed his forehead like she used to.

"Ragazza, I'm not a little kid anymore!" He said, swatting at her lightly. Tonight was supposed to be a peaceful night, so no violence.

"No, but I wish you were..." The two whirled and saw a slightly unbalanced Spain lean against the wall. "I remember when you used to be so small. Carina, you used to be so violent... What happened to us?" He sputtered, the wine glass in his hand swishing dangerously.

Romano's eyes widened in horror, "Ragazza, get behind me. Now." He reached into his pocket and found the small switchblade he brought in case something happened. Liberty's eyes flicked between the two. "Spain's drunk," He whispered.

Spain's eyes were on Romano's in split second, "I am **not** drunk." Liberty took a step in front of Romano.

"Aragon." The nation looked to her and she lifted a leg behind her. The auburnette let an arm fall behind her as she grabbed at the gun with tranquilizers inside from her ankle. "Calm down, alright?"

Spain took a step towards them, "I am calm, Lady Luck. What would give you that idea?" Romano put an arm on Liberty's.

"Let me," He whispered, and she let the gun slip into his hand. A small pop came from behind her and a bright feathered dart appeared on the drunk nation's shoulder. "Way to-a ruin christmas Spain. Now we're-a going to have to drag your-a sorry ass home."

"Si, but it was still fun!"

The Italians watched as the Spanish man slumped against the wall, "It's best to leave-a him alone for a while..." Romano trailed.

Liberty looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Roma, what was that?"

He pinched his nose, "THAT was a drunk Spain. The people at his house usually make-a sure he doesn't have-a alcohol, but America threw this-a fucking party and had the shit in everything. Can you-a help me with him? He-a should be out now..." She nodded and they picked up his arms and slung them over their shoulders.

"Do you know where he parked? We can get a cab for him," Liberty grunted as they made it out the doors. Romano looked over. Her makeup was smeared and her hair was falling out of it's styling, and her curl was sticking out. Amber eyes came to meet his own, "Roma?"

He shook his head, "He's-a staying at my hotel, so we'll just-a catch a cab. You don't-a have to come with us."

Liberty grinned, "Nah, it's been a while, and I want to make sure you get home. You can't defend yourself and him with a tiny ass switchblade, Romano." The boy snorted. Of course she knew. "Besides, I'm in the same hotel and haven't given you your present yet!"

"Bitch, you didn't have to get-a me anything, I'm not 500 years old anymore! I'm-a grown ass man!"

"Roma! I thought you liked gifts!"

The man laughed, "After the toy duck that-a says 'Fuck you' every time I-a pass it, I think I'm-a good!"

Liberty pouted, "So that's where that ended up... But, Roma, you're going to love it. Please?"

Romano sighed, "Fine, but you-a know if it's shit, I'm-a leaving, right?"

"Of course. Taxi!"

* * *

Romano sighed as he watched Liberty unlock her door, "I'm home!"

An ancient voice welcomed his ears, "About time! I was about re- Oh my god..."

The familiar man came crashing in from the kitchenette area, "Grandpa Rome?"

"Romano, not quite..." The ancient civilization said sadly. Romano shook his head and rushed forward, tears in his eyes.

"I don't-a care. H-How?"

Liberty swallowed thickly, "Romano, meet Nova Roma, an international Roman revivalist and recontructionist organization, to promote 'the restoration of classical Roman religion, culture, and virtues' and 'shared Roman ideals.'"

The man still shook his head, clutching to his grandpa, "I don't-a care. He's back."

She smiled, "Merry Christmas, Romano..."

* * *

 **Welp. Yeah. Sorry if it's a little ooc towards the end... Ireland WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OR SO HELP ME.**

 **(1) This is a reference to later. Spoiler that's not really a spoiler? France used to be known as the Frankish Empire.**


	23. Chapter 22

**Yay! Another chappie! I own nothing! I also hate to admit this, but I had to resort to using Pictish (I swear it has nothing to do with Pictonians for anyone who's seen Paint it White!) stronghold references because I can find nothing on Irish ones of the time. Also, no band camp for three weeks guys!**

 **AnonChan1: I'll think about a pet, but it'll have to be a while after she meets Britain, for a certain reason, but I'll tell ya later! Britain has the pine needles in his hair because in the christmas episode, he brought a large fir tree to the party, and needles fall like confetti... And yes. Yes. HUGE FORESHADOWING IN THE LAST CHAPTER TO ANYONE WHO ACTUALLY READS THESE BESIDES ANON AND MYSELF. And Spain _does_. He is such a poor child. I think that a lot of nations would have an issue with abuse, not just because of morals, but because of some of their rulers. Remember how Spain's boss yelled at him because of Romano? Spain kinda just needed a break from everything, and one way to do that is a good drink every once in a while, or I've heard. You will be seeing Prussia, in, like, 800 years, which is how long it's going to take to get there (I'm kidding, maybe). And Spain would be a little jealous, they would be super close. And yeah, things wouldn't have ended well, and I don't know about conquistador mode, but all that's said is that it's best to put some distance between yourself and Spain when he's drunk. And minor thing: Baby Carina was in one of the back rooms sleeping because Rome was looking after her.**

 **Bear with me on Ireland, or in this age, Iverni.**

 **Latin**

Primitive Irish

 _Flashback_

 _Note: Edited (12/3/16)_

* * *

Amber eyes blinked as she awoke slowly, and saw the sun was just rising into the bright red sky. Brendan stood by, sleeping peacefully, twitching the occasional fly away. Alma smiled as she rose and stretched her slightly tense muscles, "Brendan, this is how I want to live the rest of my live. Early and without a care!" Bird song answered her and she sighed. "Time te get going... Damnit!" Alma laughed to herself and brushed any dirt and grime off of her. Opening her pack, she took out a carrot and chomped into it, smiling at the sweetness of the orange veggie.

Brendan shuffled next to her as he woke up and she waited until he was decently conscious to lead him down to the river. The two drank until they had their full and ate in a similar manner as Alma finished off her carrot. She grabbed the bridle, walked up to the horse and began the struggling to get it on him. "Come on, Brendan, take the bit!" The horse reluctantly did and she smiled. "There's a good boy..." Throwing her pack across her back once again, she mounted the gray Connemara pony. Ignoring the thick grey clouds, Alma charged towards Niall's kingdom.

* * *

At noon, the sky opened up and poured rain like a waterfall. At roughly 12:30, Alma realized her cloak was soaked and almost no use, but kept it on anyway. She continued on to the North, where the king would hopefully be.

It was around four when Alma managed to slip by any patrols and head to the fort. A large wall caught her attention and she sighed. "Looks like we're knocking on the front door, Brendan."

"Aye, tha' would be wise. State yer name an' purpose." Alma peeked over her shoulder, not even flinching. A small patrol of three mounted men sat with bows drawn and centered on her. "Who are ye?"

"I come from the south. I have come to seek counsel with Niall Noígíallach," She stated calmly. The man in the middle snorted, the mustache under his nose folding under the small gust.

"Wha' woul' a wee gurl wan' with the King of Tara?"

Alma pursed her lips, "He could find that I would be rather useful. If he isn't impressed, go ahead and laugh, but I need to get inside."

The man on the right fidgeted and looked to his brothers in arms. The three seemed to have a silent conversation, and the supposed leader sighed, yelling over the sound of the rain. "Fine, gurl. Only because the rain's so ba' an' Éogan(1) wou' feel ba'. He's ne'ver been wron' so fer..." His head jerked to the younger man on the right. Alma nodded in understanding and she motioned for them to lead the way.

The men lead her to a thick wooden gate and they motioned to some unknown ally to open the large door, "Ye can wait with Éogan inside. Noígíallach will see ye soon." Alma nodded and the juvenile raced her to a large central building with a covered stable next to it.

"Git inside!" Brendan thundered towards the drier structure, outrunning the tan equine. Alma jumped off before her ride had fully stopped once inside and she dragged him towards an open stall.

"Shh, good boy, Brendan, good boy..." She hushed, stroking his neck as her horse jittered similarly to the two nights before. Brendan calmed and Éogan lead his mare into the same stall.

"Yer special. I don' know 'ow, but ye are. Yer no' he'e te see Noígíallach, are ye?"

Alma grinned, "Who are you? You shouldn't know that."

Éogan smiled, "I know someone with a similar air to ye. If ye can pick them ou', I'll pu' in a goo' wor' for ye." The girl's smile fell and she nodded. "Folla me," Éogan said, running back into the storm to get to the adjoining area. Alma sighed and dashed after him. Éogan pulled the door closed and an older man and a young child stood next to him. The kid stared at Alma with bright green eyes.

"I've been waitin' for ye."

The corners of her mouth twitched as she looked own at him and squatted to eye level, "I'm going to say the same. I'm not late, am I?"

The kid shook his head, "Na, bu' ye could ha'e come earlier." The brunette man next to him looked between the two.

"Who the hell are ye?" Alma stood.

"I am Alma, I come from the south, bu-"

"But ye come from Rome. Yer accent's a bi' fi'e te be one o' us," The king of Tara stated, placing a hand on the sword at his waist.

Éogan stepped up next to her, "Father, relax. She is li'e Iverni (2)."

Níall raised an eyebrow, "Is she really? Ye can tell, ri', boy?"

The kid, 'Iverni', blinked. "Yeah. She's li'e me. How's Rome?"

Alma looked down, "I don't know. I know he is not doing well, but otherwise, I haven't seen him in a few decades." Iverni nodded, his straight brown hair floating with the movement.

"Goo' riddance. Tha' man killed my mum," Iverni explained. She looked down, clasping her hands.

"That was Britainnia, right?" The nation nodded silently and Alma plopped down. Her swords sat silently on the floor, falling without a sound. "Have you ever had to kill anyone, kid?"

Iverni's green eyes flashed dangerously, "A few, bu' no' many."

The auburnette nodded, "I can tell. I have killed... Far too many. Many of those lives were kill or be killed. But a few... Rome has family of his own, you know that right?"

"Yes..." The child's thick eyebrows met, wondering where the woman was going.

Alma breathed deeply, "When you love someone, you do anything to ensure they'll be safe in the future. Rome wants his children to live happily without chance of invasion, so he did one thing to make sure they would be alright. I don't agree with it, but..."

Iverni's eyes narrowed, "I don' agree with i' either, bu' tha' is no excuse. I like ye, bu' Rome, I will no' fergive him fer killin' Mum."

"Alright, I can agree with you on that. Isn't nearly time for dinner?" Éogan tilted his head.

"I believe i' is. Why don' we all go an' talk abou' ourselves o'er a roast boar?"

Níall nodded, "Tha's a goo' idea. Thi' way." Alma nodded and stood. Her pack was still shouldered and her swords scrapped the stone as she stood. Níall looked at her over his shoulder, "Please remove yer weapons."

Alma gripped her lighter Persian sword at her left side, "I'm not removing my weapons."

"Alma, please?" She felt a blade hang at her neck and pursed her lips.

"Don't do this. I'm trying to be nice."

Iverni sighed, "Éogan, please," he said, waving his hand away. Alma raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The youngest man nodded and put it away. "As much as I ha'e te say i', no more violence. Jus' fer tonigh'."

Níall nodded in agreement, "Alrigh'. I'm takin' ye on in a sword ba'le tomorrow."

"Agreed!" The four snickered and continued on their way to dinner.

Dinner was a lively affair with a lot of laughing and a bit of arguing, and at least two hours had passed before Iverni yawned. "Alright, off te bed with ye. Ye need yer rest."

The kid groaned, "'m no' tired..."

Alma's lip quirked, "Alright then, guess you'll just fall asleep during my match then..." Iverni's eye slowly shifted over to her, the green that had been so vivid earlier was now dulled with fatigue.

"Fine. I'll show ye whe'e ye'll sleep while I'm a' i'..." The brunette slid out of his seat and stumbled towards a small door in the back. Alma nodded and stood, following him. Iverni pushed the door open and a small room with several straw mattresses strewn across the floor. A few boys of varying ages slept or read by candlelight, but Iverni ignored them as he pointed at a empty 'bed'. "There's yer's. Sleep well." The kid simply fell forward onto the mattress next to hers and almost instantly fell asleep.

A teen around Éogan's age turned down his small book, "Who are ye? Yer not a new wife o' dad's are ye?"

The girl laughed lightly as she removed her cloak, pack, and weapons. The man watched as her two swords, dagger and bow and arrows were placed by her bedside, "No, I'm just passing through for a while. I'm Alma. Who are you?"

"I'm Conall Cremthainn, bu' my brothers call me Conall. Whe'e did ye get those blades? They're no' from 'round he'e..." Alma nodded and settled down on the mattress, ignoring the stabbing of the straw.

"I've traveled a lot. You tend to pick up a few souvenirs along the way... So who's who?"

Conall looked around at his brothers, "The old man o'er there is Eochaid, Lóegaire is the li'le boy, and you've met Éogan, and Dad's always trying te have more kids... He's goin' on a few conquests in a while. Do ye know any good stories?"

Alma laughed, "You... I know a few... Have you ever heard of a banshee?" The male's eyes grew wide and he pushed himself up.

"No, wha' is i'?"

"A banshee is a fairy, one with long flowing hair and tattered old clothes. Some say she is a beautiful maiden with long red hair while others say she is an old shriveled croon with bright red eyes. Her scream is said to predict the deaths of one of the major families: O'Grady, O'Neill, that's you, O'Brien, O'Conner, or Kavanaghs. Her cries are heard as she approaches the home of the deceased, usually at night, and her wails send chills down the human soul. You never want to hear her scream, because you never know if it's someone you know she's coming for, or _you_!" Conall leapt back a slight amount as Alma recounted the tale she learned from several books. She laughed lightly and pulled her grey cloak over her. "You never know what may or not be real, but keep those you love close. Good night, Conall."

"Are ye sure yer not a banshee?"

She looked up, "What?"

He poked his fingers together, "Well, ye have lon' flowin' hair and eyes tha' turn red in te righ' ligh', so why shouldn' ye be a banshee?"

"I'm not going around wailing everywhere, am I?" Conall hummed.

"Alrigh', but no one's dyin', are they?" Alma laughed.

"Good point. Put your book away, Conall, we're going to bed. Good night."

"Good night, Alma."

* * *

The morning came without incident and soon Níall 'invited' her outside. Iverni laughed and cheered, Éogan joining him, and Conall... looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep. Alma nodded as she removed her cloak, bow and arrows and bracelet. The green span of the stronghold was muddied from the thick rain they had received yesterday and she was glad there were baths here.

"Are ye ready, gurl?" Alma blinked and the king was replaced by a grinning Persia, both of whom held their respective swords in front of them. She blinked again, and Níall of the Nine Hostages stood in front of her once again.

Drawing her Persian blade, she held it out towards the other man, "More than ever. On your mark."

Níall nodded and lunged. Alma raised her arm to block and slide it away from her. Thrusting her own sword forward towards his feet, she ducked to avoid the blade that whistled about her head. "You gotta be quicker than that," The auburnette taunted. The man hummed and began advancing forward, forcing her back.

"Surrender at first blood?" Alma's eyes flashed as she grinned at the suggestion, but the wall of the house against her back made her worry. Níall raised his sword, but personal experience had presented her with a similar situation, but...

 ** _"Venie! You need your bath! I will bath you myself!" Fortuna shouted as she ran after the small child. Romano was already in the bathroom, but Rome was off fighting or hitting on poor chick. Veneziano cried as he turned into their bedroom, and she grinned. "Veneziano, last chance!" The shaking auburn's back was to a solid wall with little hope of escape._**

 ** _Fortuna stood in front of him, placing her hands on her hips. Her clothes were getting washed and she was forced to wear a trimmed version of her normal stolla. The kid looked around, weighing his options and suddenly dove between her legs to run off again. "Never!"_**

 ** _"Veneziano!" She ran off after him._**

The memory made her laugh every time she remembered it.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Alma dove in a similar manner and barely made it through, but she did drop her sword. A small amount of cheers caught her ears and she grinned, "Glad ya like the show!" Níall snorted and swung around again and pushed her with his side. The ground incoming brought back a small muscle memory she thought would have been forgotten and she let her body take over. A side flip she had learned from China brought her back upright. A small roar escaped her mouth as she grabbed her dagger from her side and threw it at Níall's foot.

"What the hell, gurl?" Alma blinked as she snapped out of her trance. The double edged knife was where Níall's foot was a second ago, but only a small sliver on his sandal showed that the metal almost hit him.

"Oh shit. T-That's never happe-"

"Nice throw, Alma!"

The two duelers looked over to see Iverni looking at them in awe. "Wha, boy?"

"Tha' was awesome!" The two adults shook their heads.

Alma looked over at Níall, "I yield. Congrates."

Níall nodded and grabbed her sword, swiping it on his cloak, "I accept. Yer no' half bad, gurl."

* * *

From 396 to 405, Níall kept her around within arm's reach, asking her to help deliver his sons (she said no), taking her on his conquests into Gaul and England (She said hell yes), to even when she went back south. It was nice seeing Attie and Eryn again, even though Donald was hovering over her shoulder the entire time.

It all came to end, though, when Níall was killed by Eochaidh. Lóegaire took over for his father, and she resigned to simply sailing the merchant routes until the July of 418, where she decided to head into Gaul for a bit of business and decided to meet the nation of the early Franks. This'll be _fun_.

* * *

 **Hey, I'm back, band's over for a while, but I'm gonna be kinda busy! I'm still going, even if I am slowing down, and we're finally going to met someone else who's canon. I'm sorry Ireland wasn't in here that much, but I checked and Ireland has diddly-squat on him, except maybe a small appearance, but the rest is just OC stuff. Wish me luck guys, it's late and the sun's getting low, but there's always another tomorrow. Aaaaaaand I need to go before I get too poetic and sappy...**

 **(1): Ireland wasn't known as Ireland, maybe Hibernia, but that was the Roman name which apparently came from the word Iverni. Yay, history... These guys have nothing...**


	24. Chapter 23

**Hello~! And guys, just so y'all remember, I have an open poll on if Lady Luck should have a romantic interest! Please vote! Also, this is soooo weird! My grandpa's name was Frank, well Francis, NO LAUGHING, and it's weird using his name! I don't own anything!**

 **AnonChan1: And maaaaaybe on the pet. Yeah, it would be pretty close, and I kinda warped it to meet my need for this story, not going to lie... And there's a reason I have her getting up early and going to bed early(ish), and she isn't going to be one for naps, because the last time she took a nap, Lady Luck had a nightmare... It won't be the last time she sees Iverni, but it might be for a while and on an opposing side, but that's also not for a while (I HATE HISTORY!) He and LL would sooo do that! And here we are, Frankish Empire! Where the nickname Frank comes from!**

 **Primitive Irish**

Latin

Gaulish/ Frankish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

Note: Edited (12/3/16)

* * *

Alma sighed in relief as her ship pulled into the harbor and breathed in the familiar air. After Lóegaire took over for Níall, he had been willing to let her work the trade routes for the next thirteen years, sailing to Gaul, Britain, and Scandinavia. The auburnette picked up a few fellow sailors and ships from the areas, and over those years, she learned common Brittonic, Gaulish (even though it was a stone's throw from latin), and what would be later known as Proto-Norse.

Alma grinned as she turned to her right hand, " **Oi, Ceol**!" A 23-year old man lazily looked at her from his place by the mast and raised an eyebrow. Ceolmund(1) was a muscular brunette who she had picked up as a young boy and all but raised him on the seas.

" **Wha** '?"

She smiled and shouldered her pack, " **It's been nice knowing ye, Ceolmund. Ye have yer payment, use it wisely.** " The brunette smiled at her and pulled her into a side hug, not releasing the rope wrapped around his arm.

" **I'll miss ye, mum, see ye soon**?"

Alma laughed, tears beading at the corners of her eyes, " **Ceol, I don't know, but you're in charge now. Goodbye**." The two pulled away and Alma nodded to him before stepping off. She walked towards the edge of the docks before sparing a glance back. Her old charge was giving a speech to his new crew and her friends looked to her and the three ships she had commanded cheered in her direction. The brunette bit her lip and raised a fist into the air before turning tail.

Her crew had taken a long series of rivers to head deep into Gaulish territory to Tournai, where the Frankish Empire would make their capital, and the town reminded her slightly of a Roman town as she walked along the borders of the city. Closing her eyes, she felt her aura flare under a practiced amount of concentration and expanded her 'sight' outward to look for the Frankish Empire's representative. A comforting indigo aura was headed in her direction from a long distance, but Alma opened her eyes.

Sitting down next to a large tree, she opened her pack. Two extra pairs of pants she had managed to find and a similar set of tunics sat next to them, hiding a large bag of coins she had collected, her bow and quiver, and she grabbed her water skin and a piece of bread and cheese. Cinching it closed, Alma enjoyed her lunch and waited, sending out regular pulses of her ambience to help the poor nation along. She picked at her breeches and people watched to pass the time, but only a few spared a glance towards the genderless figure cloaked in a heavy grey hood and pants.

Alma looked towards the setting sun and stood brushing herself off as a small child wandered up to her. A pair of sky blue eyes twinkled at her and she smiled, "It took you long enough. What's your name?"

The boy winked at her, "Miss, my deepest apologizes, I did not mean to keep a lady waiting. I am known as the Frankish Empire, but you may call me Frank, no?" Alma tried not to laugh at the kid, and covered her mouth. She mentally gave him kudos, though, he had better manners than a few men that flirted with her. "What is you're name, miss?"

She cocked her head, "I forgive ye, Frank. I'm not as much of a lady as you think I am. What do you think my name is?"

"Miss, I did not mean to offend you, I was merely stating such a woman of your beauty had to complimented on such! Nor do I wish to anger you should I provide a name that is not yours," He purred.

"Frank, I'm a bit old for you. And pick a name, any that you choose won't be wrong."

Frank shook his head, "I believe Annabelle would be a lovely name for such a lovely woman. And believe me when I say you do not look a day over fifteen years old!" Annabelle grinned and leaned down so her nose almost touched his. The blonde boy's face turned a faint pink, "M-Miss?"

"Try almost 360 years old." Frank's eyes widened.

"Mon dieu. You are... I've heard stories about you, but none live up to your full glory. Your satin red locks, your amber orbs-"

"Your flirtatious style. I have merely come to say hello, Frank. How is Pharamond?"

The blonde's mouth hung open and he bowed his head. "My apologies. The king is doing well and, I suspect, the reason behind your visit, no?"

Annabelle smiled and ruffled his hair lightly, "Cut yourself some slack, Frank. And he is only half of the reason of my visit. The other is standing in front of me, failing to woo me. How many has that worked on?" Frank looked up and pushed her hand away.

"It charms most women, but most don't want to get together with a child. Your grace warms my heart, my dear Annabelle. May we go find the king? Perhaps in the morning? I'm afraid my feet aren't doing so well after earlier," He explained, looking down again.

Annabelle grinned, putting her bag to the side, "Nonsense! I'll carry ye!" The blonde didn't have anytime to react as she slung him across her back in a piggy-back and pick up her bag. "Now, where to?"

"Miss, I'm afraid, I cannot allow yo-"

"Frank, which way?" He shifted and pointed towards the way he came.

"That way, but it'll take all night," He breathed in her ear. Annabelle nodded, adjusted her blades out of the way for the nation on her back, and began walking. "Just who are you, miss?" He muttered, most likely to himself.

Annabelle looked over her should to stare at him, "I'm just a girl who's trying to make it through today and the next."

Frank laughed breathily and put his head on her back, "That couldn't be truer."

* * *

Annabelle looked up at the night sky as stars twinkled proudly. Frank had fallen asleep a while ago, and the instructions played in her mind soundlessly to reach the king. Guards lined the structure and she approached the stone building. A small group of guards stopped her, but she held a finger up and motioned to the sleeping Frankish empire. One of them nodded and motioned her through, whispering to the others and escorted her in. "It's not often we see the young sir running off to meet someone. Even less that they carry him back. You must be special, no?"

Annabelle smiled, shaking her head, "I'm just a lucky lady, that's all," she whispered. The guard nodded and continued to lead her further into the building.

"He sleeps in here, miss. There's enough room in the bed for you as well. Sleep well." Annabelle nodded and stepped into the well decorated room. A decent sized bed sat with thick covers and many pillows in the corner to their left and she placed Frank in the bed. Pulling the covers back, she carefully put the future France under the blankets.

"No offense, but I haven't slept in a real bed in years, and I'm not going to start by taking yours," She whispered and let her pack fall from her hand to the far wall, just right to the wardrobe. Wrapping her thinning cloak around her arms and sat down next to her bag. "Good night, Frank. Goodnight, boys."

* * *

"Annabelle! What in the world do you think you are doing?!" The girl sprung up and drew her Irish sword, looking for an immediate threat. Frank backed up several steps, "Miss, calm down there's no one here! Only me!" Annabelle looked around before sighing in relief.

She looked over to the panicked preteen, "Don't do that! Things happen when I get woken up like that!"

"What kind of things?" Frank said, rubbing his chin.

Annabelle sighed and sheathed the sword, "I almost cut a few men in half a few times. Luckily, I got snapped out of it."

Frank let out a small, "Oh."

She slumped lightly, "Come on, is breakfast soon?"

He laughed, "You remind me some of my men, Belle. Let us go get some food." Annabelle grinned and cheered.

"Fooood! Lead the way!" The blonde laughed and shook his head.

"After you. I do not think it would be wise to get between you and your appetite, no?" Annabelle nodded and walked out the door, twirling to meet Frank and then follow him. "So, Annabelle, where have you been so far?"

Air hissed through her teeth as she tilted her head back, "Rome from August 20th 79 to 166 as Fortuna. Then China from 166 to 189 as Jun Fu, and 191 to 217 with Rome again. Persia from 217 to 242 as 'girl' and Neylan, Rome and Persia kinda tossed me back and forth for a short period, and then... Let's see, that was..." The auburnette threw her fingers around as she tried to remember where she was, when. "...250 roughly to 267 with Sasa again, then Germania caught me for for a year as Ragin, and then 276 in Rome, then from 309 to 379 in Persia, then back in Rome... 395 to last night were spent with Iverni, uh, Hibernia. Now, I'm with you."

Frank stared at her and shook his head, "Belle, you are very odd."

"Thank you for the compliment. But if I wasn't, I would've died a long time ago. So did you raise yourself, or...?" The kid looked down, shaking his head sadly.

"My father was killed by Rome a hundred years ago. Now, I am left alone."

Annabelle paused, kneeling and brought his face close, "Frank, do not tell anyone what I am about to tell you, but you shall grow big and strong someday. You will have your ups and downs, but trust yourself and you will be fine. You will grow. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Allies can help, but remember to stay true to them. If you can't hold their back, they won't hold yours. Let's go get something to eat. The sun waits for no one." The boy nodded and she smiled, standing to her full height.

The dining hall was a 'small' affair, several servants rushing this way and that to serve a large handful of men and two women and a single empty seat stood next to the king. "Ah, my friend, I was worried that you had not returned last night, but when I heard from a guard that a young woman had brought you home, I grew skeptical! I fear my doubts were misplaced! My dear, please, give us a moment while someone fetches you a ch-"

"I'm fine standing. It's easier for me," Annabelle cut him off. Frank sent her a sharp look, which she ignored.

One of the women looked at her, "Please, you are our guest. It is the least we can do."

The auburnette pursed her lips, "Forgive me if I seem rude and persistent, but I prefer to eat standing up. If I sit down and eat, it remnds me of when I'm traveling and maybe in some form of danger. If I stand, it means I have nothing to fear as I have food in both hands and I wouldn't be able to grab a weapon. If I am at peace enough to eat standing, it shows that I trust my host, so please allow me to stand." The logic she used sometimes was odd, but if she were riding or sitting on deck, Annabelle would be able to put her food down safely before charging off. If she stood, both hands would be full and she would have to throw it down to be battle ready, and that would be wasting food. Food is good. Food is important.

King Pharamond cocked his head but nodded, "If the woman insists. You may stand anywhere and have any food on this table. The wine is good and so is the grain. Eat well and deeply, my guest."

"My thanks. As to you and your family," Annabelle bowed before following Frank over to the empty seat. A servant came by and placed a warm amount of bread and dates on a plate in front of him and turned to her. "Bread is fine, thank you," She whispered. The woman nodded and rushed off.

"So, from where do you come?" Her amber gaze was drawn to Pharamond again, who stared at her.

Annabelle smiled lightly, "I have traveled and loved too many lands to name one my own. However, I was born in Italia, but there are many others I trust. May I ask, how opposed would you be to having me travel to the islands north of here for trade." The woman returned and handed her a loaf of hard bread. Annabelle nodded to her with a smile and took a large chunk out of it, several members of the table wincing as they heard her chew.

"I... Do not believe that would be a problem. May you have the best of luck on your travels."

She nodded and swallowed, "My thanks. Unless a nations captures me, however, I'll be with your empire."

One of the men cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

Annabelle looked sharply to Frank, "Do they know? Do you know?"

"Indeed, miss, but they do not. It won't hurt them, and won't trouble you." She nodded and strolled out of the room, back the way she came. If she hurried, she could still make it to her old ships. Slipping into Frank's room, she grabbed her bag and exited the room just as quickly as she entered. If she ran, she would be at the docks before midday.

* * *

Annabelle had been lucky. Ceolmund had decided to stay for a while, get a feel for what goods might be wanted. He grinned when he saw her, " **Mum, yer back**!"

She bowed, " **Captain, I ask you take me on as a member of your crew. I will wo-** "

" **Alma, cut i' ou'! Yer back on!** " He pulled her into a hug and swung her around. **"So, did ye find i', the thin' ye were lookin' fe** r?" The auburnette nodded, " **Good. Come on, you can rest easy. We're heading to Brittanni te see what trade we can get over there. How long do ye plan on staying**?"

" **Until someone else needs me** ," The woman said, slipping out of his embrace. " **Now, hurry, we're wasting daylight**."

Ceolmund nodded and raced ahead to his ships, " **Get ready men! We're heading north**!"

* * *

 **(1) Ceolmund has the elements Ceol "keel" and Mund, "Protection".**

 **Don't forget: Poll, read, review, fav, whatever! Have a good one! Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading this chapter and others before it!**


	25. Chapter 24

**Hey! So far on the polls: tied with one vote each for Spain, France, Prussia and then Russia. Cut me some slack this chapter? There's been a lot of _How I met your Mother_ playing lately.**

 **Reviews:**

 **AnonChan1: I can't wait until the nations get their current names, so Spain can stop being Hispania then stop being Aragon, France to just be France and for the Lombards to get the fuck out of Italy. And thank god for trade being everywhere! And Lady Luck has the maternal instincts of...something. If it's a kid who needs help, she watches over them. And I can probably arrange that. One of the languages, Proto-Norse, came from the Nordic area. She might not have met them, but she's had interactions with the citizens. Lady luck does prefer to sleep outdoors, but France probably puts women before himself, so for hi to take the bed and a lady to talk the floor, he'd feel kinda guilty I think... I can sooo see her being France's wing woman in the future though. You did though, and she is sooo violent. I can't wait until guns are invented (I'm kidding, that'll be nightmare). Most probably do, and she really needs Ceol through this.**

Common brittonic

 **Gothic**

 **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**

* * *

Alma wiped an eye as Ceolmund held onto his newborn daughter before he leaned down to kiss his wife. It was 429 and Ceolmund had gotten married in 425 to a nice girl from Southern England. He was a little old, but neither really cared as they loved each other too much. The little bundle slept as her tiny finger wrapped around his father's big one and the eldest in the room smiled and left the family to its peace. One final look back and Lady Luck left their lives forever.

The crisp English air was embraced her as she walked into the sparse village. Vortigern was leading over a part of Britain currently and was having trouble with invading Picts and Scots, and word was he had, or was going to, hire various Anglo-Saxon mercs and give them land in return for helping them defend their small borders. As she was thinking, Alma walked to the stables nearby and found the stable master. The older man was checking the hay as she walked up to him. "Yes, lady?"

Alma raised an eyebrow, "I need a horse, how much is it for one?"

"More than yo- Take any one." Amazing what a small sack of coin can do. A smile danced across her features as she found a sleek black horse. Alma grabbed the brindle from somewhere nearby and slipped it over the mare's head. She lead the horse out and made sure her old pack was on securely before mounting. The auburnette stamped off towards the Northwest, towards Londinium. She needed a new setting. Closing her eye, Alma looked out for the shining aura of a nation. A small green blip caught her attention over the distance.

"Britain, here I come."

* * *

A toddler stood in her way, holding a sword that was almost as tall as him. "Who are you and why do you have some of my magic?"

Alright, let's back track. It was roughly around midday when Alma reached the walled city. She worked her way around to the Cripple gate, one of the outer gates to the fort. The gate had been closed and the guards refused to open it. Sending out her aura, Alma knew the boy was right inside those gates. The large cover opened quickly and several armed guards stood behind a small kid with a wild gold mop of hair. "Who are you and why do you have some of my magic?"

Alma cocked her head, "What? I swear to god-"

"Elizabeth, get inside, quickly. Those barbarians could come in any minute!" She was pulled in and the nation dragged her into the fort. "What in the world are you?"

Alma held up a hand and stopped him, "First off, who are you, why are you calling me Elizabeth and what did you say about-"

"Shhh!" Green eyes that were a few shades lighter than Iverni's slapped a hand over her mouth somehow and she shook him off. "I've already been burned at the stake once, we don't need that to happen again. Follow me, I'll explain!" Alma's mind whirled as the kid pulled her into an empty corner. "I'm the representative of Albion. The name Elizabeth means-"

"Oath to god."

Albion huffed and crossed his arms, "Are you done interrupting me?" Elizabeth looked down, frowning.

"So this is how Roma and Venie felt..." The blond raised an eyebrow, "Fine, fine I'm done. Please, continue."

"Good, and finally, I possess magic. It's this power that runs through me, and for whatever reason, you have some of my magic... Do you know how you got it?"

She shook her head, "No, what would cause it?"

Albion rubbed his chin in thought, "Maybe a large spell, but I've never cast one that large... Who the hell are you?"

Elizabeth smiled, "I'm the girl future you sent back in time with future me." The boy blinked.

"What?"

"That is a long tale for another day, but is it true? Anglo-Saxons are coming?"

He snorted, "Where have you been? They've been here for a while!" Elizabeth shrugged in agreement.

"I've noticed, but usually the natives don't welcome them in."

Albion's eyes flashed, "They aren't welcome, they're here to help defend us. My ruddy brothers are no help, always picking on me. Ever since Rome stopped helping me after he killed mum, and Gaul keeps getting overrun all the time, I've been in bit of a ditch. I take it you're help to help?"

Elizabeth tilted her head, "Are you willing to let me fight? I'm not much good in the kitchen."

The toddler sighed, "Fine, but expect nothing mor- What god's name?!" She grinned as she made herself 'reappear' and tutted to the boy.

"Shame, to use the lord's name in vain. I've learned several things over my years. I'll teach you a few of mine if you teach me how to use this 'magic'. Agreed?"

Pursing his lips, Albion looked down, "Fine. But the information you give me determines how much I teach yo- BLOODY HELL, STOP DOING THAT!" Elizabeth shook her head.

"You make it too easy. How about I teach you after lunch?" The blonde nodded and grabbed her hand. "Will you stop dragging me around?"

* * *

"Alright, close your eyes. Reach down and feel the energy flowing in the objects around you. Find my aura. What do you see?"

Albion sat in front of Elizabeth with his eyes closed, "I... I see white. Your soul is white. Bits of green pop up, but..." He shook his head lightly and she raised an eyebrow but left it.

"Alright, good. Now turn into yourself. Your aura is green. This is the tricky part. Watch," The toddler looked over in her direction wordlessly and Elizabeth dove into her own state of being. The white mass around her very slowly deconstructed itself, the blackness warped until it was a fine dust that was almost gone. She mushed it back together and her aura automatically patched itself up. "Be careful, don't lose any of it. Get used to the feeling of it. Take it slow for now, and large chunks. You get used to it and can do it very quickly if you meditate enough." The blonde nodded and Elizabeth watched as he took his own ambience apart slowly. "There you go... Relax and watch what happens."

The jade flew back to its original state and they opened their eyes. Sweat dribbled down Albion's face, "Wow... Where did you learn to do that?"

The auburnette smiled and pulled her ever-growing hair into her lap, "I learned it from a nation across the Roman empire, across the Persian empire, in an empire known as China. Every place I visit, I learn something new. Now, what will I learn from you?"

Albion sighed and got up to toddle to a random direction. Elizabeth sighed herself and began braiding her thick locks to keep it out of her face, wincing as a few feet rested on the floor. "Curse my 5'4" stature..."

"What?" She looked up and saw the nation had returned and had two books in his hands. One was old and obviously well-used and the other seemed new. "Here, you'll have to copy from mine, but you put down any spells in there. Don't lose it, bad things can happen." She swallowed and nodded. It was one fear she had, to be burned alive. Because of her immortal status and healing abilities, she was afraid for torture this way. Any damage would be healed at an exponential rate and that meant she could be abused further.

"Good. Now. I'm going to teach you how to heal a wound..."

* * *

As the years quickly passed, Elizabeth stood shoulder to shoulder with the Anglos to defend against the Picts, taught Albion to sneak in forests without a sound, and learned a great deal of spells, just short of being able to sprout wings of all things. It had been amazing to watch the small boy to perform the work and become a literal angel. The girl never had the energy and need to, so it never came. "It will come when you need it. Now shut up, I'm tired!"

That had been last month and it was around 447 AD. Under a request from her all-but literal half-brother (That had been a confusing conversation), she was headed to Rome with an appeal for help. Several other men were coming with her, but they left her alone. When they reached the Northwestern shore of the empire, there was news flying of the "Scourge of God". Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat and she gripped the reins of her horses. "Men. I'm heading east."

They didn't get a chance to stop her before she stormed off, her recently cut hair bobbing just over her shoulders. Elizabeth knew these lands, she could make it there. The towns were in the relatively same place and as her horse began to tire, she traded it. This continued for three days straight before her eyes began to slide shut. Th girl spurred her horse on as she ended up moving back and falling asleep, grasping the horse's neck.

Elizabeth woke up to a sword in her face, "Again?"

" **Silence. Name yourself.** " Her head fell forward and noticed she was no longer on her horse, but on the ground with her hands tied.

" **I am one of many names. State yourself** ," She dared ask and looked up.

Several distorted heads stared at her, " **I am Attila, ruler of the Hunnic Empire. Again, state yourself, one of many names. Friend or foe**?"

" **Neither. Turkey knows me as Ney-** "

" **Neylan. The lucky one. Men** ," Attila the Hun jerked his head towards her and two grinned and picked her up. Elizabeth grit her teeth as she felt their gritty hands grab at her. " **Remove her weapons and hang her up. May the Romans see we have the greatest one on our side**."

Elizabeth thrashed in their grip and managed to get a punch in, breaking one of her captor's noses, " **LET ME GO**!" The man she hit drew her blade from her waist and held it up to her jaw. Sliding the dagger along sharply she stared him in the eyes as he laughed, grunting something and Attila growled in return. There were several thick saplings nearby and she watched with tired eyes as her struggles lessened and they made a large cross. Holding it up, they tied her arms and ankles to the ends.

" **May every man, woman and child see you as we ransack their homes.** " Elizabeth had no idea what was in store for her, but she hung her head as blood streamed down her neck, weapons god knows where, but her ring was ever present on her hand and her book of spells with Albion. She had never been more happy to leave something behind.

* * *

 **Alright, another chapter! Yaaaaaay! Thank AnonChan1 for proofreading!**


	26. Chapter 25

**Alright guys! There have been no other votes, and I'm keeping that poll open for a while!**

 **AnonChan1: It's this really weird show where 5 friends begin getting old, it's really good! But names... I have no idea, but now that the majority of the older nations are in place, the amount of names should hopefully stop increasing as much. And I have one final name for Lady Luck. But that's not coming for a long time. And maybe! Imagine if Attie and Ceolmund meet somehow and start talking... Chapter bonus, here I come. It wouldn't matter how old he was, he wasn't aging. If someone didn't know who he was and lived long enough, they could declare him a witch to be burned. And a little bit, England needs to relax, and ooooh, yeah. His aura is just charged with magic energy, more than most. Because they're immortal, the nations have to have some form of magic keeping them alive, so their auras stick out a bit. I think Lady Luck has just mastered going witht he flow and not giving a shit, and she will... do something. And yes, that's where he learned. The only thing she got was a bit of his magic, though. She will get help, but not for a while.**

Hunnic (Because Huns)

Latin (Because Romans)

 **Gaulish (Because Frank)**

 **Italian**

 _ **TRIGGER WARNING, Slight to moderate torture and gore.**_

 _ **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**_

* * *

Tears fell down Neylan's eyes uselessly as another blade carved into her legs. Fat fingers dove into the open wound and smeared the red substance across another hun's face.

Her eyes had lost their sheen the longer she stared down from her place on the cross upon the screaming villages that Attila massacred. Her wrists had stopped hurting as she went numb over the past year, hanging by aching shoulders. Pus filtered out of several infected wounds on her lower limbs and her tongue had lost its sharpness, as more pain would be brought upon a remark. Her mind had receded into itself, quietly waiting and hoping for the hell to end. Her clothes had been torn until there were simple frayed ends ended high on her legs and her normal tunic had been largely left alone, but the sleeves had been torn asymmetrically and an occasional or hole where the tribe threatened her or a stray arrow or branch managed to get close enough to her.

The men laughed as they prepared for another siege, but several horses in the distance caught the mounted Attila's attention. He grunted to the man digging his fingers into her veins, and left on his ride. Neylan looked up and saw a face she thought she wouldn't see again. A beat and battered Rome stared horrified in her direction, unable to look away. She, however, was, and looked away ashamed, sweat dripping down her face. Closing her eyes, she did her favorite disappearing act and passed out again for what felt like the millionth time.

When she woke up, she was on the back of a horse, heading towards a setting sun in the west. "Theodosius paid and Rome says hello," Attila said lowly. Neylan said nothing and simply watched the horse's leg move. Her arms tingled from the returning blood flow and her shoulders ached from the constant weight pulling down, but she couldn't help the smile and small tears dripping from her eyes. She had gotten to see Rome again.

The Huns continued to ride on into their own land and across the danube river. Neylan would sit in a dark thatched room, meditating her days away until a new battle would cause two guards to come in to attach her to 'her' cross or to throw a piece of raw meat in every once in a while. Water came in through tiny slips in the straw and she would wait patiently on those stormy nights. The auburnette's hair grew thin and wild as it reached her mid-back and her arms and legs thinned as well.

Finally, after days had blurred together, Attila walked into her small prison. Neylan squinted against the light, but he grabbed her arm and dragged her out. "We're heading to Gaul. I am going to claim my wife and dowry." Neylan nodded minutely and hung limp as the men pushed the logs up. Her weapons still hung on the lower part of base and she sighed. The girl accepted mental defeat and closed her eyes.

* * *

Neylan dipped in and out of sleep as the brutes crossed over the danube river once again and over the Rhine river. Screams and fire drove her out of her sleep and left her awake long after the battles. Strasbourg, Worms, and Mainz fell before her eyes. She wished she could say she didn't see Frank, but the boy, who had grown since she had seen him, looked just as defeated as Rome did when their eyes caught. A second boy with bright green eyes stood next to him, but she didn't care as much. A separate group broke off and headed towards Cologne, and then the city she had visited years before, Tournai, then Cambrai, Amiens, and Beauvais. Paris was threatened as they met up with the second party coming from Reims. Orleans and Troyes were also threatened, but it all lead to Chalons.

The girl would later learn that Attila had 300,000 men on their side and a smaller 260,000 on Rome's, but to her, it was just another slaughter. France and Rome stood shoulder to shoulder with the green-eyed-boy, and the former two looked at her with a fire burning in their eyes. The battle quickly began and there was a large ridge to her left that both sides dashed for, but for the first time in a while, Neylan blinked and looked around. Not the half-lidded stares she had given anyone nearby, but an actual alert look. Something told her that this would be the moment that she would be free.

She looked at her wrists and grit her teeth as she tugged on the ropes. Blood streamed down her arm as she wrenched a wrist free, but adrenaline flowed freely through her system. Neylan grabbed at the other cable and she toppled forward. The huns had been through as always and tied her ankles and her hair flew behind her as she rotated. The rope cut at her joints and her skin twisted. All of the forces were in front of her, so her cries went unheard. Neylan grappled at her swords and sliced at the line holding her upside down. She fell on the base of her neck and she groaned. A loud charge caught her attention and a large battle group charged the Huns down the mountatin. Roman forces pushed forward and the huns began retreating.

Neylan's breathed hard and hid behind her cross, watching as mounted riders stormed past her, her rags dancing in the wind. Her old allies continued charging the horsemen and she slid down the pole, bringing her knees close. She cried even though her eyes were currently dried and soon, thick and scarred arms drew her close. "Shhhh, Fortuna, it's all right, you're safe. Just sleep." Her breath became smoother as her heart calmed down and she slept in Rome's arms.

Rome cried as he grasped onto his family, Frank approaching and holding her hand. "Rome, will she...?" Frank asked, looking his friend over with careful eyes.

The older nation nodded, "She'll be fine. Fortuna is always fine." The teen nodded and patted the man's back.

"Let us hurry. Annabelle needs help." The Visigothic kingdom didn't know what was going on, so he stayed back. His usually warm green eyes, concerned as he saw his allies comfort the unconscious human, swept over the woman quickly before continuing his charge. He wouldn't remember her.

* * *

Black. Black was what swam in her vision, just like her lonely days and nights. Neylan heard through the straw, but rarely anyone came by. Her ribs poked through her skin and her bones shown through. As she looked around in the hut, freezing as several people lay around the enclosure. A burnt charred Romano, Persia and Rome were sliced in half, Turkey sat in front of Greece and Cyprus and Veneziano was nearby, all four sliced and diced. China sported several of his own cuts, sitting in his own blood with Albion and Frank. Iverni was crumbled in the corner, his features shallow with starvation. " **No, not again**..."

Her nightmare ignored her as a thick red substance began dribbling around her, and it faded to show herself on her cross. A lifeless doll hung up for show. A thick and bulky Hun approached her with a blade in her hand and a shy Lithuania and apathetic Sweden followed behind him. The large man ran the dagger across her calves several times. Neylan averted her eyes, trying to deny the truth, but it was hard when it was right in front of her, and the barbarian gathered her blood and decorated the two nations' faces. " **I am really am just a lucky charm, huh?** " The memory was quick to fade.

A bright light dragged her back to the land of the living and Neylan tried to roll over. Thick ropes tied her to the bed and she began to panic, " **Let me out..**." Her pained whispers drew Frank's attention and he rushed forward.

" **Annabelle, you're alright, you're safe** ," He caressed, rubbing her cheek lightly. Annabelle took a deep breath and shakily released it at the smooth voice crooning in her ear. " **Is there anything you need, miss?** "

She drily swallowed, " **Water, and untie me, please**." Frank nodded and his fingers flew over the knots quickly. The ropes fell at her sides, but the teen pushed her shoulders down when she tried to sit up.

" **I'll get your water, but you must stay down, alright? You're too weak**." Annabelle's head fell back and tears welled up. The blonde left the room and she raised her arm, but just barely. It shook wildly and the auburnette let it fall back onto her face.

"Fortuna. You look like you went to hell and back," Rome said as he strolled into the room. Annabelle looked at him out of the corner of her eye before looking back and shutting out the world. Her aura disappeared at her command and light footsteps approached. "You can't hide from the world, Fortuna. No matter how much. We've got you."

"He's right, as much as I hate to say it. I've got your water." Frank's sky-blue light appeared in her mind's eye and Annabelle nodded, opening her eyes. The teen held the goblet up to her lips and she drank slowly, not wanting to waste a drop.

The girl pulled away and tried to sit up, and Rome helped her, "We need to get the infections out. You're already running a heavy fever. I'm surprised you don't need your legs amputated, Fortuna, your luck's saved you again."

Annabelle cried lightly, "I'm not just a lucky charm..."

The older empire's mouth fell open and he wiped away her tears, "Fortuna, you're not just a lucky charm. Remember what I've said? You're a part of my family, and the brothers need their older sister."

Frank began to leave, "Yeah, I agree. Annabelle, do you wish for me to leave while Rome dresses your-" The girl's arm acted quickly and grabbed his.

" **Stay. Please**?" Frank looked over to Rome with a 'may I' look. Rome nodded and the blonde smiled.

" **I will happy to stay. What do I do**?"

* * *

Annabelle gripped Frank's arm weakly as Rome slid the blade along the middle of the infected wounds and squeezed the sides to get all the pus out. Her 'shirt' and 'pants' were barely that, more resembling futuristic underwear and strapless bra, and Frank's eyes took in all the scars that littered her body. " **Annabelle, how many wars have you been in**?"

She grit her teeth as Rome got a particularly bad welt and the man winced as the yellow pus erupted, " **These aren't that bad compared to- Damnit**!"

"Fortuna, I have to turn you over now. Are you ready?" Annabelle nodded and locked her muscles as Rome heaved her onto her stomach easily. "What happened here?" Two pairs of fingers traced her old back scar and she shivered.

"Can you two stop it? It still feels hollow..." The hands removed themselves and went back to what they were doing before. "That happened a hundred years ago. I didn't have anyone watching my back, and shit happened."

Rome paused in his work to smack her on the head lightly, "Language."

"Like you've never cursed!" Frank smiled at the small family argument, but stayed silent. "Fucking shit! Warn me before- DAMNIT!"

Rome snickered, "Romano's worn off on you too much."

"No, we build off each other... How are they, I need to see them soon." Frank looked at the oldest in the room.

" **Who**?"

Annabelle beat the old man to it, " **They're some of my little brothers, my first ones. I've spent a lot of years with them, but I have a bunch of other family I love dearly**."

"You can see them in a while. Once you-"

She shook her head, "Rome, I need to see them. I'll go see Veneziano, then Roma, just to check on them, but after that... I don't know, but I need to see them Rome." The man stared her in the eyes and sighed, looking down.

"Alright. But not for too long. Things aren't safe in Italia anymore. I can't get the boys out though. Byzantine and Germania are turning against me, and there's not much I can do. Godspeed, Fortuna-"

"DAMNIT, I SAID TO WARN ME!" Rome smiled.

"There's the girl I knew."

Frank just shook his head, "You two are very weird, no?"

* * *

Fortuna rode into Northern Italy not even a week later, and her legs had repaired themselves nicely. New scars made her look like a tiger, but she set her mind on something else. Rome sat on a different horse as he followed her. "Hurry up!"

Rome grinned, "Crazy girl, slow down, you're going to hurt yourself!" Her redish hair went flying as she shook her head and galloped towards the familiar home.

" **VENIE**!" A small white blob emerged from the front of the house, and Fortuna all but dived off. " **Venie! I've missed you**!"

The small nation looked up at her, **"Sorellona? Is that-a you?"**

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, and massive thanks for AnonChan1 for proofreading. I don't know what I would do without you!**


	27. Chapter 26

**Hey guys! The vote is still the same... Lady Luck doesn't have to have a romantic interest then! Anon, your choice!( Note, I've decided on two people, and you've seen them both.**

 **AnonChan1: Oooooh yeah. And it's not Liberty's name, it's her very last, and it's the one I'm not giving up, not 'til the end. And no one deserves to burn alive. Ever. It'll be over soon, don't worry. And it soooo is! It'll be a worrisome revelation. And which comment, there were so many! And I guess, considering how the two fight back and forth for Gaul, but currently, they're allies to take down the Huns. And seriously though, she's mama bear. Or big sister, whatever! And it's Venie we need to worry about! And there would be so many mistakes without you!**

Italian

 **Latin**

Hunnic

 **Gothic**

Note, most of this is the family dealing with Lady Luck's nightmares (again), so if you want to skip most of it, just find the #'s.

Note: Edited (12/3/16)

* * *

"Sorellona? Is that-a you?" Fortuna launched herself off her horse and all but tackled Veneziano to the ground.

Tears streaked down her cheeks, "Venie... How are you, are you ok? You've been getting enough to eat, right?" The small boy looked up at her with concern, rubbing at her face.

"Si, Fortuna, but are you alright? You're so-a thin!" He wasn't one to talk though. His own face looked a little drawn-in.

Laughter slipped out of her as she shakily stood, "Venie, I'm fine. Why don't we head in?" The kid cheered and looked over her shoulder at his grandfather and waved.

Rome smiled sadly before waving back and following them in, " **Italy, be careful with your sister, she hasn't been feeling well. Can you make sure she doesn't pick up anything too heavy or stay on her feet too much**?" Fortuna looked at the older man out of the corner of her eye, annoyed, but didn't say say anything. Veneziano nodded and clutched her neck lightly.

"So, Veneziano, have you painted anything lately?" The toddler nodded and began to worm out of her arms, "Venie, be careful!" Veneziano jumped down and ran into an open room. "Fratellino?" A small picture was forced into her hand and Fortuna took a sharp breath in. A protective case surrounded a self-portrait of her brother and-

"Turn it over! Grandpa Rome did that-a side!" More tears streamed down her face as Romano stared back at her with a smile on her face.

"You guys..." She shook her head and picked Veneziano up, "you're too good for me."

Rome peeked his head in, " **You two, the sun's going down, it's time for bed. Is it ok if I sleep with you for tonight**?" Veneziano cheered and bounded towards the bedroom and Fortuna nodded.

" **Thanks**." Ever since Rome and Frank rescued her, Rome had spent the night in her room and helped her through any nightmares or night terrors and, not to sound too sappy, he held her throughout the night.

He smiled and nodded, **"C'mon, let's get to bed**." Fortuna nodded and ducked into the old bedroom. Veneziano was bundled up in the middle of the bed, and she clamored to the boy's right as his grandfather sat to the kid's left. " **Good night you two**."

" **Good night, Rome** , good night Veneziano," she murmured, placing a kiss on her brother's right temple. Fortuna wrapped her arms around him.

Veneziano buried himself further into her stomach as he sleepily crooned, " **Good night, Grandpa Rome.** Good night, Sorellona." Rome smiled as he finally laid next to the siblings and dropped his own kiss on his grandson's left temple. As Rome gathered them into his arms, Fortuna finally left herself slip off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

#

It was quiet. It was way too quiet on the Roman streets at midday and Fortuna looked around confused. There wasn't a soul other than herself and she quickly began navigating the familiar maze towards her home. Standing in front of it, the auburnette looked around. Still no one and she could probably have heard a pin drop from across the street. She shook her head and entered the familiar building. " **Veneziano? Rome? Anyone**?" There was still not a word and a smell caught Fortuna's nose that made her gag. She knew that stench better than the back of her hand. Rotting flesh.

" **Hello? Romano? Anyone?** " A large pool of red crept out of the bedroom she had fallen asleep in, " **No, I'm not going in there! I know you, nightmare, and I'm not going in there! I'm not running, so stop hiding**!" As if on command, screams erupted from outside. Fortuna walked towards the doorway and peeked her head out. Blood raced down the streets as horsemen rode behind Roman citizens, slaughtering them mercilessly. She swallowed and looked down, knowing there was nothing she could do to help.

Thick fingers snaked around to cover her mouth, a blade resting on her throat. "Don't scream, lucky one." Fortuna's mind snapped as she chomped down on the man's hand, and threw her head back and caught the hun's nose. Invisible bindings dragged her back against the wall and the hun came closer. The words coming out of the barbarians mouth weren't even in the man's previous voice. " **Fortu** -

" **DON'T CALL ME THAT! ONLY THEY CAN CALL ME THAT!** " Fortuna roared at her previous tormentor. Rome's voice had poured from the hun and it was true, only the Italian Peninsula had ever and ever allowed to call her that.

" **WAKE UP! IT'S A DREAM!"** The hun's breath was rotten in her face as his blade went out of her line of view. **"YOU'RE SCARING-** "

" **SCARING YOU?! GOOD! AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS-** "

" **WAKE UP! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP**!" A distant scream drew her back to the land of the living...

Fortuna's eyes snapped open to Rome hovering inches from her face, holding her wrists down. " **Rome**?" The man sighed in relief. " **Was anyon-** "

" **Not too bad, but you pack a mean headbutt,** " He said as he sat up, pushing himself away. Moonlight filtered in through the window to show blood dribbling down his face. Rome turned towards the corner of the room, " **Italy, it's safe now. Fortuna's safe.** " Her eyes widened and she looked to the side to see a bawling Veneziano come out of the corner.

"Sorellona, are you alright?" Fortuna breathed heavily and pulled her little brother into her lap and placed her forehead on his.

Her eyes were shut as she calmed her heartbeat down, "I'm fine, Venie. I'm sorry. Are you alright?" The toddler nodded and curled into her stomach. She smiled and began running her hand through his hair carefully, and Veneziano's breath evened out. " **I'm sorry for waking you and Venie**."

Rome shook his head, " **Don't worry about it. Are you...**?

" **Yeah. Try and get some sleep. We aren't done with the Huns yet. Have faith though** ," Fortuna whispered, adjusting herself to lay against the wall, ignoring Rome's look. She wasn't one for religion, not when her siblings all came from different backgrounds and beliefs. " **Good night**." The man hummed and pulled her into a sleepy hug.

" **Good night.** "

#

* * *

Fortuna and Rome stayed with Veneziano for another month before heading south to see Romano. Her nightmares and night terrors relaxed minutely, but they were still there. Veneziano's food supply had greatly declined and the adults pushed as much of their food towards the hungry child as they could, taking only a little before saying they were full. While it was only a little food, Fortuna was happy to note her skin began getting a healthier glow as well as her hair, and her muscles were filling out as before.

"Venie, I'm going for a little while, but I'll be back really soon, alright? I promise," The woman swore, pulling Veneziano into a hug. The crying child burrowed towards her stomach as much as possible.

"Don't-a go! Please!" Fortuna smiled uneasily, running her fingers through his hair.

"Fratellino? Listen to me. I'm going to come back, I swear. I will return."

Her brother slumped and nodded, "Be back soon, Sorellona." She nodded and placed a quick kiss on the boy's forehead.

"Be safe, Italy Veneziano." Fortuna set him down and mounted her horse. Rome nodded to her from his place on the ground and she rode off towards Romano's home. The girl closed her eyes as tears flowed, leaving Rome to say his goodbyes to his grandson.

* * *

The two arrived at dusk and Fortuna placed a finger to her lips, begging Rome to wait. The man nodded and hung back, smiling. The auburnette returned it grimly, dismounting. Sucking in a deep breath, Fortuna entered the home. It was relatively the same, and she walked around to the back. The boy was taking a nap at the base of the peach trees she had climbed through so long ago. "Roma?" Her brother shifted slightly and a small sob bubbled its way out of her throat. "R-Romano? Can you wake up for me?"

Romano turned over and groaned, "What?" Fortuna laughed as she sat down and pulled the sleepy kid into her arms. The motion finally seemed to wake him up and he began flailing, "Let-a me go, you child kidnapper! I'm just a littl- RAGAZZA!"

Fortuna laughed as Romano yelled at her, "Hey, Roma-ow!" Her brother froze mid-punch as she flinched.

"Carina?" She smiled uneasily, staring at the small boy. "What-a the hell happened to-a you? That-a never hurt-a you befo-"

The auburnette shook her head, "Maybe a tale for ano-"

" **Romano? Are you out here**?" Rome came from around the corner, clasping the sword at his waist. The toddler froze at the sight of his grandfather and pulled his way out of Fortuna's arms.

" **Nonno** (1)!" The men grinned as they reunited and the woman smiled, leaning against the tree. She closed her eyes and let the familiarity of the environment surround her as she slipped once again into sleep.

Rome cast a careful eye over the redhead as he grinned, " **I've been fine, Roma. You need to be careful with Fortuna, though. She's been through a rough patch for a while and is still recovering. Can you keep an eye on her for me?** "

Romano looked over at his sister, " **Si. Wha-** "

" **Let her tell you, but Roma? Please don't push too much**." Romano looked down and closed his eyes. Rome breathed a sigh of relief as he nodded. **"Let's get inside, then**!" Romano nodded and slipped out of the older man's grip and watched as his grandfather easily pick up the sleeping Fortuna. He lead them to the bedroom and frowned, seeing Rome tuck Fortuna into bed before climbing in himself.

" **What are you-a doing**?"

Rome blinked, looking like a child who had gotten caught red-handed, " **Sleeping here**?" Romano shrugged and leapt up onto the bed. Curling next to his sister, he noticed her twitch in her sleep violently. " **Romano, you might want to** -"

" **STOP IT! I'M NOT-** " Rome's lips pursed as he reached over and held her wrists away from her.

" **FORT** -"

" **NO! YOU CAN'T CALL ME TH-** "

Romano's eyes widened as he saw his sister thrash in Rome's grip, trying to escape some unknown enemy. He blinked and the memory of his last experience of her night terrors flashed through his mind. " **Nonno, forgive me**."

" **Roma**?" The man looked at him in confusion, then horror as Romano head butted Fortuna's stomach.

She rose from her spot, gasping, " **L-Let me go. I-I'm a-awake**." Rome blinked as he released her, and she curled around Romano. " **T-Thanks, Romano.** " He nodded and grabbed a spare lock of hair from her face, twirling it around in his hand. " **Is** -"

" **Not this time. Romano, what did I tell you-** "

Fortuna looked at Rome, " **I asked him to do that a few years ago... He's fine. Thank you, Romano.** " Rome's shoulders slumped.

" **I'm living with crazy people**."

* * *

Fortuna stayed with Romano throughout the rest of the fall and through the winter, but Rome left soon after the first week. The number of horrors still slowly went down but Romano woke her every time and before it got too late into the morning. In the Spring of 452, a sense of... travel?... hit Fortuna. "Romano?"

The kid raised an eyebrow as he chomped into a peach, "Is it time?" Biting into her own, she nodded. "Hurry up, and come back soon." Fortuna smiled and picked him up into a hug. Romano shrugged and took another bite.

"See you later, Roma."

He waved his hand, "Just go already."

Fortuna smiled and kissed his forehead, "I'm going to miss you, Italy Romano. See you when." Putting him down, she rushed off to pack. Shoving a pair of old pants into her sack, she also pulled her stolla over her head and put a new shirt on. Fortuna pulled on a pair of pants before running out to the kitchen. Romano rolled his eyes as he watched her dash bye, and waved lazily as she shouldered the bag.

"Don't forget your-a weapons!" She laughed and ran back into the bedroom, strapping them on.

Walking out into the main room again, she pulled Romano into a hug, "I'll be back when I can. See you later!" The child sighed as he watched his older sister run out into the world again.

"Be back soon, Sorellona."

* * *

To put it lightly, Northern Italy was a mess. Aquileia, Padua and Verona were gone, and she barely caught the small party of three heading to Veneto. Pope Leo I, a consul, and a former prefect caught her eye and she joined them. " **What's going on**?"

The Pope shook his head, " **Miss, we have no time to stop and explain, we must-** "

" **Get North. I know, Your Holiness. I know of the huns, and if your Holiness allows-** "

" **Yes, yes, but do hurry, we're in a great rush** ," He stated. Fortuna rolled her eyes, but took the lead. The men didn't question it, but she swallowed thickly. They reached the south shore of the Lake Garda, where the huns' camp was glaringly obvious.

" **Are you-** "

" **Miss** ," One of the other men stated, placing a hand on her shoulder, " **you're not coming with us.** "

Fortuna laughed, " **I've known Huns better than you can imagine. Just try and stop me.** " The three men shared a look.

The final man sighed, " **Miss, please understand, a woman-** "

" **I have more balls than the two of you combined, and I will not dare insult the Pope, but let me tell you, it will scare them to see me. They think I'm dead.** " Pulling up her pant leg, her scars shown in the bright light. " **I know Huns and they know me. Trust me.** " The Pope finally nodded.

" **You may come, but if anything goes wrong, may God have mercy on your soul.** " Fortuna nodded and urged her horse forward.

" **Stay on your horses. They do business on horseback**." This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Fortuna stared down Attila, her hand white from gripping her sword. Her ears blocked out any sound as blood thundered in them, but she kept her eyes locked on him. Time made no sense, but Attila's mouth moved and his chin jerked in her direction. The Pope looked to her and turned back. The hunnic king nodded and turned back towards his men. The Pope bowed from his place on the horse and the three men turned their horses and began moving away and Fortuna quickly followed them. One last look back and her and the king's eyes met. She nodded slowly and to her surprise, he nodded back.

A bitter laugh bubbled from her throat once she realized the respect the two held for each other.

Otherwise, once the four were a 'safe' distance away, she let a breath out she didn't know she was holding, " **My dear, what was that**?"

She peeked up to the Pope, " **What**?"

The Pope shook his head, " **Never mind, but hurry home. You shall need the rest**." Fortuna sighed and nodded lightly. " **My child, hurry along, and may God's divine light guide you safely home**." She nodded and kicked her horse into high gear, rolling her eyes as she passed. The girl needed to check up on Veneziano anyway.

Fortuna was halfway home before she stopped for a small break near a stream. Cupping the clean water to her mouth, she drank deeply. " **Lower your hands. Slowly**."

" **Goddamnit** ," She whispered, spreading her arms away from her. Fortuna turned to see a long, familiar blade at her neck with a cold look on the welder. " **Hello, Germania. Does Rome know you're here**?"

The blonde man snorted, " **Vaguely. We've been here, but he doesn't know what I'm doing** **. We need your help.** " The auburnette pursed her lips, not amused in the slightest. " **We're going to take down the barbarians once and for all. I am... asking this time. After the Scourge of God is dead, you may stay or leave, but-** "

" **I'll come, but not for long. And ONLY against those bastards** ," Fortuna growled. Germania nodded and lowered his sword. " **Lead the way**."

* * *

 **(1)Italian for Grandpa.**

 **Also, for the end of the chapter, Goths didn't really invade the Roman empire, if you don't count them coming in to become part of the Roman populace. But this story needs a nudge. Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading!**


	28. Chapter 27

**On to another!**

 **AnonChan1: Take your time! Venie will be ok! And they really are adorable! I can't wait until cameras are invented! She'll get over them soon, but it takes time. And Romano's mind tends to wander when he has nothing to do for years on end. Lady Luck does live to do that, especially when she's lived with nations that try to constantly sneak up on each other! And one reason I'm having Romano be chill is that he knows that Lady Luck will always come back! And with how influential the Church was, the Pope would be the last person she would sass. And Don't worry!**

 **Qeani: It's so nice to hear from you again! And thanks for your comments!**

 **Guys, just a heads up, Lady Luck is going to be going everywhere, and I'll try my best, but most of this is just going to be small 'snapshots'. Also, simply for convience, I'll list all her current names: Fortuna- Rome, Veneziano and Romano; Neylan- Hun, Persia, Turkey; Alma- Ireland; Elizabeth- England; Annabella- France; Jun Fu- China; Ragin- Germania, Lithuania, Estonia**

Gothic (BECAUSE GERMANIA, LITH, AND ESTONIA. RAGIN)

 **Latin (BECAUSE ROME AND FORTUNA)**

Italian (BECAUSE ROMA AND VENIE AND FORTUNA)

 **Frankish (BECAUSE FRANK AND ANNABELLA)**

 _ **Common Brittonic (BECAUSE ALBION AND ELIZABETH)**_

 ** _Primitive_** _ **Irish (BECAUSE ALMA)**_

 ** _Note: Updated (12/3/16)_**

* * *

Ragin sighed as the man beside her cast her a look. "Are you ok?" She nodded and continued walking as Germania nudged her over in a slight direction change. "This way. How have you been?"

She snorted, "Is this awkward smalltalk or are you actually wondering?"

Germania hummed, "I believe I am curious." Ragin raised an eyebrow.

"I've been decent, but I'm coming with two hopes: I get to leave anytime I want," She stated.

The man hummed in thought before adding a of his own, "Only if you come back afterwards and until the Huns are gone."

Ragin nodded and continued her conditions, "Agreed, and I fight with you against those fuckers." Germania grinned and nodded.

"That I can agree to. So you know how Huns fight?"

She frowned and jumped over a fallen tree, "Yeah. I don't like to talk about it though." The blonde's face returned to it's impassive mask as he hummed again. He heaved himself over and they continued their journey in relative peace until they stopped to eat, and then they continued into the night.

"Do you wish to stop?"

Ragin looked at him bleakly and shook her thick hair. "I'm good to go until tomorrow night. You?" Germania grunted but said nothing as he continued on. "When you kill Rome, make it quick, please?"

"What?" She looked at the blonde man with a remorseful expression.

"You heard me. When you kill Rome, make it quick. I know you kill him, you know do, and he knows you do. Don't drag it out," The auburnette said as she looked down.

Germania stared and her and sighed, "I'll try my best." Ragin nodded and continued on her way.

He tried to ignore her small "Thank you," but it hung in his mind.

* * *

They made it to the Provinince of Pannonia after a week and a half's worth of travel. Germania had found out about her night terrors and had simply resolved to keeping watch when she slept and vice-versa. Admittedly, it was nice to see Lithuania again. "Miss Ragin?"

She smiled at him as she lowered her sword. Ragin had been practicing her old movements on open air, and she had already practiced her old dances and martial arts that China had shown her centuries ago. "Yes?"

"C-Can I fight you?" Her amber eyes widened at the question. A seven-year-old Attie flashed before her, but was gone in an instant. Lithuania stood there with a strong-willed look on his face and Ragin smiled.

"Of course. How serious do you want me to take this? I'm not going to seriously injure you, but if you want me to go a little easy on you..."

Lithuania shook his head, "Fight me like any other." Ragin nodded and brandished her sword as the mousy boy drew his. "Ready when you are." She took a strong step to her right and swung towards the child in a downward motion. Lithuania easily blocked and struggled to hold her blade back with his own. Delivering a small kick to his stomach, Ragin watched as Lithuania fell back.

Putting her sword tip to his adam's apple, she simply stated, "Yield." Lithuania looked up at her before letting his head fall back.

"I yield. I didn't expect that to happen."

The auburnette shook her head and smiled as she offered a hand. "Expect everything, Lithuania. You tend to be shocked less. Want to go again?"

Lithuania nodded and took her hand, "Yes please."

"Alright. And use your size to your advantage. I want to be able to have you make me yield by the end of the year. If you can do that, the huns don't stand a chance."

The kid's eyes lowered, "I'm still-" She growled and held her sword up. She didn't need his pity when he had

"Sword up!" Lithuania's eyes met hers and he nodded, doing as she said. "Don't be afraid to go low. If you can get behind your enemy, you can kill your enemy." The kid nodded and they circled each other. "If you're smaller than your opponent, but faster, use that for advantage. Go for ankles and the backs of knees. You remove the base, the rest crumbles."

"Stop talking and attack her!" Ragin didn't look over, but Lithuania's eyes darted over to Germania. She pinched her lips and covered her leg as she swept the limb under the back of the child's knees.

"Don't get distracted. Yield." Lithuania sighed and dropped the blade.

"I yield."

Ragin sighed and lowered her sword, "Again."

* * *

Germania watched the party passively as he clutched Ragin's arm, "Don't do anything stupid, remember." The redhead grumbled as she clenched her fists.

"I'm just here to make sure that tonight goes smoothly. Ildico's brave for doing this." The blonde hummed and stared down the happily married couple as Attila continued to drink heavily. "You know, centuries from now, people wonder if Attila's death was a miraculous accident or if one of his brides murders him." A guarded blue eye looked at her carefully. "What? He dies in 453, and his 'empire' is divided amoungst his sons."

"Then I cannot wait for him to fall." The wedding lasted well into the night and Ragin refused to sleep.

It was early when the area fell into chaos and Germania turned over to face her as he opened his eyes. "Attila the Hun, Scrouge of God, is dead." The man's eyes sharpened and he quickly rushed out. She smiled as she let her head fall back, "Finally. About damn time..." Laughter erupted out of her and she fell back onto her place on her mat.

Ildico would be killed later on suspicion for poisoning Attila. Ostrogoths began to head into Germania's land and settle in 454. Estonia joined in on the battle lessons after being under Hun's command for so long. The two became fast friends and Ragin occasionally asked them to try and take her down as a team. Sadly, the lessons quickly had to be applied to real life as the Battle of Nedao approached.

"Good work today you two..." Ragin panted, sheathing her sword. "Any other comments?" Germania stood to the side as always and simply grunted. Lithuania took a deep breath.

"My boss seeks aid to break free from the Hun's rule. Will you guys help out?" Estonia blinked and Ragin's eyes flew to Germania's.

Lithuania looked up, "Y-You don't have to, but i-it would be ni-"

"Count me in." She nodded to the tall blond in thanks and Estonia joined in quickly. "We attack soon."

Estonia nodded, "I will help, Theodomir will have my people help." The kids looked to Ragin and she raised an eyebrow.

"You know I'll be there. When do we leave?"

* * *

The battle took place in near three fucking bogs and Ragin grit her teeth as she pulled another foot out of a misplaced step in the mud. "Seriously..." Lithuania and Estonia had no problem walking across the soggy earth and soon, an equal force of huns entered their sights. She sucked in a deep breath and grabbed her sword. This was the chance she never got years ago. The boys followed her lead and then went to stand by their leaders, Ardaric, Theodomir, and Germania. The two forces began charging with their own specialties. Huns had their bows, their own side armed with various swords.

She roared and charged forward with several dozen other warriors. Blood went flying and her hands grew slick on the sword in her hand. Arrows flew past her and it was with great regret later that she admits one or two landed. Adrenaline kept her going as pain flared in her side and calf. Before she knew it, Germania was putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She barely managed to stop her blade from flying into her friend. "It's over." Ragin sighed and wiped her blade on her pant leg to clean it off.

"A-Alright..." Lithuania tried not to look at the bodies covering the area and zoned in on the three arrows in her. "Can you get Lithuania and Estonia out of here? I need to get these arrows out before they seal." Germania nodded and put a hand on the mousy boy's shoulder and turned him away. She sighed and winced as pain flared in her side as she moved. Ragin snapped the first arrowhead peeking out from just under her ribs and involuntary tensed. The wood strained but the redhead tried to ignore it as she pulled the rest of the shaft out the other side. "Fucking arrows, fucking Huns..."She did the same with the one in her calf before looking at her other shoulder.

"Shit. Germania? Can I have some help quick?" The blonde looked over in question and Ragin pointed at her joint. The tip was wedged well into the muscle and Germania sighed and drew a small dagger.

"Lay down and hold still." Ragin nodded and laid on her stomach as Germania sat next to her side and held down her chest and arm with his knees. "Ready?" She grunted and relaxed as much as she could as the blade entered her skin.

* * *

Ragin sighed as the woman's screams finally stopped and the baby's wails began. "Why are there always babies being born when I'm there?"

Lithuania laughed, "Why are you always there when babies are being born?" She snorted and leaned back onto her pack. Theodoric the Great was just born and Germania had the pure joy of having to be there. "Have you ever had any kids?"

The redhead blinked and looked at him startled, "What?"

"W-Well, you don't have to-"

"No, it's fine. I, uh, don't think I can have kids, but I've 'adopted' several over the years, god, how many has it been?" Ragin looked up at the stars, but closed her eyes. "I am 395 years old. Damn."

Lithuania hummed, "At least you remember... I don't even know what year I was born, let alone the day. What happened to your kids, if I may ask?"

Her human family's faces swept through her mind, "Well, the first I really adopted was roughly sixty years ago, and his father was never really home, so his mother kinda allowed me to stay in return for work and I help Attie grow stronger, but that was for only a year. I checked up on him, but he had grown up and was living with his own children and wife. Then there was the Ui Neill family... I helped raise them a bit, but mostly I was out helping them defend their borders and working a bit of trade, but during that time, I met another son of mine..." She smiled at the thought.

"Ceolmund is actually my pride and joy when it comes to humans... I took him when he was ten, and he was such a small thing. I brought him on anyway and let the crew and sea mold him into a fine young man, and I promised him that when I left, I'd leave him as Captain. He knows all my tricks, about half the tongues in the North and anything that could help him as his time as a seaman, and now he's followed the same steps as his predecessor. You'll bound to have your favorite human, Lithuania, but don't ever forget them. They make you the- Oh." Ragin smiled as she looked at sleeping boy.

Removing her cloak and wrapping it around him, she placed a kiss on his forehead, "And then there are you guys. My rays of sunshine that never fly away." Turning away from him, she bundled up for the night and slept peacefully.

* * *

It didn't surprise Germania when she first asked in early 458. He had been waiting for it in fact. "May I go to Rome for a while? I'll be back within a few years." Ragin stood in front of him patiently with her old sack slung over her shoulder and her three blades hanged from various parts of her body. The girl's hair had grown and gotten hacked to midback and her shoulder wound had long since healed.

Germania grunted and nodded, "Be back in five years at most." Ragin smiled and nodded. She was gone within the next blink.

Ragin readjusted her new sword uncomfortably. The germanic blade rested awkwardly on her spine, but she didn't care that much except when it bounced on her tailbone when she didn't have her cloak on.

Running quickly to the stables, Estonia waited patiently with a horse ready to go. "Thanks, Estonia! I promise I'll be back soon alright? Take care of yourself and tell Lithuania to do the same. Look after each other, alright? I'm sorry I'm rushing, but-"

Estonia smiled lightly, "Hurry back? Whoever they are, they're lucky."

"You're so cute, Estonia. I'm going to miss you and Lithuania, but I'll see you two before you know it. See you." Ragin gave him one last kiss on the forehead before rushing outside and leaping onto the horse. Lithuania smiled from just outside the stable and Estonia walked up next to him.

"When do you think we'll see her again?"

The blond looked to the mousy boy, and waited for the elder's words, "I hope it's soon..." Estonia nodded in agreement.

* * *

Ragin charged into Northern Italy hoping things weren't as bad as she had heard, and was relatively relieved to find Rome as with Veneziano. " **Rome**?"

The tall man nearly dropped his grandson and Veneziano cheered as ran over, " **FORTUNA**!" The three laughed and Veneziano clutched her hair as Rome slapped her on the shoulder. " **Fortuna, ho- What?** "

Fortuna didn't realize she had winced lightly as the scar rubbed awkwardly, " **Just a new scar. An arrow didn't land neatly and Germania had to dig it out**." Rome pursed his lips, but nodded. " **Are you and the boys alright though? I heard what happened three years-** "

" **It wasn't as bad as Alaric, and I tried to take the brunt of it, so Roma's alright**." Fortuna swallowed and nodded. " **So Venie, isn't time for a nap**!"

The child grinned, " **Si**!" Fortuna laughed and bobbed him lightly up and down.

" **Alright, let's go**!" Rome took Veneziano and put him on the ground and pulled Fortuna into a tight hug. " **Rome. Are you really alright**?"

" **No. I've been getting these chest pains and horrible headaches and... I don't know, Fortuna. I'm trying to hide it from the boys, but it's getting harder. H-How have you been**?" She pulled him away and grasped his shoulders.

" **Rome, I'm fine. I'm almost completely over my old night terrors, but I think it's time to bring the boys back together."** Rome swallowed and nodded. **"Think about it later, let's just get some rest. Come here,"** She whispered, pulling Rome into a hug. The tall man clutched onto her and she rubbed his back. **"I'm so sorry Rome, but I hope you took my advice all those years ago. Have you done everything you wished with Roma and Venie?"** He nodded and Fortuna smiled, **"Then you have nothing to worry about. And actually... You remind me of a man I met a long long time ago, but I was only a child, and mom doesn't have many paintings or photos around the house..."** She shook her head. **"Never mind. Ignore the ramblings of an old woman, let's go join Venie?"** Rome nodded again and she pulled away again, but clutched his hand. **"Come on."**

" **Did you ever take my advice**?" Fortuna looked at him confused until he continued, " **When Romano headbutted you your first year here.** " The advice that he had whispered to her and only her.

She smiled, " **I think about it everyday.** " Rome nodded and lead her to the shared bedroom.

Once again, Rome was wrapped around his small family with a single person missing, and they all slept soundly through the night.

* * *

Rome sat carefully on his horse as he rode next to Fortuna on the way to Romano. He opened his mouth, but quickly shut it. She cast him a sideways glance and the man sighed. " **I'm going to keep them apart for now. Can you reunite them after...** " Fortuna bit the inside of her cheek as she nodded.

" **Yeah. I will if I can.** " They rode in silence until they reached Romano's house and Fortuna peeked over the gate that fenced the peach trees. "Romano?" The tiny blob shifted from his mid-afternoon nap and peeked at her with hazel eyes.

"Ragazza?"

She grinned and Rome joined her, " **Don't forget me**."

Roma grunted, " **Get your-a asses in here already and-a feed me**." Fortuna looked between the two Roman's and her eyes widened.

" **Rome**." The man winced but got off his horse. " **Why didn't you tell me**?" He shrugged and she sighed, " **You all are going to kill me**." The auburnette dismounted and grabbed Rome's reins, " **Well, come on. Someone's waiting.** " Rome grinned and nodded. Fortuna lead the horses around back to put them in a small stable Rome added several years ago solely for this purpose.

When she returned, Romano was in Rome's arms, pulled tightly to his chest as they rested against the trees. They both had a calm, but happy, expression on their faces as they slept, and never before had she wished she had a camera as much as this moment. " **Sleep well you two**." Fortuna smiled at he family, but went back inside to see what she could scrounge up.

* * *

Fortuna stood next to Rome as they charged into Arelate near the end of 458. Majorian was personally leading the conquest, leaving the asshole Ricimer in Italia. She knew what he would do to Rome, but she kept her mouth shut, glaring at the man whenever she could.

The Romans had hopes to reconquer lost land from the Visigoths and it came to their great surprises when the pot luck of the Roman army won and continued winning. Theodoric II was forced to sign a peace treaty after the Battle Arelate, but Rome and Majorian continued in their marches. They went North for a short time, defeating King Gondioc of the Burgundians in winter, and Fortuna returned back to Italia. Rome had nodded but gave her one last hug before heading deeper into the Iberian Peninsula.

To say she was pissed when she got back was an understatement. Ricimer was doing whatever possible to turn the Senate against Majorian, but sadly, even though she had a small voice when Rome was present, she was a woman and without Rome there, Fortuna held no power. She could, though, return to Veneziano and Romano. Rome would send news of how everything was going, most of how the conquests were going. Leo I had signed a peace treaty with the Ostrogoths, and the five-year-old Theodoric the Great was sent as a child hostage to Constantinople in 459.

In 460, halfway through the year, Fortuna said her goodbyes to Romano and Veneziano again and returned to Germania.

* * *

Ragin snuck into camp later in the night and put her horse in the stall. It was odd to see the area she was so used to seeing during the day to be so dark during the night. She sighed, knowing she couldn't get to bed comfortably at this time of night and laid down on the large pile of hay in the corner. "You guys don't mind if I stay in here, do you?" The horse's ears swiveled, but none of them did much else. "Alright thanks." Ragin drew her three usual swords, her persian blade, her celtic one, and her Germanic one, and pulled out her sharpening stone. Honing the edges until they could cut carefully into the side of her forearm, Ragin worked well into the night.

Germania was the one who found her the next morning, meditating peacefully. "Good morning." She hummed and sighed.

"Good morning. Can I have Lithuania and Estonia again for training?" The blonde hummed and began brushing a stark white stallion. "Alright. I'm going to go get a loaf of bread and wake the boys." The man nodded and said nothing more. Nothing really changed.

* * *

Ragin grit her teeth when she got the news. Majorian had been captured and tortured for five days before being beheaded, and months after that, Pope Leo I died (1) in 461. While she didn't like religion, she did like the man. He helped Rome and the boys when they needed it, and that was enough for her. Lithuania cast her a concerned look while Estonia watched her carefully. "Germania, can you join in for a moment?" The man, as always, was standing nearby and watching their training.

He nodded, unsheathing the blade at his waist, and she did the same with her Celtic blade. The heavy metal sat comfortably in her hand and when Germania nodded to her, Ragin charged. "Slow down, girl," He grunted, blocking an overhead swing. She pulled away as he tried to kick her side, but just as quickly threw herself back in.

" **FUCK RICIMER**."

* * *

Alma breathed in the colder air and Ceolmund hugged her carefully, " _ **It's been nice seein' ye again, mum. And ye really haven' aged a day..**_." She smiled and cast a look at the old man. It was 462 and she had some quick business with the Ui Neills before leaving for a short while.

" _ **It's nice seeing you too. Have any grandkids I need to worry about?**_ " The eighty-year-old laughed and gestured to the small village, " ** _No... Really_**?"

" _ **They're all mine. I' helps that I've outlived several other clans, bu'..**_."

Alma hummed in understanding and hugged her adoptive son again, " _ **Well, Ceol, it's been nice seeing you again. Last time**_?" Ceol nodded and a pretty girl came and offered him a helping hand.

" _ **Ah, Aisling, perfec' timin'! This i' the woman I've always told you abou'! Te one who a'e a fish raw-**_ "

She patted his hand lightly, " _ **Papa, I know ye'r old, but there's no way this la'y 's is my grandmummy**_."

Alma smiled, " _ **Aisling, that's your name? Is she the one born in 429? I'm sorry I had to leave that year, but...**_ " Ceolmund nodded and hugged his daughter around her waist. " _ **Anyway, it's nice to see you again! The last time I saw you, you were a wee little thing**_!"

Aisling blinked, " _ **So he's go' you in on**_ -"

" _ **YOU**_!" Ceolmund lowered his head and whispered a quiet prayer. " _ **WHY IN THE WORLD DID YE LEAVE WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A PEEP! YE HAD ME WORRIED SICK!"**_ Ceolmund's wife ran out and started beating Alma lightly with a rag. Alma laughed and tried to cover herself. _ **"DON'T YE LAUGH A' ME! I MAY BE YER DAUGHTER IN LAW, BUT- Ne'ermind, come here, it's nice seein' ye again!**_ " Alma laughed as the woman pulled her into a hug.

" _ **It's nice to see you too, Bevin! I'm so sorry for the short visit, but I really-**_ "

The old woman sighed, " _ **There's a skittish little thing in the stables behind the house if ye want it, now go**_!" Alma smiled and nodded.

" _ **Thanks, you two! Aisling, you grew into a beautiful woman. The man who gets you is lucky.**_ " She turned heel and dashed into the stables.

" _ **Mum, papa, my grandmummy is crazy.**_ " Ceolmund laughed heartily at his daughter's exasperated expression and placed an arm over his wife's shoulder. The married couple watched Alma's auburn hair disappear behind her as she rode out of the village.

* * *

Alma breathed as the old castle came into view, the moon shining bright and blanketing the land. "It's time isn't it?" She swung herself off and looked at her clothes. Her old cloak, which had served her well for many years, was worn, tattered and frayed, and her curly hair was flying everywhere. Channeling all the pain she had suffered over the years, she drew forth a loud shriek. It echoed lightly around the area, and a few extra lights were scrambling. Turning back, she mounted her horse and head headed back to the coast. Alma wouldn't need to be back for another while.

* * *

Annabella froze as Frank hugged her tightly, " **Annabella, it is so nice to see you again! 'Ow have you been**?" She blinked and hunched into the embrace.

" **Frank, it's been a while! You've grown a few inches, haven't you**?"

The teen looked up at her and grinned widely, " **Thank you for noticing! You're looking healthier**!"

" **I would hope so. How have you been**?" She asked, ruffling his hair.

He guarded his head, but quickly fell into his old dramatics. " **Not my hair, please! I have 'ad many ups an' downs, but your presence eases my soul**!" Annabella laughed at Frank's antics and kneeled to give him a proper hug.

" **Frank, it's been too long! What would happen if your hair got damaged in any way**!"

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, " **I'm afraid the end of the world would come and god's wrath would be upon us**!" The two pulled away and the auburnette stood, her hair braided thickly to the end of her waist. " **You need to get your hair trimmed. May I**?"

Annabella tugged on a loose lock, " **Sure, I guess, but maybe just not here? And maybe not too long..**." Frank nodded and waved his hand.

" **Alright, and this shall be the best style anyone has ever seen**!" She just smiled and let the small Frenchman lead her away... wherever.

* * *

She stared at the large army across the Loire River and looked to Rome and Frank, " **Are you guys sure about this**?" They were about to engage in a battle against the encroaching Visigoths in 463, and even though Childeric I was exiled, he still reigned, in some weird way...

Rome nodded and swallowed, but Frank beat him to the punch, " **Annabella, it hurts that you think so lowly of us**!"

" **Right, but still, best of luck to both of you**." They nodded as Theodoric II and his troops crossed the river. They never knew what hit them.

* * *

Alma swallowed thickly as she approached the Ui Neill castle again in 464, ready to scream again. Conall was going to die this year, but she was having trouble remembering which one. Gulban or Cremthainne? She smacked her fist against her forehead a few times, but it didn't shake loose. " ** _Damn... Nevermind. Here it goes..._** " A second scream raced over the land and again, Alma disappeared into the woods, if only for a year. One of the brothers had been so heartbroken over his brother's death that he withered.

She returned to her spot a year later with the same goal, and finally disappeared.

* * *

The woman sighed as she made her way through Europe. Frank had been pleasantly surprised but she winced as the wails of Clovis the first were heard, but she smiled at the wonder on the young nation's face. She had heard about the murder of Theodoric II by his brother Euric and how he conquered Hispania and southern Gaul. She also got word that Albion needed some help.

Ragin popped up one day when Lithuania and Estonia were practicing as always and Germania was off to the side. "I'm back for now. A friend of mine needs some help next year or two." The man drew his sword in surprise, but just as quickly put it away.

"Fine, but be back quickly. Get in there," Germania said as he gestured towards the two kids. Ragin nodded and drew her blade. It was 466 AD.

* * *

Albion's arms were crossed as he leaned on the wall, not looking at her. Elizabeth stared at him with a matching form. " ** _You asked for me_**?"

Albion hummed, " _ **Yeah. Some of the defenses need refortification and there are plans for something I like to call the 'Wansdyke'**._ " A single eye peeked out at her as he gauged her reaction. " _ **Are you going to help**_?"

Elizabeth smiled, " _ **Well, I'm not just going to leave because of a little work. What do you need me to do**_?"

" _ **How do you feel about dirt**_?"

She would later be very proud, of the Wansdyke and any hill-forts she helped with those two years. She did hate all of the dirt, though.

* * *

Ragin once again returned to Germania and was pleasantly surprised to see Theodoric the Great standing by the tall man. Germania nodded to the auburnette and she waved. "He's back?"

"Hello, who are you?"

She smiled at the fifteen-year-old, "I am one of many names, but I go by Ragin. You've grown quickly."

Theodoric raised an eyebrow, "It is nice to meet you, but have we met before?"

"Not really, but I heard you fifteen years ago. You were just a babe." The man's growing mustache twitched as he nodded.

* * *

Germania seemed to be a good mood as he watched Lithuania and Estonia fight Theodoric. Ragin stood next to the blonde nation and looked to him. "What?" A blonde eyebrow was raised, "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Oh. Odoacer has told me he has become an officer in Rome's military. Saint Severinus said that if he went to Italy, good things would come our ways." Ragin hummed and clenched her fists. A strong hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her anger. "I remember."

She sighed and relaxed, "I know, but I'm still not happy about it."

"Take as much time as you need with your little brothers then. I will come get you."

Ragin nodded, but said nothing else for a while.

* * *

She watched as Theodoric was crowned King of the Ostrogoths and sighed. The auburnette turned to Germania and cast him a quiet look. The man nodded and Ragin left the ceremony early. "Boys, here I come." It was 471.

She stopped by Veneziano's home first and happily stayed there until July 11, then fucking Ricimer. After Anthemius, the previous emperor, had been caught, he had been beheaded by either the asshat or an ally of him.

Veneziano looked up at her with teary eyes. "Fortuna, is Nonno going to be ok?" The girl swallowed and let a few tears fall down her face.

"No, Veneziano. He isn't. I need to tell you something. Come here," Fortuna whispered, sliding down the wall and pulled her brother into her lap. "There is a human emotion known as greed, brought on by either power or want. Rome's bosses grew power hungry, and he grew too large. Soon, his territories were being attacked and Rome couldn't protect himself as well. I'm so sorry Venie." The boy shook and quivered and tried to hide in her stomach.

"T-Thank you for-a telling me." Fortuna let a few tears slip as she pulled Veneziano's face close to her's.

Setting her forehead on his, she looked into his eyes, "Veneziano, I will always tell you the truth if you do the same. Promise?"

"Promise... Sorellona?" Fortuna hummed, and the toddler continued, "Are we going to be ok?"

Her eyes slid shut, "Every nation has it's ups and downs, Venie. It might take a while, but you'll be fine and even happy. Remember that there's always another tomorrow." Veneziano nodded and slipped his arms around her neck.

"I'm going to miss you. Come back soon."

* * *

Fortuna wandered into Romano's home and wasn't surprised to see Rome and Romano taking a spontaneous nap on the wall. "You two..." She whispered and went to grab a blanket. When she returned, Rome peeked open an eye. " **Good morning, Rome**." He hummed and pushed a stray hair out of Roma's face. " **How have you been, other than...** "

" **I could be better, but not having some puppeteer as a ruler helps** ," He whispered. She nodded and sat next to him. " **What about you**?"

Fortuna swallowed, **"I could be better, but... I'm sorry Rome. I'm so sorry**." Rome raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. " **You have four years, Rome. You get three new rulers and the only good things that happen are that one sets the Visigoths and Ostrogoths against one another, and the other two flunk**!"

Rome would never admit it, but his heart clenched at the news. So this was the way he was going to go. His granddaughter was on the verge of bawling her eyes out, " **Fortuna? Thank you. For everything**." Fortuna sniffed and turned sideways so she could rest her forehead against his shoulder.

" **I should be saying that to you. You and the boys offered me a home when I first came here and I have no idea what I would have done should any of you been any less supportive. You were the dad I never had. Romano became the brother I could tell anything, and Veneziano became the brother who smiled no matter what. You all welcomed me back with a smile whenever I left and I don't know how I can repay you all for that**." Rome smiled and kissed the top of her head.

" **You don't have to. Just maybe keep an eye on them for me. Can you do that**?" Fortuna nodded and wiped her eyes as she looked up at him. " **Then you're good. Take a nap, we're right here**." She nodded and curled up next to her family and closed her eyes.

* * *

"Shit. Romano?" A large amount of ash was rising out of Romano's mouth. It was November 6th, 472, and Vesuvius was erupting again. Rome had left a while ago to go check on Veneziano, and she was left to take care of Romano.

The kid groaned and wheezed as he tried to draw in breath, and Fortuna breathed lightly. "Let's just do what we did four hundred years ago, ok?" Romano gripped her hand and she lifted him up. Her arms burned again as she carried him towards the well in the home. "We're good, Roma, we don't have to go anywhere." Another grip and the auburnette found a random cup left by the well. Fortuna filled it and carefully helped Romano drink it. The ashes continued to fall and his body temperature rose and fell over the day, but she never put him down.

* * *

After Romano had declared he was fine and a little extra time, Fortuna returned north. Euric, King of the Visigoths, had ordered the invasion of Italy, but his commander had gotten killed by the Roman emperor's companions. Despite this small victory, Glycerius couldn't do anything to stop the Visigoths from taking territories in Gaul.

Then there were the Ostrogoths. As Germania had promised, he and Estonia had come to get her. Rome stood by wearily and his eyes flit back between her and the two others. Glycerius's envoy was attempting to appeal to the Ostrogoth's king, Videmir, uncle of Theodoric the Great, when the ages' old trick got pulled and Fortuna traded hands once again. The Ostrogoths withdrew and invaded Gaul.

Casting one last look at Rome, she waved and bowed deeply. Rome's eyes fell and he bowed in return. _Goodbye_.

* * *

Ragin spent the next year training with Theodoric, but stayed behind to help Germania when the king went off to invade the Byzantine Empire. Germania put a hand on her shoulder one day late in summer and she gripped her sword until her knuckles turned white. "When do we leave?"

"Now." Tears spilled from her eyes as she sheathed her sword.

Tears would continue to flow as August 23rd passed, and Odoacer's troops proclaimed him King of Italy and as September 4th came. Romulus Augustulus, last Western Roman Emperor, was exiled to an island in the Gulf of Naples. Rome looked at Germania with a tired expression on his face and stared the blonde man down. Germania gripped the blade in his hand and Ragin closed her eyes as he swung. Her third eye alerted her to the flickering aura of the fallen man in front of him, and suddenly a single thought burst into her mind and reminded her where she remembered him. "Nova Roma." New Rome.

Silence met her ears when she saw Rome's aura disappear and she finally passed out.

* * *

 **WE ARE NOW DONE WITH THE PRE-MIDDLE AGES. BRING IT ON. BRING ON THE VIKINGS AND RENAISSANCE AND PLAGUE. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.**

 **(1) Majorian was killed on August 7th, 461, after being tortured for five days. Leo I, the man who 'ran off' the Huns from Rome, died November 10th of that year.**

 **Names: Aisling- dream or vision.**

 **Bevin- British verison of Irish gaelic's Bébinn- Fair Lady.**

 **What did you guys thing of this form? I'm not really a fan of it, but there isn't much information on this time zone, so I had to skip a bit. _I will not be doing this unless there is NOTHING else I can do._ I want your guy's thought, please!**

 **Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading!**


	29. Chapter 28

**Shoutout to the Rio Olympics! Also, I'm not going to be here for the entirety of the next week, soooooo, yeah. Also I realized that we're roughly 300 years away from Chibitalia! I can't wait!**

 **Reviews: AnonChan1: I loved your review and it made my day! And I think if I had to place a relation, maybe cousin? And Lithuania doesn't get to see her much, not if he's under someone else's house. And Lady Luck doesn't steal children, she adopts them. And yeah, seriously, fuck Ricimer. And yeah, because Conall knows about it, so she knows it would make sense. I lost it at your dirt comment. And what's the idea? He does come back, as the christmas filler showed!**

 **Common Brittonic**

Old English

Frankish/Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**

* * *

Elizabeth blinked as she yawned and was surprised to see Albion sitting next to her side. " **Albion? W-What's going on**?"

He slowly opened a single eye, " **About time. Are you alright**?"

" **I... I don't know** ," She whispered, looking down at herself. Her clothes had tiny red dots covering the men's clothes she wore and her cloak sat on the foot of the bed. " **How long have I been out**?"

Albion crossed his arms, " **You've been out for three days. Germania sent you here to try and give you a break**."

" **Right... Right...** " Elizabeth closed her eyes and let her delayed tears fall.

The blond recoiled, " **What in the world are you crying for**?"

She shook her head and looked around. " **Albion, where are my weapons**?" Albion raised his eyebrows in concern.

" **Elizabeth, you're not thi** -" The woman instantly knew what he was thinking and if she could have died, she would have done the idea so long ago. Sadly but fortunately, she had gotten attached.

" **Hell no. One was a gift from Rome and I just need to hold something that...** " The auburnette let her words drop and he nodded in understanding.

" **So that's why... They're on the floor to your right. We're going to need to update your speech, the locals switched to a different tongue since you've been here**." Elizabeth hummed and reached for her sheathed pugio. Albion stretched out his tiny arm and grabbed her wrist. "Are you going to be ok?"

Elizabeth swallowed and shook her head, " **I'm always going to move on. Do you still have my..**."

Albion sighed, " **It's hidden beneath the rug in the corner. I can't believe you left it though**."

" **I couldn't believe my luck not long after, but that's a tale for another day**." He nodded and left the room, leaving her answer to simply that. " **Thank god you can read the mood**."

And thus, Albion began teaching her Old English. The small shit was terrible at teaching her, but it wasn't too far from Late Modern English, but still... Then Æelle came onto their 'pleasant' little island.

The child suddenly paused one day in the middle of their weekly magic lesson, and Albion pitched over. "Albion?" It wasn't uncommon for him to crumble every once in a while, but that was only after he drew himself out too much.

Albion growled as he grabbed his foot and wrenched off his sandal, "Damn..." Elizabeth tilted her head as she caught a glimpse of his appendage. A small gash appeared on the sole and slowly stretching towards his toes, as if by an invisible knife.

"Hold on," She said and ripped off a sleeve and tore that strip in two. "Tie this around your ankle- tightly. This is going to hurt, Al." The blonde reluctantly took the cloth and wrapped it as a tourniquet as Elizabeth pressed the fabric to the skin of his right foot. "Grab onto my arm if it hurts." Albion hummed, but grabbed her cloak.

"Hurt? This is just a small pin-prick compared to everything else."

Elizabeth snorted, "Sure, tough guy. I'm going to have to probably sew it shut later, is that ok?" Albion grunted and pulled himself up.

"I'll be fine, shut up."

She smiled and ruffled his hair, "Alright. Want to bunk down for a nap?" The toddler hummed and tried to stand, using her cloak as a crutch. "Al-" He stumbled and the auburnette caught him. "Albion, hold on. Lean on me, alright?"

"Fine. But no laughing." Elizabeth shook her head.

"Only if you won't laugh at me if I ever need a shoulder, alright?" Albion hummed and she helped him over so he laid on the bed. " There ya go." She plopped herself next to the bed and leaned against the wall.

Silence reigned in the room before Albion shakily breathed in. "You have done this before?" Elizabeth hummed and looked at him. His emerald eyes stared at her. "Have you dealt with a foot cut before?"

"A few times. Did you know I used to be a captain of a few merchant ships decades ago?"

His eyes blinked, "What? But you're a woman! A woman can't do that!"

Elizabeth laughed, "You are going to eat those words in a thousand years, but really," she paused and gazed at him evenly. "What says I can't do that or anything else women are supposed to do? Choose your answer carefully, because I'm a few years older than you are."

"Really? When were you born?" He scoffed, leaning back.

"1996. But I got sent back to 79 when I was 20," The auburnette answered easily.

Albion nearly fell off the bed, "What?! No bloody way!"

* * *

The next two years passed easily into 480 AD and it was time for Elizabeth to do her final banshee run. Arthur wasn't happy about it, but similar to Romano, he reluctantly let her leave with a small wave and a promise of return. He also made sure she had her book of spells and told her to tell anyone who asked that "it's a bible or something. I dunno!" Elizabeth laughed at the irony of it.

She silently boarded the ship and crept below deck. The auburnette had already paid her way and took out her tome. Alma passed her time skimming the sloppy ruins and slowly memorized it word for word.

They arrived just east of Tara a day later and Alma all but bolted from the ship. The sun was beginning to set and she shook her head with a smile on her face. Strolling into the stables, the stable master nodded to her. "What'cha need?"

"Just a ride. Got anything?"

The large man hummed, "There's a cart leaving tomorrow, would that work?" Alma sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do!"

"Alright. I can work with that, thanks..." The man nodded and returned to... whatever he was doing and she turned out back into the setting sunlight. "Alright, I can work with that..."

A small tug on her cloak caught her attention, " **Alma**?" Amber eyes met forest green and her smile matched Iverni's.

" **Iverni? What are you doing out here**?" The boy grinned and let go of her cloak.

" **I 'eard ye needed a ride. Where a' ye headed**?"

Alma smiled and ruffled the kid's hair, " **I'm hoping te head te Tara. Could you help me**?"

" **Aye, bu' I wan' ye to tell me why te las' times you we'e 'e'e, you were screamin' li'e an idiot**!" She chomped on her lower lip and Iverni frowned, " **Ye scared the livin' shi' outta Conall**!"

" **Yeah... But he knew and that's what mattered. I'm going one final time, and that's it. Last time, I swear**."

Iverni stared her down and sighed, " **Fine, but no mo'e on my lan'**."

Alma nodded, " **Agreed, now can we get to the Hill? We might have all the time in the world, but the Ui Neills' aren't getting any younger**."

" **Fine. Follow me**." She nodded and followed the kid to a single horse.

* * *

They arrived just short of the stronghold walls when a distant wail made the horse jolt and the two immortals to shared a look. " **Tha' was't some magi' by you by any chance**?"

Alma shook her head and tried to calm the hairs on the back of her neck, " **No. I believe that was an actual banshee...** "

" **L-Le's 'urry inside** ," The nation stuttered and the auburnette kicked the horse into high-gear.

" **Y-Yeah.** "

* * *

Other than a brief morning period when Conall Cremthainne died, Alma lived a relatively happy and quiet year with the remainder of Níall's sons and family. Iverni had no problem attitude-wise teaching her how to play a few songs on varying instruments, but her fingers couldn't move right on the harp or flute, and she nearly put a hole in small drum.

Somehow, Frank had received word of where she had been staying and sent a messenger. Alma raised an eyebrow as she read it over. " **What does i' say**?"

She looked up at Iverni, " **The Frankish Empire wants me at the coronation of Clovis I. Would tha' be ok**?" Iverni looked down and began to think about it. " **Iverni. Please.** "

" **Fine! I wan' te be able te summon ye like tha' someday from him though**." Alma smiled and nodded.

" **Anytime, Iverni. Just call, and I'll come running**." A crooked smile peeked out and the auburnette ruffled his hair. " **See you someday**?"

The boy shook her hands away and grinned, " **Yea', now leave**!"

* * *

Annabelle sighed as she walked into the town of Tournai again and Frank stood nearby, waiting for her. "Annabelle! I almost did not expect you to come!"

She turned and smiled at the happy blonde, "I almost wasn't able to, but thank Iverni, he let me." The auburnette looked down at him and gently hit his arm, "Frank, you're going to be taller than me someday, stop growing!"

The blonde's lips quirked as he put a hand on his puffed-out chest, "Belle, you wound me! And who?" Frank asked, looking at her with a curious expression. "I sent word to Hibernia."

"Ah. Are we going to get going?" Frank nodded as he remembered why she came, and grabbed her hand to bring her along. "Alright! Has anything changed?"

He shook his head slightly, "You're still sharing a room with me, but you have your own bed. It's just..."

Annabella cocked her head as Frank continued to lead her along, "Just what?"

"I-It's noth-"

"Frank, seriously, talk to me. I will wrestle it out of you," The auburnette threatened.

He snorted as he looked down, "Well, it's just weird sharing a room with you..."

"Frank, don't worry about it. I trust you not to do anything weird, and we have known each other too long to pull that excuse," Annabella said, smiling. He hummed, but didn't open his mouth. "Frank, come on, spill."

"Fine. It's odd sharing a room with a girl with the spirit of a man," He said quickly.

Annabella blinked at his bluntness, "Frank. Did you just call me a man?"

The blonde froze and paled. He turned around and tried to remedy the situation, "N-No, I did not mean th-"

"Frankish, it's fine!" She laughed and leaned down to hug him. The teenager blinked in confusion and she laughed again, "I've been called worse, and I've spent more time on the road with men than I have indoors with women. You do trust me enough to speak your mind, right?"

"Of course! I just fear a few consequences though."

The auburnette shook her head, "Don't worry about that with me. Unless you've done something truly stupid, I probably won't get mad."

Frank smiled and nodded, "Yes, now let's go?"

She grinned and motioned to the open area in front of them, "After you."

* * *

 **Alright, I'm clipping this short because I'm going to release a small 'tidbit' as I call them, small ideas I've written down that may or may not end up in the story somewhere, and while most have a definitive place, this one has a general place, but...**


	30. Thank you Filler!

**It's just a small thank you that I wanted to show you. It's also almost the 2 month anniversary, and this story has come so far! I mostly wanted to say thank you to everyone, to all my reviewers, my followers and favoritors, but most of all, Qeani and AnonChan1. If not for you guys, this story wouldn't have made it this far. I went from having 12 views to 1,663. You guys are amazing.**

 **Hoppy854: I'm hoping to catch you, and I'll move this later, but when we get to the golden age of piracy in a few centuries, he will definitely be there!**

 **This doesn't have a specific language, just a small 'blip'. Please put up with it!**

 **Note: Edited (12/3/16)**

* * *

Carina pulled her hair back into a bun, which she normally didn't do. "No idea what I'm doing, but whatever." Her reflection shrugged with her and she smiled before patting down her thick gown and walking out the door. It was a semi-formal dinner tonight, and the 'crazy queen' would be there. Her stay in Spain was going fairly well and it would nice to see Romano looking nice. The woman exited her room and walked down the lone corridor until she turned the corner to the dining room.

She saw her brother in the hallway and smiled, "Hey, Roma. You're looking good." He was. In his suit and ribbon tie around his neck, he looked surprisingly mature. He looked at her and blushed, nodding.

"S-So do yo- Oh shit," He said and was looking at something behind her in horror.

Carina froze and looked behind her quickly. Nothing was there, "Romano, what's wrong?" His face was one of the reddest shades she had ever seen it and she smiled as she peeking into the dining hall, "Come on, it's time to head in, let's go!" Romano was still frozen in his daze as she took his hand and lead him inside. Spain stood by a far doorway to another hall and waved happily.

"Hola, you two. The queen has asked me to tell you she's sorry, she couldn't make it, but that doesn't mean we can't eat, si?" Carina nodded and took her place at the medium table, with Spain at one end of the table, to her left and Romano to her right. "What's wrong with Romano? He's redder than a ripe tomato!"

"I don't know, he was fine in the hallway, but noticed something and hasn't told me yet."

Spain nodded and looked her over, "Maybe he was just catching how beautiful you were for the first time!"

She snorted as some of the first plates were sent out, "Spain, the last time a man flirted with me in Roma's presence, his neck was slit and he's probably _still_ on the side of the mountain."

He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Lo siento, but I'm only saying what I see. And did you know you have a curl?"

She froze, her fork halfway to her mouth and full of salad, "What? I have curly hair if that's what you mean, but..."

Spain shook his head and leaned over to her, "No, I mean you have a curl just like-" The squeak that escaped her mouth cut him off. Said curl was trapped between two of his fingers and her face sprung up redder than Romano's. She covered her mouth as the effects ran down her spine and throughout her in general. "Carina?" He asked, pulling it again.

"E-Excuse me Spain. I-I'm not feeling very well. I-I'm going to head to bed early tonight. I'll see you in the morning," She managed to get out with a small degree of normality. Romano was watching this entire display in utter horror.

Spain released the curl dejected, "Oh, okay then. I'm sorry you couldn't join us for the full evening." She nodded, face still extremely red as she darted out as quickly as she could.

Romano watched the small scene go down from the back of his mind, the front running around the circle, 'Carina has a curl'. He managed to snap out of it as her heel disappeared around the corner and he growled loudly, "Asshole! What-a were you doing pulling a LADY'S curl! Are you-a out of your mind? And you-a pulled on Carina's, of all people's!"

Spain's eyebrow furled at the strange behavior at their strange behavior, "Romano, what are you talking about? All I did was pull her curl, it can't be too bad, can it? What does it do?"

Romano sighed, looking down, "I-a really didn't want-a to have to explain-a this... I-a think France has called it an-a E-zone or some bullshit like that before."

At the words 'E-Zone', Spain's face went very, very pale. "Oh my god, what have I done?" Romano nodded solemnly. "Romano, what do I do to fix this?"

He shrugged, "Give her time. She's-a known about mine and Veneziano's for almost forever, and-a just needs to wrap her-a mind around the fact she-a has one. She's probably going to be-a hungry though, you scared her off during first-a course."

Spain nodded again as he looked at his food, "Can you finish on your own tonight, Romano? I need to fix this."

"Did you not hear a single fucking thing I just-a said?! She needs-a time! Go and-a give her food before you-a go to bed, she'll be in a better-a mood." Spain nodded and looked into his dish. Suddenly, he wasn't so hungry.

* * *

Carina slammed the door to her room and tried to calm down, running over to her mirror. A large auburn curl jutted from the base of her scalp and she pulled her hair out of its hair-do. "Oh my god. Why?" She whispered, crumbling into a small heap. She shook her head and began pulling her clothes off to change into a nightgown and sit and read for a while.

A knock on her door drew her attention from her book and she marked her place before going to answer it. A very red Spain stood there, holding a tray of warm stew with a single rose in a tiny vase next to it along with a cup of wine. "I'm so sorry for earlier, Carina! I-I didn't know..." He said, thrusting it forward.

She blinked and carefully took it, "Thanks. And I kinda know you didn't know, you'd have stopped doing it to Romano earlier if you knew," Carina said with a raised eyebrow.

Spain laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah... Roma told me to give you some time and bring you food later, and I guess that worked out, huh?"

Her lips quirked, "Yeah. But let's all agree, dinner never happened." The brunette nodded in almost instant agreement.

"Agreed. I'm impressed by how well Romano handled this."

Carina nodded, "Yeah, but remember, he has a curl of his own, and out of anyone on earth, he probably knows me the best, so it's kinda a no-brainer..." She paused and smacked her lips. "Well, thanks for the dinner, Spain!"

As if he had just woken up, "Si! I'll see you in the morning!" The door got slammed and both parties gave a quick sigh and went their separate ways.

* * *

 **That was the small tidbit, and I hoped you like it!**


	31. Chapter 29

**Hey, guys!**

 **Reviews: AnonChan1: Actually, Attila the hun loved magic, but still, christianity was still emerging and if she had a book of spells, how do you think Rome would have felt? And it depends on if it's young Hungary or post-puberty Hungary. And Spain didn't know! And he wouldn't tell anyone, and the countries who have their own zone would probably jump in to her rescue!**

Gaulish/ Frankish/ Vulgar latin (French)

Italian

 **Gothic**

 **Note: Edited (12/4/16) (You guys are either really sweet or killing me slowly. I saw that the two visitors here this month stopped reading shortly after I stopped editing these, so either you two are waiting or you stopped reading in general.)**

* * *

Annabelle bowed to the fifteen year old, "Hello, young king." Frank and Clovis shared a brief look.

"Rise. Who are you?" The teen asked. The auburnette rose and took a step behind Frank.

She smiled as she stared down Clovis, "Frank, does he know?"

The king raised an eyebrow as the nation nodded, "Yes, he does. Are you...?"

"Yeah. Clovis, I am the personation of luck." Clovis blinked and began to process it. "Do you understand?"

"Yes. May I ask, how long do you intend on staying?"

Annabelle blinked in confusion and jutted her thumb over her shoulder, "If you don't want me to stay in the building, I can stay out-"

Frank looked between the two and realized the problem, "Annabelle, I think I know the problem. One moment!" He walked over and began whispering to the young king and dark eyes widen in understanding. Frank stepped back and smiled at Annabelle's confused look.

Clovis nodded and took her hands, "Annabelle, I'm so sorry, I didn't... You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Um, alright. It was a pleasure to meet you, I guess..." Annabelle cast Frank a desperate 'help me' look and Frank nodded. He removed Clovis's hands from the auburnette's and held one of hers' in his own.

"Well, my king, may we be dismissed? The lady still has to put her things away and she's had a long trip."

Thre king blinked, "Of course! Do you know where your room is?" Annabelle nodded and Clovis waved his hand to dismissed them. Frank nodded and lead her out of the room.

"Thank you," Annabelle whispered, and the blonde nodded.

He looked at her with a smile, "I could not leave a lady in need. Not when I could prevent it!"

She stared at him and tears almost came to her eyes when she looked into his big blue, hopeful eyes. She knew that he wouldn't be able to do much for Joan, but she still smiled. "Frank, I know you will. Try not to break girls' hearts, ok? And try not to break your own when you can't?" He cocked his head in confusion as she leaned down and placed a small kiss on his forehead. "Be careful."

"Is there something I need to know about?" Frank asked, gripping her arm lightly.

Annabelle shook her head, "I can't tell you now, but..."

The blonde hummed and nodded, "Alright then. Should we actually get to the room? I'm getting a little tired myself."

"Of course." The two quickly reached the room and Annabelle blinked in surprise at the additional bed on the far wall, "Well, you weren't joking about the extra bed. Thanks..."

Frank nodded with a small smile on his face, "Annabel, anything for you." She laughed and put her weapons and pack down at the foot of her bed.

"Frank, did you just shorten my name?"

He paled in concern, "I-I thought because you did it to me-"

"Frank, calm down. Shortening someone's name is actually really really common in some places. Also, it sounds a bit better." The blonde relaxed and flopped onto his bed.

"You gave me a heart attack! I thought I had insulted you!"

Annabelle shook her head, "Frankish, you'll know when I'm pissed. And have you seen my bow and quiver? I think I left it here a few decades ago..."

Frank tapped his chin as he sat up, "I don't believe so, but we can get you a new one soon. We should just sleep for now." Annabelle nodded and removed her cloak and sandals.

She climbed onto the bed and let out a shout. Frank looked over at her in concern and almost laughed at her shocked face that was half-buried in the straw mattress.

"When's the last time you slept in a real bed, Annabel?" The auburnette's face twisted as she tried to roll over but the edge caught.

"Damnit, let go you piece of-"

Frank laughed and rolled out of his bed to help her. "Miss, you need to calm down! A lady of your age-" He tugged on the cover and her ankle popped loose.

"Bullshit. 'A woman of my age'. How many women of my age do you know? Fine I should act my age!" She huffed and fell limp, 'disappearing'.

"Annabelle!" He laughed as he poked her cheek. "Annabel?" The auburnette's eyes clouded and Frank began to panic. "Annabelle! No, my god, what-"

She laughed and the blonde paused, "Frank, calm down! I'm only messing with you!"

Frank wiped at his eyes, "I thought I had killed you! Albion would have killed me!"

"You know Albion?" Annabelle asked, managing to sit up. He nodded with a dark look.

"Yes, but we don't get along well..."

She raised an eyebrow, "Is there a reason?"

The blonde scratched the back of his head, "May- Well, the real problem is why you decided to scare me like that!"

"Right, sorry! And don't change the subject!"

Frank laughed lightly, "Alright, but warn me next time you do that!"

"Fine. How about if I tuck my pinky behind my ring finger, I'm only messing around. Does that make you feel better?" Annabelle demonstrated and Frank thought for a minute.

"Alright, but it's getting very late. Good night."

"Good night, Frankish."

* * *

Annabelle stayed nearby in Tournai as Clovis I began expanding his empire, finally overtaking the kingdom of Soissons in 486. Frank actually grew another inch or two when he returned and now reached her shoulder. The auburnette hadn't been amused. However, when she looked out the window one day...

"I have to have a change of scenery."

Frank looked at her alarmed, "What?"

Annabelle looked over at him and put down her book of spells, "I need a different area. I've been looking out this window for five years. The only thing that's been interesting is that one night when the baker chased the kid who got his daughter pregnant." Frank's eyes widened and he dove at her.

"You can't go! What will I do without you here?" She dodged, but pulled him into a hug nonetheless.

"Frankish, you haven't even really been here. I've been passing my days sitting on the roof and seeing how many guards I can hit with spit without getting caught! So far, I am still good!"

Frank laughed and hugged her back, "That's been you?!"

"Yes! I'm bored!"

The blonde shook his head, "Fine, you can go! But I have something I want to give you."

While Frank pulled away to go grab the thing, Annabelle looked over her three swords and grabbed her one from Níall. "You'll do."

Frank returned and nearly ran into the hilt of a sword, "Miss?" In his hands was a small reflex bow and a quiver with twelve arrows.

"Here. You're giving me something, and I have too many swords," She explained quickly.

The blonde blinked in confusion, "I would have just held onto it if you asked, but-"

"No, take it. This has served me well, and it'll do the same for you." Frank sighed and passed her the weapons.

"Fine, but- wow..." He said, unsheathing the sword. The edges glinted to show off the fresh-sharpening and various nicks danced across it.

Annabelle smiled at him, "There's a story behind every one of them, and I'll tell you someday, but.."

Frank nodded and resheathed the blade, "Right, do you have everything?" She nodded and shouldered her bag. "Have a few-"

"Frankish. I'll be fine. I've left like this before, but I've always come back. Remember, just be careful," The auburnette muttered and hugged the blonde. "See you later?"

"Yeah. Good luck."

She smiled, "Where I'm going, I have all the luck I need."

* * *

Passing through Europe was weirder than it was when Ragin first arrived and even three hundred years after that when the death of Theodosius I divided the Roman Empire. The kingdoms were protective as ever, and she headed out by sea to reach Odoacer's Ravenna, the newest capital. She had sighed, but it wasn't too hard to find Germania and Veneziano. Germania was actually very patient with Veneziano when Ragin walked into the room.

"Veneziano? **Germania**?" She asked, appalled by the two. Germania nodded to her and Veneziano leapt at her.

"FORTUNA!"

Ragin grinned and swung the boy around, "Venie! I've missed you! How has Germania and Odoacer been treating you and Roma?"

"They've-a been great! I can't-a see my ribs anymore(1)!" He cheered, and instantly, a blanket of guilt clouded the auburnette.

"That's great, Veneziano! Have you been able to do any painting while I've been away?"

Venie nodded solemnly, "I-a did a picture of Nonno, and he's-a over by the-a painting I-a did of you a while ago!"

Fortuna tilted her head, "You still have that? May I see it?" Venie smiled and squirmed out of her arms. He grabbed her pants and lead her out of the room and Germania followed them out in curiosity. He raised an eyebrow and Fortuna smiled before taking Veneziano's lead. A wooden door was opened to a small, dusty room and the boy shuffled to a nearby corner with a stack of canvases leaning against the far wall. "Veneziano?"

"One moment!" He looked through them and pulled two out, and on a last thought, a third. "Here-a you go!" Fortuna heaved them up and rested them on a small table. Veneziano tugged at her leg and she pulled him up with a smile. The siblings looked over the familiar face of Rome. "I-a miss him."

Fortuna smiled and pushed a lock of hair out of his face, "Maybe you'll get to see him again if you wait. Might take centuries, might take forever, but you'll see him, ok?" He nodded and rested his head on her shoulder.

Germania cocked his head as he moved Rome's painting to the bottom of the pile and raised an eyebrow at the younger her, " **What is this**?"

" **This is Sorellona two hundred years ago**!" Fortuna smiled and kissed Veneziano's forehead lightly. In all honesty, she really wasn't surprised that he know Gothic. Given that germanic 'barbarians' had been coming into the Roman Empire for centuries, and he and Romano were bound to learn some of the language.

"You're quite the artist, Venie." She looked over the painting and remembered the last time she ever really looked at herself. A large scar ran along the bottome of her jaw from ear to ear and several smaller scars lined her neck and face, each slowly fading with time. "I've changed a lot since then..."

The blonde looked to her out of the corner out of his eye and the edge of her lip quirked, " **You're crazy, Ragin**."

" **I know, but aren't we all? How's Romano**?"

He shook his head, " **He refused to come. Said he was waiting**."

Fortuna smiled, " **Sounds like him. I'm going to go visit him in a little bit if that's ok**."

Germania nodded and shifted the last picture, and Romano, Fortuna, and Veneziano slept peacefully under a sleeping moon, and the name _Rome_ sat proudly in the corner.

* * *

"Romano? Are you here?" Fortuna wandered into the house. A pleasant smell was coming out of the kitchen and she tiptoed towards it. "Ro-"

A tiny projectile launched itself at her and she pulled it into her arms, "Fortuna! You're-a back, bitch! What-a the fuck took you so-a long?"

The auburnette laughed, "Roma, it's been a while! I'm sorry, and Germania gave me until August before going back onto the front lines. He's worri-"

"Shut up, it's dinnertime. Hurry up!" Fortuna's smile got bigger and she walked them into the kitchen, "There's plenty of fruit and bread and wine!"

Fortuna swallowed as she looked over the table, "Why don't you dish up first?" Romano cast her a suspicous look, but he ignored it. He dove in and Fortuna quickly followed suit. "So, any new marks on the ring?"

Romano blinked as he chewed on his bread, "What?"

"Are there any new scrapes since the last time I came over?" He swallowed and shook his head.

"No, for once, you weren't getting your ass kicked."

She snorted, "Fine, how about I finally teach you how to fight?" Romano raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Seriously? You have to learn to defend yourself. You're just going to get beat around otherwise!"

Romano lifted his hands in defeat, "Fine, fine, shut-a up already. Can we-a do it tomorrow?"

"Fine, I'm going to go get us some sticks so we can practice without getting too hurt," Fortuna said and stood up from the table. Romano sighed and stuffed the rest of his roll into his mouth.

He grabbed two peaches and chucked one at the auburnette, "Here, we-a haven't shared some in-a forever."

Grabbing the flying fruit, Fortuna looked it over, "Yeah... I've noticed something." Romano hummed and bit into his peach. "We only eat these when there's a good period going." Romano hummed again and swallowed.

"Fortuna, shut-a up. You're getting all sentimental on me."

She grinned and bit into her own, "Yeah, bu' 'm jus' sayin' tha' pea's bri' goo' memories."

The kid hummed for a third time, "Got-a any good stories?"

"Maybe a few... Myth, embarressing about me, or embarrassing about others?"

"Why not all?" Fortuna sighed, and sat back down. Romano came over and plopped into her lap.

She swallowed her peach and thought for a minute, "Well, I don't know about both, but there was one day on board one of the trade boats I commanded and it was really hot by their standards. It's colder up there, and to have it as warm as it is down here wasn't working for them." Romano snickered as he knew where it was going. "So here we are, middle of nowhere, and no one but my crew and the lastest member has been on board for three years. One man gets the idea to strip down to to his underwear and soon everyone on the boats were doing the same. I was sitting bowsprit, ignoring everything.

"I turn around at some point and to my horror, some of the men had gotten into the alcohol and were wrestling barenaked. One of the drunker men had the bright idea of asking me to join in." Romano was trembling, trying not to laugh. "My mind went blank for a few moments, but... My right hand, this huge man, was absolutely gone and was having none of it. He goes up to the man, picks him up, and chucks him, yelling 'She is a lady!' He didn't realize that he threw the naked guy right at me. So I have this drunk ass man laying on top of me and my brain is beginning to either wither or I've been in too many fights because all of a sudden, the man is knocked into my right hand and I finally snap out of it enough to yell at them. The drunks are tied to the sides of the boat and covered with blankets until they're sober."

Romano finally belted with laughter, "S-S-Sor-ellona, on-only you!" Fortuna joined in and ruffled his hair.

"Roma, I have seen some crazy shit, but sometimes they turn into the best stories!"The kid nodded and beat at her hands, still shaking with laughter. "Those men later had to explain to me why they began wrestling, and they said that they comfortable enough to just be kids again." Romano hummed and leaned against her. "Come on, let's head to bed."

* * *

The short months came and went and August finally arrived. Germania came to visit a week before they left and watched over the various training she sent Romano through. Various laps and weapons training were a small routine since that night, and the boy had been getting faster, but not any better with a bow or sword. The two agreed just to teach him how to flee.

" **Ragin, it's time**." The Italians looked over and froze mid-race. " **We're leaving**."

Fortuna looked down at Romano and reached down to pull him into a quick hug, "Roma?"

He swallowed and nodded, "I'll-a see you later. Be careful."

"Always. I'll see you soon, and be safe, Romano," She whispered, kissing him on the forehead. The kid huffed and squirmed in her hold. Fortuna put him down and he toddled inside. "I'll miss you," Fortuna whispered.

Germania put a hand on her shoulder, and she reluctantly followed him out, casting another look over her shoulder. Romano was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, crying lightly. A few tears slipped down her own cheeks, but she kept walking.

* * *

Ragin winced as she gripped her sword as Germania was leading the Rugians. Odoacer had just lead an army against the Rugians and was forcing them out of Rugiland. He cast her a quick look, but she waved her hand. She leaned against a nearby tree and winced as she prodded at her sore leg. Later that night, the blonde asked Ragin about it, but she had just worked her leg a little hard. He allowed Ragin a day of peace before they headed back to Italy. Life passed easily, even when Lithuania came by to ask her presence for the capture of Belgrade.

She relented and the Gepids successfully captured the city in 488. Ragin stayed for another year, but then her 'non-kidnapped' record broke.

* * *

 **Alright guys, the ending was a bit rushed, but... *sigh***

 **(1) I forgot to mention this last chapter, but from 400-800 AD, Italia went through a period of various famines, but under Odoacer and Theodoric, especially the latter, the nations experienced periods of... decency, I guess. As in the last chapter when Rome was alive, Veneziano and Romano weren't doing too hot because of the invasions of the Vandals under Alaric in 455.**


	32. Chapter 30

**Hello!**

 **AnonChan1: I think Rome would have a little disappointed, but otherwise been fine. And they sooo would! They wouldn't even need a good reason! And the Clovis thing... Some people, when they could be giving a 'higher' guest a place for a while, they might want special treatment in return for their services, but Frank said that she didn't need the special treatment. I'm trying sooooooooo hard not to play all my cards all at once, I have no idea how people deal with it! Ireland would probably recognize it better, but England still would know the nation it came from. France wouldn't dare hurt her. And not quite yet. HRE was formed either in 800 when Charlemagne was emperor, but I'll be using the 962 date when Otto I was crowned emperor. I hate history so much now. Maybe France will just help raise HRE...**

Gothic

 **Italian**

 _ **Latin**_

Frankish

 **Modern french**

 **Note: Edited (12/4/16)**

* * *

"Hey Estonia. To what do I owe this wonderful meeting?" Ragin joked. He snorted and the guards holding her arms released her. The one on her right shot her a dirty look before walking off.

The blonde gave the guard a baffled look, "What did you do to him?" She grinned and he waved his hand, "Never mind, I don't want to know. Theodoric wants to see you."

Ragin looked at him, "What's going on? He's not in trouble, is he?"

"He's not. The king is hoping to invade Italy. He wishes to do so under any circumstances and he's probably going to make you stay as until he wins over the area," Estonia said easily. She nodded in understanding and crossed her arms.

"Fine, but only on one condition." The kid raised an eyebrow and she continued, "Don't hurt Veneziano and Romano. They've been through enough. I'm not fighting either, but I'll be on your side." Estonia nodded and Ragin ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's go see the king and we'll see how your swordsmanship has been."

Estonia nodded and lead her calmly to the aging king, "Theoderic, it's been too long," Ragin smiled. The dirty blonde king was sporting a beard and was rounding out in his mid-thirties. "How have you been?"

The man blinked and looked over at Estonia, "Who is this? She's acting like she knows me..."

Ragin blinked, but grinned. She bowed, "I am one of many names, but you know me by Ragin. You've grown a lot in fifteen years."

"...Ragin? You haven't aged a day!" Theodoric grinned and clapped her on the shoulder. "Are you going to help? Emperor Zeno in Constantinople is having me invade Italia and Estonia asked for you."

"Yeah... I'm not going to fight, but I'll stay. When do we attack?"

Theodoric hummed, "Not long. We were actually heading your way." Ragin nodded and sighed.

"Let's get on with it. You're not getting any younger."

* * *

August 28th, 489, and Ragin heard that Estonia had to take down Lithuania before charging to meet Odoacer and his troops on the river Isonzo. She turned her head down and went to her room. "Damnit. I forget how easily countries turned on each other." She breathed in and out, trying not to cry. "Shit, I haven't wept over anyone in years..." The auburnette wiped the tears away and grabbed her sword.

Walking outside and dropping her blade, she began to run through her old motions of Wushu and then began practicing her old dance techniques. Ragin wasn't as smooth as she used to be, but the familiar movements calmed her down. She then moved on to meditation and let the world around her fade. Time slipped away and her mind went blank. A random person tapped on the door and Ragin opened her eyes. She looked out the window and the moon was high in the sky. "Hello?"

A heavily clothed woman entered her room, "I had seen you go in, but never come out. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Thank you. Can you do something for me?" The brunette cocked her head as Ragin stood.

"That depends, what do you need?"

"I just need someone to wake me up. I tend to get lost in thought and sometimes need someone to get me out of it."

The woman smiled, "Sure..."

From that day, her days passed in a similar way, occasionally replacing meditation with actual sleep.

* * *

"What?" Ragin listened as the small messenger shivered under her gaze. It was just the beginning of March, and she hadn't received a letter from him in a while.

"W-Well, Es-Estonia want-ts you in I-Italy immediately. H-He said you'd-d know where...?" He asked.

She sighed and patted him on the shoulder, "Ok, thanks for telling me. Have a good day." The messenger flinched and bowed. "Word of advice though, don't act so scared. Act scared when you have a reason to, alright?" He nodded and ran off.

"Thank you miss!" The auburnette shook her head and walked to her room to get packed.

Ava popped her head next to her, "Are you leaving, Alf?"

Ragin smiled, "Sadly, yes. I'm going to miss you, Frid." The other woman cooed and pulled her into a hug, "Frid, what's going on?"

"I'm probably not going to see you again! I'm going to miss you!"p"Ava. I'm going to be fine. You're going to be fine. End of story," The auburnette grinned, pulling away. The brunette frowned and wiped at tears forming in her eyes. "You're going to get on just fine, ok?" Ava nodded and Ragin pulled her into another hug. "I'm going to miss you."

The girl grinned, "Finally, you admit you liked me in some way." Ragin laughed, and continued on her way.

"Alright, alright, I give! "The two talked about meaningless things as she packed.

"Good, now go!" Ava lead her to the door and looked her over to make sure she had everything. "Alright, you're ready to go!"

Ragin shook her head, "Frid, thank you. You're the first woman I've made friends with in years."

"Go!" The brunette yelled, and pushed her out the door.

"Fine! Goodbye!"

* * *

Ragin frowned as she was shoved through the door and pushed into a dress. It was floor length red 'gown' with two sets of sleeves: a pair of tight ones and then a loose pair that covered them. A length of fabric was thrown over her head and shoulders as a hood and she was lead into a busy hall. There was a large feast going on and Odoacer and Theodoric sat at the head of the table with their respective nations sitting nearby. She tapped a random noble on the shoulder, "Excuse me, what's today?"

"Today is March 15th." The auburnette frowned and nodded. The man turned back around and she walked up to the leaders' table.

"Hello, Theodoric, Odoacer. May I ask what is happening?"

Theodoric smiled, "We are celebrating the peace of our respective armies. Would you care to join us?"

Ragin bowed, "May I take seat next to Veneziano? And where is Romano?"

"Romano did not want to attend and you may," Odoacer replied this time. She nodded and took her seat at the table. Ragin sent a glance to Theodoric and nodded minutely.

"Veneziano, can you do me a favor? When I ask, please close your eyes. I'll be right here," She whispered into his ear. He looked at her confused but silently nodded.

Theodoric stood, "May we all take a toast? For many men in this room, I say, may you all have a long and painful death!" He pulled out his sword and raised it.

" **Venie**!" She yelled, and pulled him close, covering his ears. The child whimpered as his eyes screwed shut in complete and utter horror.

Odoacer cried out as the blade cut in from his collarbone down, "WHERE IS GOD?!" Veneziano clutched her neck as his ruler died painfully.

The Ostrogothic ruler frowned at the split man, "This is what you have done to my people." And thus continued the nationwide massacre. In the room, Odoacer's men and followers were being killed and blood flew everywhere. Estonia looked down and Ragin watched blankly. She could only rub her brother's back and run her fingers through his hair once the massacre was over.

 **"I'm so sorry, Venie..."**

* * *

She smiled at the wedding as Frank and Estonia stood by her, and Veneziano sat in her arms. " **Sorellona, does this end ok**?" She smiled at her brother and pushed the hair out of his eyes.

" **It does, Venie, don't worry.** "

Frank looked at her and smiled at her, " ** _Annabelle, who is this_**?" The girl readjusted the kid in her arms, " _ **Is he your son? He looks just like you**_!"

Veneziano blinked at him, " ** _This is Fortuna, my big sister_**!" Frank blinked and looked between them and nodded.

" ** _I can see it. Your sister talks about you a lot! I'm the Frankish Empire_**!" Veneziano nodded and put his head on Fortuna's shoulder for a nap. She smiled and pet his hair. When his breathing evened out, she turned to Frank. " I can see why you're so protective of him. If I ever get him under my rule- Mon Dieu, you were not kidding, Annabel!" The look she was sending him made a shiver go down his spine.

"Finish that sentence, Frank. Please," She growled.

Frank swallowed and nodded, "If I ever get him under my rule, then I will treat him as my own brother."

Fortuna sighed and looked at the bride and groom, "I hate to say this, but in our world, that doesn't hold much water. Just make he's happy, please?"

The blonde nodded and leaned against her. Estonia looked at the three and simply stood to the side. It was the wedding of Theodoric to Audofleda, the sister of Clovis.

* * *

With great reluctance, Annabelle returned to Frank for a while and spent the remainder of 494 and 495 in the Frankish Empire. The auburnette and Frank grew steadily closer, some nights were spent chatting about odd subjects and their childhoods, but it would all come to a close with a battle story from her swords.

"What ? You were human?" Frank asked, sitting up. Annabelle nodded as she looked out the window of the shared room. They were curled up in their respective beds and were almost ready to wrap up for the night. "How?"

She smiled at him and pat the spot next to her, "C'mon, I'm going to tell you what happened the day I got sent back in time." Frank raised an eyebrow, but trotted over anyway. It wasn't the first time they had shared a bed, usually because of a nightmare. "Alright... And remember this takes place in the future and it's a massive headache. Ready?"

"Annabel, you are killing me with anticipation!" He whined and sat cross-legged across from her. She grinned.

"Well excuse me. Apparently, in the future, I write books about European royalty and I eventually adopt another human. I make a mistake that I've been making for a while though. I keep my distance too much, but with myself, I guess- Bear with me, it'll make sense, trust me," Annabelle said, waving her arms. Frank nodded slowly, giving her a skeptical look. "Anyway, I raise her away from our world. I apparently teach her all about history and just enough languages to help her get by. One day. I have no idea if I'm making final proportions or what, but the old me, the human me, goes exploring someday. I go so far into the forest that it takes half a day to go in."

The auburnette took a deep breath and continued, "Well, I trip over a tree. It was Rowan, I remember that. I look at it and some of the roots looked so much like fingers. I stick around, and eventually, this man slowly comes out of the tree. We start yelling at each other, and it turns out he's a nation that had been dissolved for 200 years. Imagine that. I take him back to where I was staying and I was hoping to tell my mom about this lightly, but she comes out of nowhere..." Her gaze had glassed over and Frank cocked his head as he watched her, concerned.

"She drags us upstairs and she contacts Veneziano and they arrange a meeting of all nations. In my day, there are roughly 190 something countries around the world." Frank's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Anyway, I meet most of you for the first time, and I get some shocking news. I wasn't even my mother's daughter. I was adopted. To make things weirder, apparently, I adopted and raised myself, but I don't even know who my real parents are. I didn't really care about having a dad, I never had one in the first place, but... God, I've never really thought about this. I get all these questions popping into my head, and- and..."

Frank came around to her side and began lightly scratching her back, "Shhh, Annabelle. I have a feeling you have more than enough family to make up for your missing family. Whatever the reason, they had a wonderful girl that they missed out on. You wouldn't be here if not for the fact they gave you up."

She nodded and wiped her eyes, hiccuping, "Yeah, but-"

"But nothing, Bella. Go back to the story. I'm going to braid your hair and be right here," He soothed and Annabelle nodded, relaxing. The gentle tug of the brush through her hair and then Frank's fingers almost put her to sleep, but she continued anyway.

"Alright, so she and a friend of her's sent me back, and it was easily the most painful thing I have ever experienced. It makes Attila look like a sprained ankle, but that was all in a few seconds...When I woke up, I was still in my old clothes, but I was in the middle of nowhere. All of a sudden, Rome was there. I met Romano and Veneziano, and.. The rest is a mix of tears, blood, sea air, and war. I've met Rome, Romano, Veneziano, China, Persia, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Albion, I- Hibernia, you, and... I think that's all."

He cocked his head, "You've met the Visigothic Empire, haven't you? He was at the Battle of Chalons." She hummed and thought back to that day. The small boy with bright green eyes came to her mind.

"I think I've seen him, but I've never actually met him. Don't ask him about me though. I don't need another target on my back. But are you ready for another story from the sword, or do you want a story from a scar?"

Frank smiled and looked over her shoulder. "Why not the one right here?" He asked, tracing a large pale patch on her skin. Annabelle looked at it and frowned.

"That one... It was during a battle, I forget which one, but I hate how the swords of these age are made. The hand is completely unprotected. I was fighting this giant, the size of a large bear. He had two of my four ideals of sword fighting. He had speed and strength, but no sense of accuracy or timing. He would swing, but the blade would fly over your head, missing by inches, but whistling like a bird. When he swung down, I put my blade up, but the edge of his sword flew off and skinned a part of my arm. I could see muscle and everything. The nation I was fighting with, it was Persia, the Sasanian Empire, he had my back like always and took him down from behind. My arm had already begun to scar up so it was fine, but it still hurt. If you touch it and I move my hand, you can feel each muscle move."

The blonde shook his head, "I'm good. Are you alright now?" Annabelle smiled and looked over her shoulder. Her thick hair was woven into an equally thick plait that rested comfortably in Frank's lap.

"Yeah. How old are you again?"

He hummed and leaned against her back, "I believe I am... 552 years? Give or take another 50. You?"

Annabelle laughed lightly, and Frank smiled, "It's 495, right? Then... 436 years. Do you want to know what modern French sounds like?" He blinked and nodded. **"Alright! Do you notice how it isn't that weird?"**

Frank crawled around to her other side and pulled her down, "Well, it's time for bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, France." He raised an eyebrow but shook his head.

* * *

 **I gotta go~! Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading!**

 **Names really quick:**

 **Ava: German(ic) for desired**

 **Alf: Ragin's nickname meaning elf.**

 **Frid: Ava's nickname meaning peace.**

 **So this is it. Its the end. Not Really, but after this, there won't be as many regular updates because I have school and marching band again all week. _yaaaaay_...**


	33. Chapter 31

**I'm back and alive! Also, I may or may not have listened to The Sound on loop when I wrote this...**

 **AnonChan1: I'm sure you write fine! You saved my story! And don't worry, we're halfway there to HRE! You'll have the two fighting over Venie in no time! And neither am I, but writing this has helped so much and I'm trying to stick close to dates so if anyone reads this can use the dates in a class. She actually didn't do anything too bad, probably just spoke in a different language and gave the man a hard time. A few will be around her, but a few will be around the other nations. But thing is, many of them would have probably had longer moments of peace if they didn't turn on each other. The brothers'll be ok. It's just a bit of heart burn and they might feel a little weak, but other than that... They'll get to that eventually. I eventually will be this next year. Two AP classes, yaaaaay...**

Frankish/ Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

Middle Persian

Note: Edited (12/5/16)

* * *

Annabella smiled as her eyes opened quickly and she looked at the sleeping blonde. "Good morning, Frank." She tucked a stray lock of hair out of his face and he blearily looked at her.

"Good morning, Annabel," He grumbled, sitting up. The auburnette grinned and stood and waddled off the bed and began slipping on her sandals.

A messenger knocked on the door and quickly opened it. The two immortals looked at him expectedly and he sputtered, "The king wishes to see you. He wishes to discuss the..." The unnamed man paused and looked at the woman with wide eyes.

The two frowned and Frank came to her help, "She should hear this. What is it?"

"The king wishes to discuss Sigebert's cry. He requests you down for breakfast immediately. Same for the lady," He said quickly. Frank nodded and waved his hand. The messenger nodded and disappeared just as swiftly as he had come and Annabella raised an eyebrow at Frank.

"Why didn't I know about this? Is that why you've had a small limp lately?" Frank looked down to avoid her eyes. It had been a short year since the talk about her family, and the nation had been having a small trouble walking with a minor stumble.

He tapped his fingers together, "Yes. Germania has been attacking the Ripuarian Franks for a short while and there was finally a serious attack. Sigebert finally called for Clovis and now we have to deal with Germania and the Alemanni. Do you want to-"

"I'll fight. Germania might be a friend, but attacked another. I can't stand for that," She smiled, standing to strap her weapons on. Frank's lips twitched in appreciation and he nodded.

"Thank you, Annabella. We should head down now, yes?"

Annabella grinned and motioned to the door, "After you!"

The blonde shook his head, "We are not having this argument again! Just go through the door!"

"No, it's your turn! I went first last night!"

Frank threw his hands in the air, "Fine! If it would please you!" He walked into the hallway and the auburnette grinned and followed him, out shutting the door. They laughed at bad jokes and arrived at the dinner hall in no time. Clovis and his wife, Clotilde, were sitting there waiting for them. The pair watched as Frank took his seat and Annabella took her usual spot, standing next to him.

"Good morning, Clovis, Clotilde," She greeted, bowing.

The queen smiled and waved her up, "Good morning to you as well, Annabella. How did you rest?" Annabella let her lips rise.

"I rested well. How about you? Did Childebert rise in the night?"

Clotilde shook her head, "He slept through the night. It was a night blessed by God." Annabella nodded, but the king sighed lightly.

He grabbed his wife's hand gently, "Please, not at the table, my love." The immortals shared a quick look at each other, true love...

"My king, may we discuss Sigebert's plea for help?" Frank asked, folding his hands together.

The bearded king looked over at him, "Yes, thank you, Frankish. We will be removing the Alemanni from Tolbiac. I already have the army ready and we will set out when the sun is at its highest."

"I wish to come as well. May I fight?" Clovis looked to her with a careful eye.

"You may, but may I ask why?"

Annabella shook her head, "I'll keep my reason to myself." Clovis hummed but nodded nonetheless.

"Alright... Where is the food?" The other three shared a look that showed the laughter dancing in their eyes.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me," Annabella panted as she ran through the thick woods in the direction of Tolbiac. She had been unaware of the time and the king and nation left without her. The battle raged on and Frank's aura was surging. It was a small trick that Annabella had taught him as a cry for silent help. She drew her bow and drew an arrow. Notching it, she came to the edge of the forest and loosed it on the man fighting Frank. The tall man froze as the arrow buried itself in his temple and fell. Frank looked over at her in surprise and nodded in thanks.

She nodded back and drew another arrow. The two quickly reentered the battle and tried to fight their way to Clovis, but Frank was limping too much. "Stay here, Frank. It'll be over soon. Take these and cover me," The auburnette huffed, passing her bow and arrows over. The blond froze and nodded, taking them.

"Be careful, Annabel," He whispered, grabbing her hand.

She smiled and nodded, "Always." Annabella turned and went back into the fray, not straying far from her friend. She quietly counted the arrows that flew and drew closer when the stash grew dangerously low. "Frank, be careful-"

Then three men rushed her at once, cutting her off with a battle cry. Annabella's eyes widened in fear and she drew her Persian sword and began attempting to duel-wield. She had only done it in practice with Lithuania and Estonia, but never in real combat. She ignored the man to her left and blocked the other two to the best of her ability. Her arms shook lightly as the men tried to push through and she ducked as the third swung from the side. It clipped her knuckles and she winced, but the loud clang in front of her told her that the hits had been cancelled out.

Annabella rolled out of the way, and looked over at Frank quickly. He was playing dead, staring at her worried. She breathed and rolled over again as a sword nearly hit her. "You assholes have got to be fucking kidding me!" She tensed and watched them carefully. Adrenaline pumped through her system as she let her breath slow down.

"Annabella?" The single word hit her ears and she charged. Her right hand caught as the sword slipped through the man's throat and her left stopped entirely as it sunk into the other man's chest. "Annabella!"

"Goddamnit," She whispered as the last man struck her across her shoulder blades flatly. The heavy blade held there for a minute as she looked over at the man in horror. The sword was wrenched from her back and Annabella tumbled back minutely. The warrior growled in frustration and raised his blade to strike her again. He swung again, but it fell uselessly as the auburnette's dagger twisted under his rib cage. "Last time someone hit me there, I didn't get to kill him. This time, I do. Die."

She breathed heavily as blood gushed down her back and as the man fell, Annabella collapsed with him. "Annabella?" Frank asked as he crawled over to her. The war continued to rage and the nation heard his ruler beg to God to help them on the field. The blonde froze as he felt a new beat on the battlefield as the Alemanni's ruler fell to an axe. The opposing side fled and Frank made sure to guard Annabella even though his body was covered in blood and ached. "I have you, my friend."

* * *

Annabella blinked wearily as sunlight streamed through the open window. She was laying on her stomach and her back ached in such a way that she hadn't felt in years. "Ah, Annabella. Are you ok?" She looked over to see Frank sitting on the foot of her bed. The auburnette tried to sit up, but she hissed as her back stretched awkwardly.

"Um, I think so. I remember the battle, but... Are you alright? Does you leg still hurt?" Frank snorted and shifted it. The limb was covered in small bruises, but relatively undamaged.

"I'm fine, Annabel. How is your back? I tried to treat it as best as I could. It has begun to seal already, but you will have a large scar there," He said, frowning lightly.

She carefully shrugged, "It's fine. What's one more. Everything feels right, so you did a good job! I'm probably going to have to wear a dress for a while..."

Frank laughed, "I can help you with that! Just because you're hurt doesn't mean you can't look good!" Annabella joined in and the two spent a good while chuckling. "But I'm sorry I couldn't help more, Annabella."

"Frank, look at me," The woman commanded calmly, grasping his hand. He reluctantly looked into her amber orbs and she smiled. "I got hurt defending you. If it was something stupid like falling down some stairs, then I'd be really pissed. But I got hurt defending a friend. There's very little more of a worthy purpose than that. I got here safe and so did you and that's all that matters. Now can you help me up? This will heal in a week." Frank hummed and nodded. "Good, now get some rest. I want to know what happened later."

* * *

As promised, her back was soon healed up, and December 25th approached. Meals became an odd affair as the king, queen, and Frank shared a few looks. Whenever Annabella asked about it, the person would change the subject. On the 25th, Frank woke the auburnette early. "Annabella, it's Clovis's Baptism today! We're headed to Reims!"

She blinked and sat up, "Is that's what's been going on? And you didn't tell me?"

Frank blinked and realized his mistake, "Um, yes, well..." He paused and tried to find the right words. Annabella sighed and pat his shoulder.

"It's fine. Let me get ready and I'll be ready to go. Just because I refuse to believe in a god doesn't mean I won't stop others from believing in their's," She mumbled and stood. Frank blinked in surprise, "What, did you think I would stop you or him? He's a grown man, he can make his own decisions. What about you? Are you getting baptized too?" He nodded lightly and she smiled.

"Indeed. Thank you, Annabella. I only wish this God is as good as Clotilde says he is," He admitted.

Annabella nodded and put a hand on his shoulder, "I've heard that he's forgiving and kind. I'm thinking about traveling west again. It's been almost 120 years since I've seen _him_ and-"

"Go ahead. I've held you for far too long," He said, grabbing onto her. She smiled and gripped him tightly. "Be careful, try not to reopen your wound. There'll be a horse waiting for you in the stables in Reims. I shall see you...?"

"Soon? You know I don't know where I go, and there's one more thing I want to do," Annabella said, grinning. Frank pulled away to look at her with a question dancing in his eyes. She jumped off the bed and pulled him with her. "Follow me and be quiet! I still don't want to get caught!" The blonde blinked and tried to protest as she lead him to the highest window in the building and leaned out.

Frank grabbed her arm in concern, "Annabella, be careful!" The woman spit and ducked back into the hall.

"Shhh! They'll hear you!" Annabella laughed and pulled him down. Frank's mouth hung open as shouting was heard below them.

As she laughed, the nation smiled and joined in quietly, "This is what you did all day?" Annabella nodded and pulled him close in a side hug.

"I'm going to miss you, France," She whispered.

He smiled lightly, "I shall miss you as well. Maybe I'll be as tall as you when I see you again!"

Annabella laughed, "You better not be!" The two sat there for a little bit enjoying the silent company until it was actually time to leave.

* * *

The baptism went extremely well, though took a while in the small church, but Frank, Clovis, and 3,000 other Franks were eventually baptized. As promised, a horse was waiting afterwards and she took off for the west. The layer of snow slowly dwindled as she made her way south and the sun warmed her. While Annabella was used to the sun, she was alright in colder weather as well.

She rode through the kingdom of Burgundy quickly, and continued into the northern area of Italy. On a whim, she decided to stop by Ravenna, and maybe Rome afterwards. Riding in, Fortuna was happy to find that Northern Italy seemed to be in good condition.

Estonia and Veneziano seemed to be waiting for her as she rode up and the siblings shared a brief hug. Fortuna ruffled Estonia's hair and they all walked side by side as she went to put her horse away. They ended up chatting pleasantly and Veneziano curled up on her lap as she recounted the past few years. Leaving out the scar, Fortuna told them about the Battle of Tolbiac and her plans to see Persia.

The blonde nation had the extreme joy of telling her about the rough period her old friend was going through. There had been several family issues, and then he told her that Kavadh I was exiled but seeking help from the land west of the Sasanian Empire. Fortuna nodded and thanked him. They sat in silence for a while after that, the only sound of a fire roaring and Veneziano's breath.

She went to see Romano shortly after and the two stayed indoors until winter was over and summer came rolling around. They sat at the base of the peach trees and basked in the sun and napped quietly unless there was an issue, but any were quickly resolved. When summer ended, so did her visit and Fortuna soon left.

* * *

It took ten days, but she finally arrived at Kunduz. An army of 30,000 men was marching out of the empire and headed towards Ctesiphon. Crossing her fingers, she charged towards Kavadh. The man rode next to two others, but the auburnette knew that she had the exiled king's attention.

Neylan threw herself off her horse and bowed lowly to the kings before her and rose, "Kings of the East, I greet you and ask you to add my to your company. I seek to restore the proper king to his proper place."

The one she assumed was the Sasanian King raised an eyebrow, "And who may you be, woman?"

"I am one of many names, but your nation knows me as-"

"Neylan!" She froze and saw a fourth man walking beside them.

"Sasa?"

The man's ahoge bounced happily as he nodded and raced over, "Girl! It's been far too long! How are you, have you been eating enough, what are you-"

Neylan laughed as he swung her around, "Sasanian, put me down! I know its been 120 years, but it feels like longer! I've been well and I've come to help put Kavadh back. How are the boys?"

Persia put her down and looked her over carefully, "They're good, but Byzantine empire took Greece and Cyprus back. You look worse for wear, what happened here?" His fingers carefully raised her jaw to look at the jawline scar and several other smaller scars.

"Just Attila. Don't worry about it, that was 50 years ago. I'm mostly over it by this point. I also have a new back scar, but that's been taken care of as well. But how have you been, Sasa?"

Dark eyes smiled lightly and pulled her into a gentler hug, "I've been better, but it must be good if you're here. Kavadh will restore things into a golden era, I know it." Neylan nodded and pulled away.

"Well, revolution isn't going to wait for us. Let's go get Ctesiphon back, shall we?" Persia nodded and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's. We have a lot of catching up to do. I hear you've been busy."

Neylan laughed.

* * *

 **Welp... Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading!**


	34. Chapter 32

**Hello! After this, only maybe one or two more chapters until I reach the 100,000 word mark! Eeeeeeyyyy!**

 **AnonChan1: I can agree with you on pacing, but I suck at grammar. I actually intend on him not being the HRE anymore and something else, if a few decades/years late. It might work, it might not... It was actually part of the Frankish army to have a recurve bow, an extra string, and roughly 12 arrows on them, so he would probably have to know how to use a bow and use it well. The scar runs across the top of her old one. Lady Luck would actually be very close to Clovis's family, or at least, that's the way I'm doing the story as. And I loved your review of Persia, I lost it.**

 **And guys? I'm sorry about this chapter, if it's a little rougher. I have a bit of writer's block when it comes to writing it out, and... *sighs***

 **Also, I forgot to label the dates in the previous chapter: The battle of Tolbaic was in 496, she visited Estonia in 497, and then was in Persia from 498-499. And in this chapter, I'll post the dates at the bottom.**

 **Persian**

Frankish

Old Chinese

 **Middle Chinese**

 **Note: Edited (12/5/17)**

* * *

Neylan grinned and laughed with Persia as they caught up. She wiped away a tear and sighed, " **Sasa, I missed you so much. How have you been**?"

The man shook his head and pulled her into a side hug, " **Things have been rough. There's always some power struggle going on. I've gotten over it though. Kavadh believes his brother will step down. I believe it too, Djamasp is a good kid**." The auburnette hummed and put an arm around his waist to join in on the hug. " **So, tell me what's been going on with you? How are your brothers**?"

" **They were doing well, last that I saw, but I'm afraid that the Byzantine Empire will try something in the next century or something. Italia is under control of the Ostrogoths, and Theodoric is helping them rebuild and altogether very supportive. I went to the islands north of the Frankish empire, and the one to the west was rather charming, and so is the Frankish Empire. Those two are more like friends to me than anything. Then there's Albion, and he's actually the closest have found to 'blood family', if you can call it that...** "

Persia blinked in surprise, " **B-But that's-** "

" **Not possible? That's what I thought too, but it's more of an aura kind of sense. It's weird and I have a brother. Yay** ," Neylan joked, pumping a fist into the air. Sasa laughed lightly.

" **Alright. But you still haven't explained where you've gotten those scars,** " He prodded and she clenched her fist as it fell out of the air.

The girl swallowed and continued, " **I was on my way to see Rome with a request from Albion for more help, but I ran off to try and fight against Attila the Hun and his army as they entered, but... I got captured. Things didn't go too smoothly for a few years, but in 451, I got out and Frank and Rome found me and got me back on my feet. Anything after that has been smooth sailing**."

He hummed and ruffled her hair, " **That's good.** " Neylan nodded and they continued on their way. They continued on their march into the kingdom. As Kavadh thought, his brother loyally stepped off the throne and let his brother take over. Neylan stayed with Persia for another year and got to see Turkey again.

Persia lead her back to Ctesphion and almost immediately, Turkey came bounding out of the door and tackled Persia. " **Sasa! You're back**!" The man laughed and swung Turkey around.

" **Yep! And I've brought-** "

" **NEYLAN**!" The auburnette laughed as Persia passed over the squirming nation. " **Neylan! You're back!** "

The girl pulled Turkey into a tight hug and smiled, " **If only for a little while. How have you been**?" Turkey hummed and simply held on.

" **I've missed you..**." He whispered into her ear.

Neylan hummed herself, " **I've missed you too, Turkey**." She pulled his head back so she could kiss him on the forehead and pulled him back into her embrace so she could pick him up. The boy smiled and closed his eyes. After another moment, she turned to Persia and mouthed, ' **he's sleeping**.' He cracked a grin and pulled the two into his arms.

* * *

With another reluctant goodbye, Neylan took a horse from the Byzantine empire around to Paris. It took eight days, and when she did arrive, it was late in the day. Luckily, some of the guards recognized her and sent her up to the dinner hall. Clovis, Clotilde, the children and Frank were all sitting around the table when she walked in. The blonde nation looked up in surprise as she peeked around the corner, "Annabelle!" He got up and came over to pull her into a hug.

"Frank, sorry I was gone for a while. So, who are- oh ok!" She laughed as some of the kids came over. Clodomer had come over, dragging his little brother Childebert with one hand and carried Chlothar with the other. Frank took the three year old and laughed as Clodomer began climbing over her. "Clodo- Childe- get off!" She yelped and began turning in circles trying to get the respective five- and four- year olds off of her. Theuderic shook his head lightly as he strolled over and got his younger half-brother off the immortal. "Thanks, Thierry... Clodomer!" The child laughed as he pulled on her hair, "Get off you little..." Clovis and Clotilde laughed lightly at the spectacle.

"Alright, boys, let the poor girl eat," The queen scolded lightly. Annabelle grinned and heaved the small boy off her back.

She ruffled his hair and set him down, "Thanks, Clotilde. Is there another child on the way?" The sitting woman nodded and rubbed her stomach. "Congratulations. How are the boys getting along?" Theuderic took Chlothar from Frank and went back to his seat.

Clovis smiled and motioned for her to join at the table, "They get along fine. They're very close." Annabelle nodded and waited for Frank take his seat before standing next to him. "Have you eaten already?"

"Yes. Thank you." The rest of dinner went smoothly, even though Annabelle kept shooting funny faces at the kids when their parents weren't looking.

The woman waited until Frank was ready to head to bed and she followed him to their shared room. "Annabel, you are unusually quiet, is everything ok?" She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, just a little tired. I didn't want to bring this up at dinner, but what's going on with Burgundy?" The blonde sighed and opened the door, entering quickly. Annabelle shut it behind her and removed her new leather shoes before flopping onto the bed. "Frank?"

"It's a family feud between the Burgundian rulers and they're calling for our help. Clovis has already decided to fight against Gundobad. He's the man that killed Clotilde's father and her uncle," He explained quietly. She clenched her fist and nodded. "Are you-"

"Yeah. I'm fighting. I'll skin that son of a bitch myself if I have to," Annabelle snarled. Frank snorted lightly and patted her on the shoulder.

"You might. Have a good night, Annabelle."

She nodded and flopped over onto the bed, "Good night, Frank." No one fucked with Clotilde. She was a precious friend of Annebelle's and the woman did whatever she could to protect those she cared about.

* * *

Annabelle roared as she charged onto the battlefield. A stronghold near the river known to Frank as L'Ouche (Please don't laugh) was set up as the Franks and Godegisiel's (1) 'base', where the war machines were currently being stored. Frank, next to her, cast her a weary glance as Clovis's and Godegisiel's forces began crushing Gundobad's. The two immortals never strayed far from the other as the Bungundarian king began to retreat. Frank cast her a look and Annabelle nodded.

They fought their way towards Clovis and then the Frankish forces followed the other king out towards Avignon. Godegisiel's troops broke off, but Clovis pushed his army onward. As they reached the city, a man approached the head of the army. Annabelle and Frank had to work their way to the front, and by the time they got their, introductions had already been passed, and the unknown man stated, "Behold I am your humble servant, most pious king, I come to your protection, leaving the wretched Gundobad. And if your goodness condescends to receive me, both you and your children shall have in me a true and faithful servant."

Frank's eyes widened a tad as he saw him and Annabelle raised an eyebrow, "Who is that?"

He looked at her in surprise, "That is Aridius. I'm surprised you have not heard of him! He is well known for his wisdom and energy!"

"Huh," She hummed, watching impassively as Clovis took him to his side. They continued to Avignon and surrounded the walls and Aridius spoke up again.

"O King, if the glory of your loftiness should kindly consent to hear the few words of my lowliness, though you do not need counsel, yet I would utter them with entire faithfulness, and they will be advantageous to you and to the cities through which you purpose to go. Why do you keep your army here, when your enemy sits in a very strong place? If you ravage the fields, lay waste the meadows, cut down the vineyards, lay low the olive yards, and destroy all the produce of the country, you do not, however, succeed in doing him any harm. Send an embassy rather and impose tribute to be paid you every year, so that the country may be safe and you may rule forever over a tributary. And if he refuses, then do whatever pleases you. (2)" Clovis seemed to think it over and agreed. He sent in a small envoy and the army waited.

Annabelle and Frank played tic tac toe to pass the time, when the envoy returned with the good news- Gundobad had agreed to pay the yearly tribute. She grit her teeth, but was secretly glad they did not have to out wait Avignon in a siege.

* * *

The small brothers looked at her with big eyes, "Alright, boys, you need to take care of your brother and sister, right? Someone's going to need to watch out for them when your father and older brother isn't here, so you two need to do that. Chlothar isn't old enough, but can you two keep an eye on Frank for me? He tends to get lonely," She whispered to them.

Frank squawked, "Annabelle!" The two boys giggled and nodded.

"Thanks you two. I'll see you all later, alright?" The blonde nodded and pulled her into a hug.

"I am going to miss you, Bella," He whispered.

She smiled and pat his back, "Don't worry, Frank, I'll be back before you know it. And stop growing, you're going to be taller than me soon!" He snorted. It was true. He was slowly creeping up, past her shoulder.

"Just go already! If you stay any longer, I'll be taller than you!" Annabelle laughed and nodded, walking out.

* * *

Jun sighed as she made her way to the edge of the capital city of the Northern Wei dynasty of Luoyang. She blipped out her aura, hoping to get China's attention and sat against a tree. It had taken almost three weeks to get to here and the journey hadn't been a pleasant one.

A small wave of aura caught her attention, causing her to look up. A familiar face smiled at her from the edge of town and walked towards her. "Hello, Jun Fu. It has been far too long," China said, smiling.

She laughed and stood, dusting herself off, "Indeed. How long has it been?"

"I believe it has been little over 300 years. Come, I have some nations I want you to meet. And I will need to teach you the modern form of Chinese," The ancient nation said. China waited for her to begin walking as he stood next to her.

Jun nodded, "Alright. Shall we begin then?"

"Ever the eager one," The man said with a smile. "My siblings may wish to teach you theirs' as well."

"They wouldn't be the first," She said with a laugh. They continued to chat and China began teaching her his new language. They arrived to China's home later in the day, but the sun was still up. Two smaller aura's caught her attention. The man smiled as he quickly explained this to his old friend. "So, Jun, my kid brothers are over for a little wh-"

" **China! China! Japan is ignoring me again!** (3)" A small child with a wild curl came running up to China, bawling his eyes out. " **Who is she**?"

The taller nation smiled, picking him up, " **Baekje, this is Jun Fu, the woman I have told you about. Please don't-** "

Two small hands shot out and out of impulse, Jun stepped back and drew her blade. " **Jun, calm down. There aren't any enemies around here. Maybe only Baekje's wandering hands, but other than that, you are safe**." She blinked and nodded. Baekje looked at her with wide eyes and grinned,

" **I want to touch them, I want to touch them, even if they are small**!" He yelled, squirming in China's arms. Jun raised and eyebrow and looked up at the taller man.

"Them?" He avoided her gaze and blushed lightly. "Oh..." China pursed his lips an nodded, but still avoided her gaze. "Where in the hell did he learn about that? I don't blame _you_ but... Never mind. Put him down. Baekje ," She said, addressing the small nation. He blinked and looked up at her. "Please don't touch me inappropriately, please. I've heard I can be very scary when I'm mad."

China smiled as he saw the dark look pass over the woman's face. Baekje swallowed and nodded. "Good, now, time for proper introductions! I am one of many names, but China gave me the name Jun Fu. You are...?"

"I-I'm Baekje. Y-You're scary," He admitted. Jun laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Only when I need to be or to get a point across. I'm rarely mad, and that was not it. I'll see you around, right?" Baekje seemed to relax and settled into his guardian's arms.

China blinked when he felt a small tug on his leg, "Oh hello, Japan. Perfect timing!"

The stoic child stood there blankly and looked over at Jun, " **Who is she**?" His empty-looking eyes sent a shiver down her spine, but she smiled it off.

Jun squat down, "I am Jun Fu. Who are you?"

"Hello. I am Japan to where the sun rises. You are not a nation, so please leave our presence,(4)" He stated bluntly.

She laughed and fell onto the grass and China squawked, "Japan, that is no way to treat Jun! She is-"

"China, it's fine! It's been a while a nation has been this... blunt! Japan, where the sunrises, I am Jun Fu, and centuries old. I will leave your presence when China doesn't want me here or I am needed somewhere else." She stated, sitting up. Their gazes met and they stared each other down.

China watched the two and shook his head. He looked at Baekje, " **You all are crazy. May the gods help us**." Jun and Baekje laughed happily.

* * *

 **Sorry for the chapter, I'm in a small rut right now, but gradually getting over it.**

 **(1) Gundobad killed Clotilde's father and mother, forcing the daughters into exile. Clotilde's sister became a nun. Gundobad was Clotilde's uncle and _his_ uncle was Ricimer. Looks like being an ass runs in the family.**

 **(2) This was apparently an actual quote! Go records!**

 **(3) For the sake of conversation, and that South Korea (Baekje) and Japan speak Chinese. I suck. Also, please roll with having Lady Luck understand Middle Chinese decently enough, but not enough to speak it yet. I also think that the nations would cut her some slack with speaking an older form of language and help her out.**

 **(4) Japan used to be a little shit (in the show. I mean no offense to real history), but extremely blunt. He got over it though and is now really sweet.**

 **The first bit is in 499. The second with Frank is 500. The final part with China is 501, when the emperor Muryeong of Baekje came to power. He expanded relations between China and Japan while remaining allies with Silla.**


	35. Chapter 33

**Heeeeey...**

 **AnonChan1: I've told you~! And I do intend for this FF to be educational! And considering how many fights she's been in, she's pretty good. I know and I hate you (not really) a little bit because you got me on that ship a little bit... It's sad because they never really interact. The only time they might is because Persia controlled part of the silk trade coming out of China in a little bit, but it's unlikely. LL does love everyone. He's apparently a really nice guy who's acting in everyone's favor. In this particular conflict, if Aridius hadn't interferred, Avignon's surrounding area would have been burned and Gundobad might have lived longer than he would have and caused more problems, but this was resolved peacefully. Also, that is an apparent, 'direct quote'. S. Korea gets over it and young Japan is so hard to do! I think that he used to be rougher as a child until he got out and began learning the modern world for himself. Wish me luck.**

Old Korean

 **Old Japanese**

 **Middle Chinese**

 _Persian_

 _Gothic_

 _ **Italian/Vulgar Latin**_

 **FYI, this is another 'rough chapter'... Sorry... Also, sorry about all the languages. She's busy.**

 **Note: Edited (12/5/16)**

* * *

Jun sighed as Baekje pointed to another object and had her say the name, " **Lamp**." He huffed and she quickly tried to cover it up, _"_ **Right, sorry** _,_ Lamp _._ **It's not easy learning two languages at once, Baekje**..." He pouted and crossed his arms. Japan was sitting nearby, playing with a small ball and occasionally looking over.

" **What about that one**?" Baekje asked, pointing at the ball.

She paused and curled up on herself, trying to remember, " **Is it, um.. _._** Ball?" It was not easy trying to remember a language that wasn't very similar to another she knew. In all honesty, Jun had come to rely on her knowledge of modern languages, trying to learn older ones.

" **There you go! I'll have you knowing this by the end of the year**!" The small child grinned, throwing his arms up. He sat back down and began thinking of other ways to teach her more easily.

Japan sighed, " **How are your studies coming along, Jun**?" The woman sighed and head butted the floor.

" **I'm studying as much as I can, but it's not easy** ," She whined lightly, looking at him. He hummed and threw the ball at her. Jun caught it and threw it back.

" **Repeat after me. Hello I am...**" Japan said as he caught it.

He tossed it back and the auburnette caught it confused, " **Hello, I am Jun Fu**." She threw it back, but Japan all but chucked it at her face.

" **I said 'Hello, I am'. Not 'Hello, I am Jun Fu**." Jun grunted as the toy hit her hand.

Throwing it back, she repeated, " **I said, 'Hello, I am'. Not 'Hello, I am Jun Fu**." Baekje laughed and Japan threw the object at him. Jun laughed lightly and China peeked inside.

" **Is everything ok in here**?" Jun covered her mouth to hide her grin, Japan stared blankly at him, and Baekje was rubbing the side of his head. " **Jun**?"

The auburnette shook her head, " **Everything's fine. These two were trying to teach me and we just got a little distracted**." The man nodded in understanding and came into the room.

" **Why don't we all come and take a small break then? It's beautiful outside**." The three looked out the window and noticed the gentle sunrays.

Baekje looked between the other two as Japan merely blinked and Jun nodded. "Let's do it!" He cheered. The four slowly made their way outside and the kids sat down on the porch as China and Jun made their way onto the grass.

China looked at her with a raised eyebrow and silent question in his eyes. She smiled and nodded, assuming her standard position. As usual, China had managed to find a pair of pants for her with a shorter tunic. It got her many scandalous looks and gasps from various women, but Jun had stopped caring a long time ago. China grinned and charged.

Baekje laughed and cheered as China began swinging at her, and Japan stared at the match blankly, "Go China!" Jun sweat lightly as she struggled to dodge a few kicks and China frowned lightly as he noticed her struggle.

" **Don't you dare go easy on me** ," She growled, rolling to the side to dodge another punch. " **You've gotten faster** ," The woman grunted. China hummed and sent a kick in her direction. Sadly, Jun didn't dodge in time. His foot slammed into the bottom of her jaw and she grunted as she fell onto her side. The man gasped and kneeled next to her, instantly running her face over to look for any damage.

" **Are you ok? Are you hurt**?" Jun huffed through her nose and groaned. She touched her chin and flinched. " **Is your jaw dislocated**?" The woman nodded lightly and China sighed. " **I'm going to have to reset it, so try not to bite ok, please**?" Jun sighed again as she nodded. China carefully placed his thumbs along her bottom teeth and quickly slide the jaw back into its proper place.

" **Shit**!" Jun grunted as pain flared before calming down briefly.

China removed his fingers from her mouth and looked at them carefully at them, " **Thank you for not biting my fingers off.** "

The auburnette breathed deeply through her nose, " **Thanks for not breaking my jaw. You've definitely gotten faster.** "

He laughed lightly, " **I'm sorry, Jun. And I think you've just gotten slower. We can practice more later**." Jun whined turning over so she could lay on her back. More work...

* * *

" _Sasa_?" The man turned from China to face her.

His eyes widened almost comically, " _Neylan_?" Persia ran up and pulled her into a hug. She laughed as he shook her back and forth, " _It's so good to see you_!"

" _You saw me two years ago! Put me down, you big weirdo_!"

China looked between the two with a raised eyebrow, " **You two know each other**?"

Persia put his friend back on the ground, " _Of course! We got off on the wrong foot at first a little-_ "

" _-A lot-_ "

" _-But we're friends now!_ "

China shook his head lightly at the foolishness of his old trading ally. " **Jun, why don't you got take a break from us for know. I know Japan and Baekje have been driving you up the wall**." The auburnette froze and smiled.

 **"Thanks China**." He nodded and patted her on the shoulder with a smile on his face and a glint in his eye.

* * *

Neylan sighed as she rode with Persia back to his house in 502. " _So what's going on right now_?"

He hummed, " _Kavadh is hoping to get back at the Byzant_ -"

" _I'm in. I've never met the personification, but I know what they do in the future and I've really come to hate the actions caused by them_ ," She growled. Persia's eyebrows met in concern.

" _Neyl_ -"

She shook her head, " _I don't want to talk about it_." The man sighed and nodded, spurring his horse on. Neylan quickly followed suit and they soon reached the empire's home. Turkey was playing with several small wooden figures outside when he looked up.

" _Hey, you two! What's going on_?" Neylan dismounted and walked over.

Ruffling his hair, she smiled, " _Same as always. How have you been_?"

The child grinned and held up the toy animals, " _Good, but I've been a little bored. Have you made anything new recently_?"

The woman shook her head sadly, " _I've been a little busy, but I think I have plenty of new things from China to make you._ " Turkey smiled lightly and nodded in understanding. " _Thanks. Sasa, do you have any wood_?"

" _There's a few blocks in your old room if you want with a few different blades. We wage war with Byzantine soon though, so be ready_." Neylan nodded and picked Turkey up, placing him onto her back. They walked into the house and the three just when to sit in the kitchen as they always did. Persia sat at the table and watched over whatever Neylan and Turkey did. Just like they always did.

* * *

Just like they always did, Persia and Neylan were fighting back to back as they quickly seized the city of Theodosiopolis. Persia laughed heavily when he realized how unprepared the city was and the woman shook her head. The Persians charged through the town and quickly over took it. They then moved south and then held a siege over Amida for the remainder of the year and into 503. The inhabitanats lasted three months before they were finally beaten and Sasa took over the fortress-city. Emperor Anastasius finally seemed to respond and sent an army over into Armenia.

In the battle over Osroene, Neylan's friend winced before continuing into the fight. She cast him a look, " _Sasa, what's wrong_?"

Blocking a swing Persia grunted, " _The bitch is starting to fight back.(1) It's just a small headache, I'll be fine_." She hummed and sliced through the neck of a soldier. Blood splattered over them, but neither really cared.

" _If you say so, but I've got your back_."

He smiled, " _Thanks, girl._ " Neylan laughed as she ran her sword through another soldier trying to attack Persia. Soon, Osroene fell to them, and a besieged Edessa followed in a similar manner.

In 504, a messenger from Italia arrived. Persia raised an eyebrow at the Vulgar latin spewing from the two, but shrugged it off as he could tell a few words here and there. " ** _So you want me to return to Italy_**?" The man nodded and she sighed, running a hand through her hair. Persia cast her a look and nodded. Neylan smiled and turned back to the messenger, " _ **I'll be ready to go shortly. I just need to grab a few things and say my goodbyes**_." The man bowed wordlessly and walked outside. " _Sas_ -"

" _Be back soon, ok, Girl_?" Neylan smiled lightly and pulled the sitting man up from his chair.

" _Always. I'll see you sooner or later,_ " She agreed and Persia rubbed her back lightly.

" _I'll tell Turkey, now go get your bag and weapons. You don't want to keep your brothers waiting_." The auburnette grinned and nodded. She slipped away and ran off.

* * *

Veneziano welcomed her back as always as he jumped into her stomach. Fortuna dropped her bag as she grabbed him to make sure he didn't fall. " ** _Good morning, Venie! I've missed you! Have you been eating enough_**?"

He grinned as he crawled up to hug her neck, " ** _I've-a missed you too! Si, what-a about you_**?"

" _Yep! Did you end up sending that messenger or did-_ "

" _I did_ ," Estonia said as he entered the room. The toddler had grown a few inches since she had last seen him. " _My boss and I were hoping to gain more land to the north of here_."

Fortuna cocked her head, " _Isn't that-_ "

" _Yes, but he tried to stop our conquest of the Peninsula, and I was simply wondering if you would like to take part_," The blond quickly supplied and she frowned. Veneziano leaned back as he let her out of his embrace.

" _I would rather spend some time with the brothers. I am not getting involved in a fight between you two,_ " The woman said as she bobbed her brother up and down in her arms. The toddler laughed in glee as he held his arms up. Fortuna smiled and kissed his forehead. " _I'll be in either Ravenna or Rome. You can count on that,_ " She said with a determination that left no room for argument, backed by the defiant look she sent him. Estonia hummed and nodded. " _Thank you. Good luck,_ " She said and walked to a different room of the house.

The blonde nation left soon after and Fortuna spent her next year with Veneziano happily and in 505, she prepared to make her way south to Rome. Within the year she had spent with the younger brother, the Ostrogoths had defeated the Gepids and drove them out and farther east. Theodoric had lead his army further and sacked Belgrade.

The auburnette had shaken her head lightly at the news and clenched her fist. Veneziano silently grabbed her wrist and she smiled.

* * *

Fortuna grinned as she entered the home and walked out to the garden. Roma was silently grumbling as he tended to several plants in the back. The peach trees had knotted together by now and were blossoming happily. She smiled at the scene and leaned against the doorframe. Her brother continued to go around and mumble to the growing flowers. " ** _Dumbass flowers, growing so-a fast. I-a can't handle this-a shit anymore_**."

" _ **Need some help, Roma**_?"

He screamed and twisted around, " ** _Damnit, Ragazza! Don't-a do that_**!" The woman laughed and walked over to him. Romano punched her knee and ignored the dull pain. " ** _Stop laughing, idiota_**!" She picked him up and pulled him into a small hug.

" ** _I've missed you too, Romano_**." The kid calmed down and leaned into the hug to hide his face and mumbled something into her shoulder. Fortuna didn't need to hear it to tell he said that he missed her. She pet his hair and kissed his forehead. " ** _Come on. Do you need some help_**?" Romano pulled away and nodded.

" ** _I can't reach the top of the cypress to cut it. Can you reach it_**?"

She looked over and blinked at the large trees, " ** _Maybe not by myself. If I lift you up, do you think you could reach_**?" Romano hummed and thought about it.

" ** _Mayb_** -" The two froze as the ground beneath them began to shake.

" ** _Rom_** -" Fortuna dove for Romano as he gasped and clutched his side. " ** _Romano, hold on_**!" The shaking continued and various screams erupted around them. Tears poured down his face as he grit his teeth. " ** _It's going to be fine_**!"

Fortuna wouldn't remember how long the earthquake lasted, but by the time it was over, neighboring homes, and even their own, were lightly damaged. Romano heaved as he carefully sat up and held his ribs, " ** _Roma? Are you alright_**?"

" ** _I'm fine_** ," He girt angrily. The auburnette snorted. " ** _Fine, a rib or two hurts and the-a Colesseum got damaged. Happy_**?"

" ** _Very. We're going to be staying out here for the night, I don't really trust the house right now_** ," She said, looking at the dust still settling in the house. He grunted in agreement and crawled over to the peach trees. " ** _I'll grab some fruit and then we can settle down for the night. Are you going to be ok_**?" He nodded and Fortuna smiled. Climbing up one of the shorter limbs, she scaled the surprisingly short trees and grabbed four peaches. As Fortuna headed down, something happened she would never live down- she slipped.

" ** _Shit_**!" Romano laughed as she landed on the base of her neck. Fortuna winced and wheezed. " ** _Ass. Shut up_**."

He shook his head and continued to chuckle, " ** _No, this is-a great! I haven't seen-a you trip in-a years_**!" Fortuna huffed as she sat up.

" ** _Alright, fine. I got dinner_** ," She grunted as she trotted over to the tree trunks. The auburnette leaned against them and pulled her brother onto her lap. He settled down and winced minutely as he landed on a sore rib, but ignored it as Fortuna held out two peaches.

Romano took his half and chomped into one, " **Thanks, bitch**."

She smiled and ruffled his hair lightly, " ** _You're welcome, you little shit._** " The siblings snorted and soon settled down for the night.

* * *

 ***sigh* Because I need to get my mojo back together (and writing odd bits help), if someone wants me to do another filler that doesn't have any romance of any kind (or maybe a little), I'm opening the opportunity up, just this once. I'll do the first two requests I get and maybe post it at the end of the next chapter... (Note of 12/5/16, that proposition is still open as no one has claimed it. Just saying if anyone who's read ahead wants to see something explained or just happen in general that can tie into the storyline.**

 **(1) The Byzantine army unsuccessfully tried a siege of Amida.**

 **Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading this chapter and the previous ones!**


	36. Chapter 34

**Hey guys!**

 **AnonChan1: She would be fine if it was just training or one language, but it's like being at school all day for her, so yep! And China probably has to, Lady Luck doesn't know how to set her own jaw and the other two wouldn't dare. I think you have, and they're just a nice family dynamic, I guess. And Oooooh! Bonus Points! Yay! And I'll put it at the end of the chapter!**

Italian/Vulgar Latin

 ** _Gothic_**

Frankish

 **Latin**

 **Note: Edited (12/5/16)**

* * *

" _ **What**_?" The blue-eyed messenger nodded as he stood tall.

" ** _Theodoric wishs you and Romano to accompany him to see the Visigoths and-_** ," He repeated. Fortuna growled and Romano peeked his head out of the doorway. " ** _-The Franks_**."

The auburnette took a step back, but the man took another step closer to her, " ** _I don't care what the king says, I'm no-_** " The man grabbed her arm, but she twisted out of his grip. Her brother barreled out and headbutted the man's shin. " ** _Romano, get away from him_**!" She growled and carefully pulled him away before the messenger could do anything.

" ** _Sorellona, let's get out of here_**!" She nodded and ducked back into the house with the man on her tail.

" ** _I was told to bring you by any means neccess-_** "

" ** _Back off,_** " Fortuna growled as she pointed her blade at the man. " ** _I don't care who you are, what you want, or anything else. I want you out of this house_**." The man frowned.

" ** _Miss, please put-_** "

Romano huffed and came out from behind the bed, "Ragazza, let's just-a go and get this-a bastard out of our house." She pursed her lips, but put her sword away.

"Alright, Roma. You'll be riding with me, alright?" He nodded without a second of hestiation and the auburnette carefully ruffled his hair. " _ **We'll head straight to Tournai. We can meet Clovis and Frankish there. Now please, get the fuck out of our house**_." The messenger nodded and left slowly and the two finally allowed themselves to relax. " Romano? That was very brave of you, but please never do that again," She asked, squatting down.

The poor child had looked so proud, but then so chestfallen, "Why? I just-a wanted to make sure you-a were safe-"

"I know that, but I'll never be able to leave you to fight someone alone! Not when you're this small!"

Romano growled and charged at her, "Bitch! I'm sorry I'm-a not tall, but I-a was trying to protect you!" He punched and kicked her legs and arms. Fortuna sat there and allowed him to get his anger out, even if the blows hurt a little. "I-a wanted to-a do what you've done for-a me all these years..." He cried, lessening the assault. She smiled and pulled him into her lap. Romano looked at her as tears poured down his cheeks and she smiled lightly, wiping them away.

"I know, Roma, but I want to tell you a small story from when I was your height. I used to be a very stupid kid, but luckily I was too little to understand what happened. It was... early in the day, and my mom wasn't at home. A man showed up at the door and tried to get in. My mom had told me that if she wasn't around and someone tried to get into the house, to hide. I grabbed my teddy bear and hid in a small cranny in the kitchen. My mom had the house specially built with tons of small areas she or I could hide away in case anything should anything happen... Anyway, the man finally did get in and I could hear him rooting around and then I heard him walk into my mom's room.

"I knew my mom didn't like people going into hers room, so I crawled out and grabbed my teddy bear and toddled over in that direction. The man all of sudden came out and I froze. He had a small ...weapon(1)... in his hand and he pointed it at me... Even more suddenly, Mom was home and saw the thief standing there, pointing the weapon at me, and... I just remember a loud bang and suddenly the man was down. It turned out my mom kept a weapon of the same kind hidden on her person. Law enforcers showed up and Mom gave me the lecture of a life time, but ended up pulling me into a hug and told me she didn't want me to get hurt. Just like I don't want you to get hurt by trying to take someone on that is four times your size." Romano listened to the story and nodded lightly by the end of it. Fortuna smiled and pulled him into another hug.

"At least until you're bigger, don't do that, promise me. I will always trust you and your motives." He nodded and she pulled him back to put her forehead on his, "Thank you. I don't want to have to worry about you." Romano opened his eyes and smiled.

"I-a should be saying that about-a you, Ragazza. C'mon. Some asshole is-a waiting for us. And one question- how-a did you think a toy would-a help you?"

She shook her head, "I was a very stupid toddler."

* * *

Frank grinned as he saw her approaching with Romano walking next to her, "Annabella! Is this one of your brothers?" Romano stood behind her a little bit as he looked over the taller blond.

Annabella smiled and offered her hand down, "Yeah, this is Romano. Is it ok if we speak in Latin to make things easier for all of us?" The frenchman nodded with a smile.

" **So you are Romano? Annabel has told me** -"

" **Bite me** ," Romano growled at the baby voice.

The auburnette snorted, " **Frank, I've told you that Romano isn't a child. He's older than you**." Frank blinked and nodded solmenly.

" **I'm sorry, Romano. I am the Frankish Empire. As I tried to say** -"

" **Is the-a asshole done yet? I'd-a like to get back-a home** ," Her brother interrupted again. The blonde squaked and began ranting.

Annabella sighed, " **Can you two please be quiet for a minute**?" Romano frowned, but nodded, as did Frank. " **Thank you. We're just here because Theodoric wanted to try and prevent a war between you and the Visigoths. The moment that's done, you two can get out of each others' hair, agreed**?" The boys shared a look and nodded. " **Thank you. Frank, can Roma and I eat and stay here**?"

Romano squawked this time and Frank nodded, " **It is fine. Will he be staying in our room**?"

" **Yeah, that's the plan. I'm going to drop off our stuff and be in the dining hall in a moment**."

The blonde nodded in understanding and as an afterthought, he grabbed her shoulder, " **Annabel**?" Romano frowned at Frank's hand, but didn't say anything, " **Clovis and Alaric already made peace, but Alaric and Visigothic will be coming around anyway, if anything a little late.** (2)" Annabella nodded and picked Romano up into her arms. As she walked off, Romano stuck his tongue out at Frank. Annabella's hand came up behind him and lightly smacked the back of his head and he grunted. The blonde smiled and shook his head.

Romano looked at her as they entered her old room, "I-a don't like him." She smiled and put the two bags at the bed on the far end of the room.

"He's kept me alive so far, and he's a good friend," Fortuna said, putting Romano on the bed..

He raised an eyebrow, " _Good friend_?"

"Not like that. He tried flirting with me when he first met, but he's _just_ a good friend." The child hummed and sighed.

"He-a better make good food, though. I'm-a not eating shit."

Annabella laughed and threw him a clean pair of clothes, "Come one, let's look presentable for dinner. I'll wait in the hallway while you change." Romano nodded and waited for her to leave. "And don't do anything I wouldn't do." He frowned and chucked a pillow at her.

"LEAVE!" She laughed and went to wait outside.

Dinner was a 'fun' affair. Clovis's boys had grown considerably, but still crawling all over her. Romano, of course got pissed and started yelling at them. Clotilde, the youngest child and, started bawling her eyes out. The Italians instantly began trying to comfort her and 10-year-old Childebert got defensive. The taller immortals and his reigning pair watched all of this in amusement and finally Clovis stepped in. With a gentle hand, he got the dinner table back working order, other than the glares Chilebert continued to send Romano and vise versa(3). Annabella just went and banged her head against the wall a little bit.

* * *

It took a great deal of persuading to get Romano to head back to the pennisula without her, but he eventually agreed (it may or may not have required a future favor). Frank sent them back with good horses and a small guard and Annabella was happy once again.

It turned out that Clovis wanted her to stay back for a battle he had planned for the next year, 507. She readily agreed, should she be able to fight near the back. Frank raised an eyebrow, but the auburnette looked at the setting sun and the blonde nodded. Dinner was quickly wrapped up and the family went their own ways.

"Annabella?" She looked over shoulder and motioned for him to come over. "Why don't you want to meet the Visigothic Empire?"

She paused midstride and he raised an eyebrow, "I don't know, but if I haven't met a particular nation or empire when we're both hundreds of years old, maybe there's a reason. I haven't seen the Byzantine empire yet either, and she's been around since at least 395." Frank nodded in understanding.

"Let us get some rest. We need our beauty sleep!" Annabella smiled and nodded. She looked at him out of the corner of her before picking him up and slinging him onto her back. Frank laughed, "Annabel!" She grunted back, Frank was heavier than she thought.

* * *

The Battle of Vouillé was odd to say the least. Clovis's forces got slowed by the Vienne River because rainwater had flooded it, but his army did manage to engage the Visigoths just south of Vouill _é._ The archers hung back at the command of the king, and Annabella happily picked up her bow. Her sense of time once again went out the window as arrow after arrow flew and a sudden cry came from the Visigoths. She blinked as the opposing army began a retreat and the woman sighed in relief.

It was only when the army returned home and the two immortals found each other that Annabella find out what happened. Clovis apparently killed Alaric II and the Visigothic army retreated. The Franks chased after them and annexed the greater part on Aquitania. Annabella blinked when she saw Frank reach her nose and slumped. "Damn, stop growing!"

Frank laughed, "Only in your dreams, Annabel."

A messenger arrived in 508 and she growled as she saw he was Byzantinian. He offered a message to Clovis- Emperor Anastasius I recognized Clovis as the ruler of Gaul. The immortals shared a happy look before going to celebrate with the family. It was admittedly a little weird between Frank and Annabella when Clovis declared Roman Catholicism the official religion of the Frankish Empire and moved the capital from Tournai to Paris. The blonde cast an odd look over to Annabella when she began laughing wildly, but shrugged it off and joined her.

509, however, was a little rougher. "You are what?" Annabella yelled as Clovis looked at her. Frank put a hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off.

"Annabella-"

"Don't 'Annabella' me! Clovis, I have seen enough royal families torn-"

Clovis stood from his chair, "I do not wish to hear of your stories or any advice you had spouted to my ancestors!"

She bared her teeth and growled, "This isn't advice! Do not go and-"

"Get her out of here! Lock her in your room if you must!" The king yelled at Frank. The blonde looked between his friend and king desperately.

"Do it, Frank. If your king tells you, you have to do it," She said, resigned with a look of heartbreak on her face. For all she had done for this family, Clovis was turning his back.

He sighed and approached Annabella, "Forgive me, my friend."

The woman's head fell as she huffed, "I already have. But forgive me for not being to help." Frank nodded lightly and grabbed her arm to lead her out. Annabella sighed and looked back. Clovis stared after them with a large frown on his face.

Annabella spent her next two years in her room bitterly, staring out the window. Frank would come by and talk to her and deliver whatever news he could. Clovis gone through with the the plan and had the king of the Ripuarian franks killed by the man's own son. Clovis then had the new king slain as well under the grounds for murdering his own father and finally united all the Franks under one ruler.

"Congrates," She offered weakly.

He smiled lightly and took her hand, "Annabella, Clovis has more of his further kinsman killed. His children still live, but... My dear king is not doing so well. He is dying, I can tell." Annabella looked over at him in concern.

"Frank, I've been with a few empires when their rulers died. I know it's not fun. I'll be here for when you need me."

The blonde smiled and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you." The woman felt her shoulder get a little wet and tightened her embrace.

She nodded and rubbed his back. "Turn around, I'm going to brush your hair for you. It's getting a little tangled." Frank nodded and turned around so he could cry without her seeing him. Grabbing a comb off a nearby table, Annabella began brushing through his silky hair.

Clovis died later that day. Frank clutched Annabella as he cried himself to sleep that night.

* * *

 **There's that and here's the notes:**

 **(1) Because it's... 506, Fortuna can't exactly tell him what a gun is.**

 **(2) Around 502, Alaric II met with Clovis on a small island in the Loire near Amboise. They chatted and apparently became friends. Go Spain and France!**

 **(3) I've come to find that those siblings were actually very close. One rarely attacked a nearby enemy without another brother at his side. Childebert ended up starting a war when he came to his sister's aid. And for those of you who don't have siblings, to have a stranger who's around your sibling's age to suddenly get their attention... It makes a person defensive, especially if they're close to their sibling.**

 **And here's one of the requests asked for! Also, I just found out about this wonderful, wonderful language call Esperanto!**

* * *

Spain smiled as he gushed over the invitation. "Really, Carina? I'm allowed to go?!" She nodded lightly as he pulled her into a hug.

"I don't see why not. It's a lake party America's throwing in Minnesota in a week and he told me to invite whoever. So, are you coming?" He grinned and nodded and suddenly let her go to run off. Carina pulled lightly at the neck of the turtleneck and sighed. "What have I done?"

A week later, Spain waited until Carina was in the shower as he snuck into her room. He threw open her closet and drawers, throwing all her clothes into bags. The Spaniard left a decent bikini he had found at 'Wal-Mart'. The water turned off and Spain sucked in a quick breath of air, grabbed the bags and ran quietly out of the room. As soon as he did, the bathroom door opened and Carina came out in a towel. She walked over to the closet and opened it and growled. "What the fuck?" She went to the hotel's wardrobe and opened it, but it was just as empty.

"Shit." Carina looked at the ink-soaked clothes she had just changed out of in defeat and gazed at the bikini. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." She sighed and changed into it in resignation, wincing as she saw how much of her scars and tattoos were shown. She wrapped a towel that had conveniently been left out around herself and exited her room.

A door opened and Spain popped his head out, "Hola, chica! How are you?" Carina growled at the man.

"I'm not in a good mood. Which rooms are Francis and Lovino?"

The nation blinked in innocent confusion, "Why? I think they're already at the beach anyway. Do you need a ride?" She sighed and looked down. With a nod, the auburnette followed Spain out.

The car ride was mostly silent, and Spain was ignorant of the imminent silence coming from the passenger. Her towel was still covering her protectively, even as they pulled into the parking lot. "Alright, we're here!" She hummed as she opened the door and all but crawled out.

"Mom, what's up!" America was on her form in seconds. "I was wondering- Dude, what's wrong?" He pulled out of the hug and looked at her in concern. Carina shook her head and continued across the hot pavement. Her adoptive son took her under his arm as he lead her towards the party.

France froze as he looked over at her and her defeated look and growled, "America, what did you do?"

"I don't know, Francy! She was like this when Spain dropped her off! What's going on?"

They both blinked in surprise as Sealand came over and hugged her legs, "Hi, Tiger lady!"

"Please don't call me that, Peter," The auburnette asked quietly. Sealand whined lightly and nodded.

"Sorry, Mom." She reached out and ruffled his hair. France and a few others noticed her, but the former was the first to begin heading over.

"Hey, Carina, why are you still wrapped under that towel? Enjoy the day!"

"Mon ami, NO!" France yelled as Spain pulled the cover away. Tears pooled in Carina's eyes as her scar covered body was shown shamefully. Spain's happy face fell as several nearby nation's eyes widened. "Merde, Spain!" He ran forward and wretched the towel from the spaniard and wrapped it around the weeping woman.

"OI BASTARDO, WHAT-A THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO?!" Romano charged over and grabbed the startled man's shirt.

Spain sputtered, "I-I didn't know! I swear!" He looked over at his old friend in regret. The scars she had revealed hadn't faded with time as much as any of the nations' and they stood out against her pale skin. "Carina, I'm sorry!"

The woman didn't hear him as France lead her under a nearby umbrella and he quietly crooned in her ear to calm her down. Veneziano soon was brought over and he held her as she balled her eyes out.

"That's the most I've ever seen her cry, or at least in a long time," Spain admitted.

Romano huffed, "Well, she'd-a usually cry in her room or come to-a me or Veneziano or albino, but she-a only ever cries like this when her privacy is invaded. Fortuna used to-a love telling us bedtime stories about how she got a scar, but after the-a invention of the gun and after WW II, her-a self esteem went out the window. If I ever get my hands on that asshole that broke her like this-"

"I'll kill him." Romano raised an eyebrow at the dark aura surrounding Spain.

The hazel-eyed man huffed but shrugged, "Fine. But I need to go help my sister. I'd stay away from Gilbert and Hungary and any of the Kirkland assholes. They-a tend to get a little over protective over Fortuna." Spain nodded in understanding and walked off towards the cars. The Italian growled, but turned back to go see his sister.

America was happy enough to lend her a pair of spare clothes he had in the back of his pickup, but Carina just sat there, trying to ignore the pitying looks a few nations cast her. Romano and America glared at anyone who came within spitting distance (Which was pretty long for the American), while France and Veneziano sat next to her and tried to cheer her up. Gilbert finally noticed the woman's problems and came over, holding out a hand.

"Hey, Schutz (1), get up, we're going for a swim," Gilbert said as he ignored the guard dogs' looks. Carina looked up at him and sighed.

"Fine. America, is it ok if-"

Gilbert frowned, "In your swimsuit, you need to get over this."

"Hey dude, Mom doesn't-"

"She needs to get over this," The albino insisted. France sighed as he pinched his nose, and Carina looked at him. She slowly exhaled and he patted her shoulder.

"He's right, Mon Ami. It's time."

Carina nodded and pulled off the t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. "Fine. Let's go." Gilbert held out his hand as he raced toward the water. She cracked a shaky grin and chased after him "Klinge! You asshole! Wait up!" Gilbirt laughed as he picked her up and threw her into the water, spurred on by her laughter. _Ah, the power of distraction..._

Veneziano looked over at his older brother, "Fratello, why does Fortuna heal so slow? If those were caused by humans, they would have been healed by now."

France shook his head, "That's because she isn't a nation. She still heals faster, but because she used to be human..." America nodded and Romano slouched.

"I still can't-a believe I always forget that. Imagine what Sorellona's had to abandon because of us. Family, friends, a real life..."

America shook his head, "Nah, man. Look around. We're her friends, her family. We might not be blood family, but we're as close as you can get." Veneziano modded in agreement before running off to join the other two. The small awkward family of nations that have watched the peoples of their nations grow and pass, over and over again, leaving only themselves. The simple bond of understanding that pain was enough of a similarity that could not be erased by war or hatred. It could dull, but nonetheless, respect was a large part of their lives.

* * *

 **And that's it, and hopefully the 100,000 word mark chapter! And remember- I have one request still there! (Still do! (12/5/16))**

 **(1) German for Shield.**

 **(2) German for Sword.**


	37. Chapter 35

**Hey, guys! School's started back up and I am sadly taking AP Language, AP US History and marching band, all of which take up a lot of my time, so I'm not going to have too much time to write, but I'll still try to post every once in a while.**

 **AnonChan1:I've heard the same, but I'm going to try and list all the languages she knows so farand the variations in parentheses... fun... Italian (modern), English (Modern and old), Chinese (Modern, Han and middle), Spanish (modern), German (Modern), French (Modern and Frankish), Latin, Persian (Middle Persian), Greek (Koine dialect), Gothic, Irish (Primative), Common Brittonic, Hunnic, Old Korean and Old Japanese... For anyone who says this isn't possible, some people know ten more than these and aren't hundred years of years old. It's partially because she didn't know the Visigothic Empire, but she had just gotten to see her brothers and didn't want to leave. And I was kinda going for that. And as for the break in... I've never had anything like that happen to me, but she was so young and hadn't reached the age to know what death was. By the time she did know, she had already accepted the memory. They are adorable! I can't wait when they're older. And dude, she's going to feel so tiny compared to Russia. She's going to go from 5'4" to roughly 5'1" by the time the present pulls around. And it is good, but they've gotten so used to leaving everyone behind that they've become something of friends to the immortals around them. Don't hate me for saying that. And he probably will and everyone's just there for her...**

Frankish/Gaulish/Vulgar Latin (French)  


 **Italian/Vuglar Latin (Italian)**

Gothic

 **Old English**

 **Off to La-La-land!**

 **Note: Edited (12/5/16)**

* * *

Fortuna gasped as Romano's body temperature flared. It was 512 and Frank had sent her away after a short while so he could deal with the divided kingdom. Mount Vesuvius was erupting. _Again_. She picked him up and carried him out of the room and into the next and prepared a cup of water. He hacked and accepted it happily between coughs.

They did their normal routine as the volcano continued to reign havoc over the surrounding areas. When it ended, Romano gulped down a large amount of water and the two went their own ways to go bathe. Ashes clouded the water as Fortuna stepped into the bath and she silently cried. " **Damn it. Why does Vesuvius always have to affect him so much**?" Large flabs of skin peeled away for the third time in her life as she began to scrub lightly and the skin remaining was still pink and blistering as always, but the auburnette didn't care.

She climbed out soon after and the two prepared to settle down for the night, but an immortal strolled into the home, "Ragin, Romano, are you there?" The siblings groaned and Fortuna picked the weakened Romano up so he could still rest. He curled in her arms and listened to her heartbeat as she walked out.

"Hey, Estonia, what did you need?"

The small blonde rubbed the back of his head, "I wanted to see how Romano was doing. I saw the ash and my boss wanted me to come see the damage."

Fortuna hummed and looked down at him, " **Romano, can I show him**?"

The toddler hummed and grumbled lightly, " **Whatever... I'm-a tired..**." Estonia smiled lightly at the two and the woman jerked her head in a 'follow me' motion.

"I'll show you what Romano coughed up if that'll work. It's easier than heading down to the volcano at this time of night." The two walked down to the dirty room and Estonia looked around in horror at all the ash. "That all came out of Romano's lungs. I've never seen what happens to the land after the volcano is stable, but it can't be good."

The Ostrogothic nation nodded in agreement, "I'll tell Theodoric, and I'll see if I can get a tax exemption for Romano." Fortuna smiled and sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Estonia. It'll take a great weight off of all of us. Tell Theodoric he has my thanks," Fortuna said.

Romano growled, " **Shut up, Ragazza, I'm-a trying to sleep. Get that-a asshole in the-a guest room so we can-a rest**!" She smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Of course. Estonia, if you want, you're welcome to stay the night." The blonde nodded at the translation and followed her out of the room and was placed in an extra bedroom next to their own. "If you need anything, let me know. Romano tends to wake up first, but if you wake up before him, don't be afraid to wake us up. Just knock on the doorframe though. You know what happens." They shivered as they tried to suppress the thought, but stopped when they reached the room. "'Night, Estonia. We'll be right next door." Fortuna ruffled his hair and waited to see his response as she pulled her hand back.

He nodded and crept into the room, "Good night as well." She nodded and walked into her room and quickly settled down for the night.

Romano woke her the next morning, jumping on her stomach, " **Wake-a up, Ragazza! The asshole is awake now**!" Fortuna blinked wearily and sat up.

"Thanks Roma. I'll talk to him and grab a few peaches from the back for breakfast. Estonia, you can come in, you know," The auburnette called. The nation stepped in sheepishly as Romano looked over at him.

"I'm sorry for eavesdr-"

Fortuna shook her head, "It's fine. Are you leaving today?" Estonia hummed.

"I plan on checking in with an officer a little further south that has drawn up a report and then head back to Ravenna. I'm actually going to leave now."

"Estonia, you're staying for breakfast or at least take something to eat on the way."

He paused, "I don't want to cause any-"

"Dumbass, just-a take a peach or-a two and go," Romano grumbled, stretching. Fortuna blinked and looked at him in confusion. Estonia finally nodded and walked out the door. "Don't-a look at me like that. He and-a his boss brought peace and I-a owe him for-a this," He mumbled angrily, his face flushing a bright red.

She nodded and picked him up, saying nothing more.

* * *

As it did happen, Theodoric allowed everyone living near Vesuvius a tax exemption. Fortuna stayed with Romano until 514 when a messenger from Albion somehow found its way to her. Romano wasn't happy, but he was curious of the nation. " **Nonno mentioned him a few-a times, but...** " She had hummed as they lapsed into silence. The two parted and she quickly sailed back around the Mediterranean.

Fortuna smiled as she watched the familiar coasts of the passing nations, remembering all the times she sailed by them in the past. The memory of the coasts would serve her well later.

Albion was waiting on a dock on the southern coast of his land, his arms crossed and his eyebrows meeting on his forehead. " **Hey, Al**!" He blinked and looked over at her.

" **I've come to have a new name, Elizabeth**." The woman raised an eyebrow. " **I'm Englaland now.** " Elizabeth cracked a grin and he squawked, " **What's that face for? Do I have something on my face**?"

She shook her head, " **Nothing. Just happy the future is inching along**." He growled, but ignored her. " **So, what did you need me for? Better yet, how did you find me**?" Englaland raised an eyebrow and Elizabeth sighed, " **Right, stupid question. But still, what did you need**?"

" **Cissa is taking over for Ælle. I wanted you to be here for that. Is that alright**?" She nodded and he turned and began walking off. The auburnette sighed and followed after him.

" **So how have you been? Have you been eating enough**?" He nodded and lead her towards... somewhere.

The coronation was a bit boring and in all honesty, Elizabeth ended up falling asleep. Regardless, Englaland allowed her to stay until 516 when he made a comment during breakfast one day. They were eating in a quiet corner in their home and out of nowhere, " **So I've heard Chlochilaich(1) is heading to attack Frank**." Elizabeth gagged and choked on her bread.

" **What? I'm sorry, Al, I have t-** "

He waved a hand, " **There's already a ship with a three-man crew waiting for you. That idiot owes me for this.** " She smiled and pulled him into a quick.

" **Thanks, Al**." He squawked and pushed her away.

" **Stop calling me that! I'm not 300 years old anymore**!" He yelled with a slight blush.

Elizabeth smiled and ruffled his hair a bit, " **Englaland, you will always be Al. But I'll call you Englaland if it'll make you happy**."

He huffed, " **Thank you, Elizabeth. Now off you go! Be back in three years!** "

" **Thanks, Mom**!" She laughed, standing up.

" **I am not your mother, you idiot**!" He yelled after her.

Waving a hand over her shoulder, she grinned, " **Sorry, Al**!" Englaland shook his head with a small smile.

* * *

Annabelle sailed over to Theuderic's kingdom and was rather angry to find Frank already fighting Sweden. The ass had grown a few inches since she had seen him 250 years ago and she growled. The woman charged in as she quickly strung her recurve bow. Drawing an arrow back and launched it at the stoic child, "SWEDEN, BACK DOWN!" Frank looked at her surprised and Sweden frowned. A nearby high-officer looked over in the confusion and a familiar looking teen charged over. The immortals were confused as their leaders quickly duked it out and the Frankish man struck down Chlochilaich. Sweden's frown deepened and her and the remaining Geats quickly retreated.

"Damn..." Annabelle breathed as she walked next to Frank. "I have no idea what just happened, but damn..."

"Yeah. Thanks, Annabel..."

She smiled and pulled him into a hug, "Anytime, Frank. So who is this? He looks like one of the brothers."

The unknown teen looked over at her in confusion before blinking in realization, "Are you Annabelle? My father has told me about you and I believe I have seen you when I was younger."

"What? Who's your father?" The man raised an eyebrow.

"It's Theuderic."

Annabelle nodded, "Thierry? And I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, Theudebert. It's been, what, six years? Is that right, Frank?" He hummed and nodded. "Alright. Well, it's been nice seeing you again. Should we see what- Oh my god." The two looked over in surprise at her and followed her gaze. There, dead, lay Chlochilaich, the still giant.

"Oh my. How does one get that tall?" The auburnette shook her head in disbelief. (2)

* * *

Another scream pierced the air as Annabelle groaned. Frank laughed lightly at her expression. "Hey, be quiet. Aren't you supposed to be in there?" Another shriek made the blonde's face twist. "Alright then. Now let's try to get some sle-" Yet another shout cut her off and Annabelle growled. "It's going to be a long night." And so Charibert I was born in 517. Frank had her stay another year and visit the reigning family before she headed back off to Englaland.

There was another coronation going on and Englaland quickly lead her to what was known as Westseaxna rīce, or Kingdom of the West Saxons. Cerdic was being crowned king of Wessex and this time, she wasn't forced to attend. Sure, Albio- Englaland was sad, but she made it up in 520 when she went to the newly formed Kingdom of East Anglia.

" **Hey, Elizabeth, are you alright**?" The growing blonde asked one day. He had grown several inches since she had first met him and currently reached her waist.

She sighed shook her head, " **I'm just a little tired. I-** "

" **Stay here for a while. You'll feel better.** " The auburnette looked over and nodded with a smile.

" **Thanks, Eng**."

The blonde frowned, " **Don't use that nickname. It sounds stupid**."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, " **Fine, _Al_.** " He nodded and went back to his food. She sighed and pulled her knees up and tried to take a nap in her small ball. Englaland smiled and leaned up against her as he ate his bread.

" **Good night, Bess**."

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight- CLOTILDE had her sons start a war?" Frank looked over at her and nodded slowly. "Oh my... The world must be ending."

He shook his head, "I'm afraid that isn't coming for another three hundred years if Sextus Julius Africanus(3) was right. But I get the point, Annabelle. It is odd. Are you going to help them?"

"They're like family to me. Why shouldn't I?" She said with a smile. Frank looked at her and the two grinned. He pulled her into a side hug.

"Don't ever leave. I don't know what the boys would do if you left," The blonde said as he walked her into Orleans.

She put her other arm around him, "Frankish. I have no intention of ever leaving. But I have to tell you to never leave either."

Frank let a tear slip down his face as his father's face flashed through his mind. Gaul might have gotten drunk off his ass on occasion, but he raised and protected Frank. "I promise. You're my best friend, you know that?"

"And you're mine, well, that I'm not possibly related to." Frank gasped jokingly and Annabelle laughed. "I'm kidding, France! But let's make one more promise while we're making them."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye with a smile, "Yes?"

The auburnette winced minutely, "If we ever have to fight against each other, no hard feelings. Can we agree on that? We don't have to go and look for each other out on the field, but we don't don't hate each other, please?" Frank paused and his arm over her shoulders pulled her into a full hug.

"If we ever have to fight each other, I pray to God that I will never have to fight you," He breathed into her ear. Annabelle swallowed and rubbed his back.

"Frank-"

"I promise." The woman nodded and gripped Frank's back.

He sniffed and held the back of her head, "Frank, I promise. I just hope we never get put into that situation."

"I pray the same."

"HEY, GET OUTTA THE WAY!" A merchant yelled at them and they laughed lightly. "GO GET A ROOM SOMEWHERE ELSE!" The two snorted and stepped out of the way. The pissed trader shot them dirty looks.

Annabelle looked over at Frank with a laugh, "That will-"

"-Never happen. I've actually bedded a few women and things have not gone well afterward," He said with a faint blush.

She laughed, "Of course. Only you Frank. C'mon, the brothers are waiting." They continued on their way, the solemn mood gone, but the new promises took a large weight off their shoulders.

* * *

 **Alright, after notes! And a few things I just need to mention. Englaland is Old English, but Albion never really told her and it slipped his mind until then. Frank is also as tall as Lady Luck, who is roughly 5'3 1/2". She's getting shorter!**

 **(1) Chiochilaich is known as Hygelac from Beowulf. I don't think this is the first time I've come across a person used in that epic, actually. I just forget who...**

 **(2) After Chiochilaich's loss and death, the Geats retreated so quickly the couldn't retrieve their dead. The think that stunned the Franks as they took the spoils of war was how tall the king was.**

 **(3 ) Sextus was a Christian traveler and historian who believed the world would end in 500 AD (Along with two others) and then later in 800 AD.**

 **Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading!**


	38. Chapter 36

**Hey guys!**

 **AnonChan1: Hopefully. I'm hoping to reach 1000 AD by christmas... Russia probably would and America would try to do the same immediatly after. And that may play a part in it, and get to bed, please! RIP. He really isn't, but luckily, any other eruptions aren't very bad for roughly 450 years, but imagine what Iceland goes through, the Island of Fire and Ice... And the doctor part... I've been toying with an idea for a while and I really need to do it. And Ohh yeah. He's going to find out! And I can't read whay you said! And he will! Pretty much... And it is nice.**

Frankish/French Vulgar Latin

 **Italian**

 _ **Gothic**_

Old English

 **Middle Persian**

 **Note: Edited (12/6/16) Also... I don't think I'm going to hit 1000 AD by christmas.**

* * *

Annabelle glared at the old man as he was escorted to Orleans and Clotilde's sons did the same. Clotilde held her head high as she stared at her brother walk by. The two women had gotten to sit down soon after Frank brought her by and it turned out that Sigismund had his son strangled and she wanted her cousin and parents avenged. Frank gripped his queen's hand as Sigismund was thrown into his prison and they left one by one. Annabelle stayed behind for a second, "Congrates. You continued royalty's curse." (1) Without another glance back, she walked out.

Frank waited patiently with the family and the brothers pulled each other into a hug. "Let's take Burgundy down," Clodomer said. His siblings hummed in agreement and went their separate ways. Clotilde walked back with Childebert to Paris while Clotiare returned to Soissons. Annabelle stood there with Frank and Clodomer.

"I'm sorry Frank. Things are going to get rough," She said, looking over at him with tired eyes. Frank sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Why am I not surprised?"

The woman patted his shoulder, "I'll be here when you need me. Clodomer, what's on your mind?"

The king of Orleans frowned, "I've always heard stories of what Grandpa did to Mother's family and-"

"Do you want me to do it?" Annabelle asked. Gundobad had drowned his wife and driven his daughters into exile, all the while killing anyone else that might have a claim to his throne but his sons. The auburnette couldn't believe it when she heard he had died peacefully in 516.

Clodomer shook his head, "I'll do it next year when Mother is back. She should be here for this." The three nodded and walked into their home without another look back at the prison.

* * *

Sigismund's head hit the floor with small thud and blood splattered over the floor. The brothers worked and managed to heave their uncle's body into a well. Clotilde gasped as the sound of the body hitting the bottom echoed around them. Frank held her hand again and led her outside and her children watched them leave. Annabelle approached them and drew them into a hug, "Are you three alright?"

Childebert smiled, "Of course. Another man who made Mother sad is dead. We march on Burgundy soon." Clotaire and Clodomer nodded in agreement. The woman hummed.

"I remember when you all were so small... You used to climb all over me like squirrels..." The three brother's blushed lightly and Annabelle turned heel. "Come on. Godomar is going to attack once he catches word of this, we have to be ready."

And on June 25, a month after Sigismund's death, the Burgundarians attacked. Clotilde's children were joined by Theuderic and Theodoric the Great in the fighting and they fought in Isère on Frank's land.

Annabelle grit her teeth and tried to stay as close to the brothers as she could, but Clodomer got separated. "CLODOMER!" She bellowed over the fighting, but her voice didn't carry very far. Frank cast her a look as she struck another Burgundarian through the stomach. The man gagged and spat blood in her face, but it didn't stop her looking. A gasp behind her caught her attention and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. "Frank-"

"We have to-" The advancement was quickly halted and Burgundy achieved a victory that day.

Annabelle gazed over Frank as he slept peacefully for the first time in a while as the bruises of being beaten stopped keeping him awake. The sun peeked over the window in the room and she smiled. "Good morning, Frank."

"Good morning, Annabelle," He mumbled, twisting in this bed so he could get the sun out of his eyes. "Are you going somewhere?"

She hummed and looked over the letter Estonia had sent her, "Theodoric isn't doing so well right now and the nation wants me over there." Frank sighed.

"If it's the Ostrogoths, go ahead. I'll see you later." The woman smiled and walked over to Frank. He turned his head to look at her, "Hmmm?"

"Thanks, France."

The blonde sat up in bed, "Why do you call me that? I would get it if it were Francia, but France?" She grinned.

"You'll get it later. I'll see you soon?" The teen nodded and tried to bury himself in the sheets again. Annabelle laughed lightly and collected her pack and weapons before walking out the door.

* * *

When Fortuna arrived in Ravenna, she did not expect Veneziano to lead her in with a sick look on his face. " **Venie, what's going on**?" A foul smell came from the home and she pinched her nose. " **Venie**?"

" **Estonia and Theodoric aren't-a feeling too good**..." He whimpered, pinching his own nose. The redhead nodded in understanding and went to find a clean pot of water and went outside. Veneziano followed her in confusion. " **Sorellona**?" Fortuna hummed as she began building a fire underneath. " **What are you-a doing**?" She smiled as flames licked at the wood.

" **Theodoric has a sickness. One of the only ways to get through this sickness is to drink plenty of clean water and wait it out. Come sit by me, the fire isn't going to get you** ," Fortuna said as she watched over the pot. The child came over and crawled into her lap. " **So, how have you been? Have you been feeling sick**?"

Veneziano leaned against her and watched the fire, " **I've-a been good! Estonia's really nice**!" The woman smiled and climbed her fingers through her brother's hair. " **That-a feels nice...** " He said as he slumped against her. The two sat there until the water had begun to boil and Fortuna very carefully put her brother to the side and took the pot off. " **What are you-a going to-a do**?"

Fortuna began carrying it inside and silently gagged, " **This is for Estonia and** -" A sob came from one of the rooms and she put the cauldron down. The siblings quickly made their way into the rooms and Fortuna covered her brother's eyes. It was not a pretty sight, but Theodoric was dead and Estonia was nearby. " ** _Estonia, come over here, please_** ," She begged, holding her free hand out. The blonde shook his head.

" **Venie, please go get a maid or something, hurry,** " The woman asked. Veneziano nodded and scampered off without looking at the room. " ** _Estonia, Theodoric was a good man, but you're going to get sick if you stay over there_**." Estonia sniffed and shook his head. Fortuna sighed and carefully walked over. " ** _Come on. We're going to get you cleaned up. Theodoric will too, ok_**?" The blonde cried as they left the room.

Theodoric, who one of the last rulers of a united Italian peninsula, died on August 30, 526, due to dysentry.

* * *

Englaland tapped his fingers as he waited for Elizabeth to show up. Cerdic and his son were planning an attack and they wanted Elizabeth there. He sighed as he watched the horizon, half hoping she wouldn't show up. He didn't want her to take part in his wars, he wanted his sister to be safe. A ship peeked over the horizon and he stood up. It crept forward, but the fiery hair was almost impossible to mistake- other than some of his brother's hair.

"You're late!" The blonde yelled over the roar of the waves.

A laugh was heard, "I'm sorry! I didn't know there was a time!" The redhead yelled back. Englaland blinked at the deep red staining Elizabeth's hair, but shrugged it off.

"Come on then! Cerdic isn't going to wait much longer!"

"Well, do you want me to swim? The ship isn't close enough yet!" It was true, the ship was half a kilometer away.

He growled, "Do whatever!" Elizabeth shrugged and stepped onto the railing.

"I'll be over in a little bit! I'm going to need a pair of dry clothes!"

Englaland choked on his spit, "I didn't mean- YOU IDIOT!"

It was too late and Elizabeth had jumped off the side. Water surged over her head and she reached her arms up and swam for the surface. The redhead gasped and looked at the loomed over her and tied her pack tightly over her shoulder. Englaland and the sailors were shouting at her, but she ignored them as she swam for shore. "You idiot! I didn't mean for you to _actually_ jump over board!" The blonde yelled at her as she made it to shore. Her legs and arms shook as she waddled out of the water.

"A little late for that. It's been decades since I've swam like that, damn..." Englaland pulled the pack and weapons off of her. "Thanks..." He hummed and unsheathed the Persian and Celtic blades to wipe them off.

"I'm still wondering how you got these. But we'll get you some dry clothes in a few, I have a home not far from here." Elizabeth hummed and wobbled after him. Her clothes stuck to her skin uncomfortably and her cloak was slowly choking her. They eventually came up to a secluded hut and he lead her inside.

The woman looked around in wonder, "Wow..." The home was rather clean and various lights flew around the home.

Englaland looked over to her with a raised eyebrow, "You can see them? Well, I guess that makes sense..." He continued to mutter to himself as a few lights followed him and a few others flew over to her. Small high-pitched croons were heard and Elizabeth covered her ears. "Elizabeth, what's wrong?"

"I don't know what they're saying, but it hurts my ears," She whined lightly. Some of the glowing dots flew around her head and the redhead looked around widely. "Al, w-what are they doing?" He came over and stood next to her, watching them closely. And extremely large blip flew around Englaland's head and he seemed to converse with it. "Al?"

The blonde held up a finger, "Hold on. I think the faeries are just as confused as you. Flying mint bunny is- oh ok." He turned to her and the large green blob settled on Englaland's head. "He thinks that because you're borrowing some of my aura, that you can see enough of the mythical beings, but you're not borrowing enough to see them clearly." Elizabeth nodded.

"I'm sorry... that I got scared. I'm not used to intelligent beings that I can't properly see." The faeries fluttered slower now and quickly went off to where they were resting before.

"It's fine. Alright, now let's get you into dry clothes. I have a dress somewhere you can borrow," The blonde said as he began running around the house. Different firelights helped him and within a minute, they pulled out a bright red dress with a white over-dress.

Elizabeth took it carefully, the new threads slipping easily over her fingers, "Al, why do you hav-"

"I'll be outside. Some get me when you're done!" Englaland yelled and dove out the door. Several laughs echoes inside the house, even though most could only hear one. The redhead slipped out of her damp clothes and into the new ones and frowned at how a few inches trailed on the ground.

The woman opened the door, "Al, it's a little long." He raised an eyebrow.

"It'll be fine, but we need to go. You can't fight in that either, obviously," He said and Elizabeth huffed.

"Fine, be that way, but let's go. Cerdic is waiting," She growled. Englaland shook his head and lead her over to a pony. "Are you going to need help?"

The kid pouted and she laughed, "Hold on. I'll join you in a moment." The woman heaved him onto the equine's bareback and let himself settle before getting on behind him. "Shit. This is why I don't wear dresses." Green eyes looked back and a thick eyebrow rose. Elizabeth's legs couldn't sit on a horse like normally, so both sat what would be known as 'saddle side'. "Whatever, we need to go."

As Englaland had predicted, Cerdic did not make her fight at Cerdicesleah, but they brought back the tale of the utter defeat of the Britons. Englaland winced as he walked and Elizabeth picked him up and put him on her shoulder. When questioned, "I'm carrying the growing nation! He is the true victor and the true victor should see all of his land." Cerdic nodded and left it at that. The blonde sitting on her shoulder wrapped an arm around her head to steady himself and squeezed it in thanks.

Even more, the kingdom of Essex was founded that year by the Saxons living there. Englaland was beginning to catch up on her a little bit as he slowly grew another few inches. Elizabeth stayed with her brother as 528 slipped by, but a bit of Byzantinian news slipped by her.

"HE _WHAT_?" She yelled and slammed her sandaled foot into a nearby sapling. Englaland sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I got word that Justanian closed down the Academy founded by Plato. The remaining scholars are retreating into Persia," He finished and looked over at Elizabeth.

She sighed in relief and plopped down, "That's good. Sasa will take care of them."

The blonde sat next to her, "I'm assuming you know them?"

The woman ran a hand through her hair, "I know Persia and Greece was still a baby when I saw him, but I have never met the Byzantine empire." Englaland nodded.

"Go make sure they make it there alright. I'll be fine." Elizabeth smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "Alright, alright, lemme go you idiot!" They laughed and the redhead finally stood.

"If you say so. Thank you, Al," The woman said, gripping his shoulders. He looked at her with a confused expression. She shook her head and walked off, following the trail of faeries who were their breadcrumbs. They winked happily and Elizabeth was soon off the island nation.

* * *

It was the scariest trip the auburnette had taken in a while. She had to head into the Mediterranean sea and weave between Greece's many islands. A few officials questioned her, but luckily, her knowledge of Late Latin got her through without too many questions. Finally, when she reached Sasanian land, she crumbled in relief. A pair of familiar arms picked her up into a bridal-style hug.

" **Hey, Sasa. How have you been?** " The man smiled and carried her over to his horse.

Several men looked at her in curiosity, but the two ignored them, " **I've been great! Are you here because of...** " Persia trailed, looking over at the train.

" **Yeah. Can you put me down? I've been terrified out of my mind for the past few days.** " He grinned and flipped her over an arm. Neylan laughed and finished the spin so she landed on her feet. " **Damn it, Sasa! Can't you do anything normally**?" The two laughed again and some of the men conversed lowly.

" **Scholars, this is an old friend of mine. She is here to help us** ," The empire introduced and the teachers nodded. " **So, how have you been, other than the past few days? Adopted anyone new**?" Nelyan's face fell at the thought of Clodomer.

" **A son of a family I was close with died. That family is going to have and cause hell**." Persia nodded. " **Do you know where we're heading**?"

He nodded and looked at the sun before a 'random' direction, " **We're heading towards the Academy of Gondishapur. Khosrau is having it resized to fit all the new scholars**."

Neylan nodded and readjusted her pack and weapons, " **That makes sense. You and Byzantine really don't-** "

" **No, we don't."** The two quickly dropped the subject and they got back to the trek. Several of the men had actually met the empire and her sons and brought pleasant news. Greece and Cyprus were slowly growing and currently, Neylan might not have been happier.

* * *

 **(1) I've come to find- as well as many other will or know- that it was not uncommon for royalty to kill each other. In the barbaric times, generally anytime before 800 (I think, I haven't gone that far yet), it was not uncommon for relatives to be killed. The French were both the cruelest and kindest with this though. Around this time and in the next 100-150 years, distant relatives were slaughtered or married off or they had a choice to give up all royal titles and join a church as Christianity and Catholicism emerged.**

 **So we actually ended on a happy note! But the next chapter is going to be really hard. Go on wikipedia and look at 535 and 536. It's not pretty. And then, _Y. Pestis._ Also, I just had my childhood crushed. Winx Club is Italian and I never knew that.**


	39. Chapter 37

**Hello~! Things have been a little rough and I'm going to be busy this weekend, soooo... yeah. I've decided to attempt to cover at least 6 years in each chapter. Also, this is the (technical) 40th chapter!**

 **AnonChan1: She really can't and there's a small moment in here revolving that. And it'll have to be pretty often, but Norway knows what to do after the first dozen or so, or I would hope. Which idea do you mean? And I kinda hate to admit it, but when I read that about Sigismund on Wikipedia (Yes, I'm using Wikipedia. Sorry any teachers out there!), that sentence made me lose it: 'Sigismund's son opposed him in 517, and insulted his new wife, so Sigismund had him strangled.' And that's not even the worst she's going to do yet, the next thing I have planned is far worse. Dysentry is a very painful bacteria that usually forms as extreme diarrea. And it couldn't have been. And Oooooh yeah! And seriously, you really do love those two, don't you... I'm sorry: 651. And she can, but only a little bit. She knows they're at least there, so that's good! I can't wait to have her meet Nessie! She does, and it's going to be hard to do 1000s on until sometime, my research isn't there yet. And finally, no, Persia really doesn't. They're almost always butting heads. Personally, I have really come to hate the Byzantine Empire as well.**

 **Middle Persian**

 **Gothic**

Italian/Vulgar Latin (Italian)

Frankish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 _French surprise (Explained later)_

 _Note: Edited (12/7/16)_

* * *

The woman sighed as she fingered through her book of spells again, bored as the ship rocked back and forth. As soon as Persia knew the Byzantinian scholars were safe, he sent her off again with a soldier escort to a ship.

The dark haired man had shaken his head and said he didn't know why, but it was just a gut instinct. Carina had smiled and nodded. Persia grinned and tackled her and the two wrestled as Turkey soon joined in. The small family unit parted ways and she was off.

The ship dipped and rose as the auburnette breathed in the fresh sea air and smiled, " **Where are we going**?"

" **The man told me west and you knew when to stop. You do, correct**?" The man asked, looking over at her. Carina sighed and closed her book. Her head sagged as she thought over the mess Persia put her in and jumped as a small pigeon landed on her knee. " **Well, apparently, someone's already decided for you. Who's it from**?"

Carina smiled as she carefully grabbed the bird and unwrapped the letter from its leg. A small, neatly written letter made her shake her head. " **We're headed to the Frankish Empire. If you could drop me in Ravenna (1), I'll get out of your way**." The captain nodded and seemed to accept this answer. The bird poked at her hand to grab her attention, "Now, who are you? If Frank had you before, he would have told me..." The bird chirped rather annoyingly before pecking at her hair. "I don't know what you want." The pigeon seemed to frown and began flying around her head. "Bird! If you want something from me, take it!" Carina yelped as the bird swooped and stole a few hairs off her head before flying off again.

" **That was a rather odd bird,** " A nearby crew member quipped. She nodded in agreement before opening her tome again. It never hurt to know the spells backwards and forwards.

* * *

Ravenna was still bustling with trade as the crew dropped her off. Carina hadn't spoken much to them and simply nodded in thanks before searching for any familiar auras. Veneziano and Estonia's weren't far from her as she began the trek over. A small mass broke through the crowd and Carina laughed happily as she hugged her brother close. "Venie!"

The child cried happily as he was swung around, "Sorella! I-a missed you!" A small family with Estonia walked over and a pair of preteen siblings looked at her with narrow eyes. The blonde mother smiled happily and stood beside her nation.

"I missed you too Veneziano! How are you doing? The Byzantine Empire has left you alone, right?"

He looked up to her in confusion, "She-a's nice, especially with Justinian!" Fortuna swallowed thickly and sighed.

"That's good..." She looked over to the other group and scratched the back of her head lightly, " **I'm sorry, I was distracted. Amalasuntha, it's been a while, hasn't it**?"

The queen regent smiled and nodded, " **Indeed. How have you been**?" Amalasuntha was the daughter of Theoderic and the two had gotten acquaintance over the years, but not very well.

" **I have been fine. Who are these two? I don't remember meeting them** ," Fortuna said as she looked at the two. The girl blinked at her and nodded while the boy swallowed and stepped forward.

" **H-Hello, I am Athalaric, King of the Ostrogoths. W-Who are you**?"

The woman bowed to one knee before standing again, " **Call me Ragin, it's what Estonia knows me as. Venie,** " she said, ruffling Veneziano's hair with a free arm, " **calls me Sorellona and Fortuna, young king**." Her brother giggled and leaned his head on her shoulder before yawning. " Hey, Fratellino, just nap, I have you." He nodded and drifted off. Fortuna looked to the Regent and sighed. " **In all honesty, I was just passing through, I need to head west.** " The daughter of Theodoric smiled and nodded.

" **Of course. Please, stay as long as you need to. Romano has been asking about you** ," Amalasuntha said as she looked south. Fortuna followed her gaze and nodded.

 **"I'll stay here for a while, but I need to head over there. Frank _had_ a new pet and I need to have a talk with him about it**." Estonia laughed and the auburnette shook her head. Athalaric looked to his sister and the two shrugged.

* * *

Fortuna walked into Romano's home less than a week later, "Roma?" The kid raised an eyebrow as he sat on the floor. "Why are you just sitting there?" He shrugged and the woman groaned as she sat next to him.

"You're getting old," He grunted, leaning against her. Fortuna laughed.

"Thanks, and coming from the one who's older than me by six hundred years (2)." Romano blushed and she laughed again, "Big brother."

His face turned a bright red and socked her in the side a few times, "S-Shut-a up! You're-a bigger than-a me anyway!" The woman laughed harder and Romano slowly joined in. "I-a missed you. You're an-a ass."

Fortuna smiled and pulled him onto her lap and kissed the crown of his head, "I missed you too, you little shit."

The child laughed again and snuggled into her stomach for a nap and his sister followed suit.

* * *

Shortly before 531, Annabelle charged into Soissons. The pounding of hooves next to her form caught her attention and a form next to hers made her grin. "Hey Frank!" She called to her left. The teen laughed and rode up next to her.

"Hello Annabelle! Theuderic and Clotaire are waiting for us! I'll catch you up! _Thierry_ -" He coughed, but continued, "-got involved with the Thuringii a while ago?" He asked over the sound of the horses. Annabelle raised an eyebrow at the cough.

"Yes, but what was-"

He shook his head, "Well, anyway, the king had promised Theuderic a portion of the land, but he never did. Well, that Thuingian king is asking for help again and Thierry was a little mad this time around. He accepted to help anyway, but he got wounded-"

"WHAT?" She growled, gripping the reins. The horse under her huffed lightly and the woman patted it's neck to calm it minutely. "Is he-"

"Thierry's fine, but he _asked_ for Clotaire's help. We're heading to Soissons to meet up with them. And how did you _like_ -" Frank squawked awkwardly.

Annabelle laughed lightly, "Frank, did your voice just crack?" He blushed and raced ahead, but he still heard his friend's laughter behind him.

"Why are you so _mean_?"

* * *

It turned out that not only the two brother were allies, Theuderic's son got dragged into it as well. They got word that the Thuringian king had died and changed their mind to simply take the entire kingdom. Annabelle sharpened her two swords as the Franks prepared to continue their advance, but Frank ran over with a panicked look.

"Annabelle?" He whimpered, flinging himself onto her shoulder.

The woman instantly sheathed her blades and looked at the nation, "Frank, what's wrong?"

He shakily took in a breath, "It's Clotilde. Childebert just got a message _from_ her. She sent him a bloody towel, he's been beating her."

Annabelle's world came to a halt as she processed the information. Clotilde, the only sister of the Frankish rulers, was being beaten by her Visigothic hushand. Amalaric had been too young to rule so his grandfather, Theodoric the Great, ruled Regent for him. Her eyes darkened as she thought of the girl she regarded as a niece or a distant daughter.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to cut out his tongue so he can't scream while I slowly kill him," She growled, standing up.

Frank gripped her shoulders, "Belle, I need someone to remain here while I go onto the _front_ lines with Childebert. Please, stay here and take care of the brothers," he pleaded. Her amber eyes looked into his indigo ones and realized that he needed her to do this and nodded with a sigh. "Thank you, _I_ -"

"Go. And don't leave that son of a bitch alive," Annabelle said and pushed him off. His hair flew as he nodded and turned tail. Theuderic and Clotaire came by her a moment later and she clenched her fists. "Boys? I have some bad news."

* * *

The Franks charged the River Unstrut and defeated the army there, capturing the royal seat at Scithingi. Annabelle took pity on poor Radegund, niece of the king that caused all these issues, King Hermanafrid. The man had managed to flee, but Theuderic ordered him back, granting safe passage if he should come. He did and was presented with several gifts. Theuderic offered him a walk around the town of Zülpich and they left. Radegund twisted her hands around nervously as the women stared at the door.

Annabelle placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "You're going to be fine, Clotaire wouldn't hurt you, dear. Would he?" She glared at Clotaire for his answer. He nodded without looking at the eleven-year-old. "You'll be fine." A massive uproar from outside made Radegund gasp and tear up. "Radegund, stay here, I'm going to go see what's wrong." The brunette nodded and watched as Annabelle left the hall. Theuderic was walking back alone with a pleasant look on his face as he ignored the crowd gathering around the wall. Her jaw fell open when she saw a hint of blood staining the ground. "You didn't."

He looked over with an innocent look, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Thierry!" The man frowned, but continued on his way. "Damn it!" She rushed back inside and past the Merovingians to where Hermanafrid's family was. The mother and two children looked up as Annabelle stormed inside and kneeled in front of them. "You all need to leave. Hermanafrid is dead. I'm sorry I'm being so blunt, but you're not safe here. Go to your brother and cousin, they'll take care of you." The woman blinked and tears formed in her eyes.

"He's dead? He's really dead?"

Annabelle nodded and pulled her up to her feet, "Yes, but you need to go now! Theodabad and Amalasuntha will make sure you and your kids are safe, now go!"

Amalaberga nodded, "W-Why are you being so-"

"Your uncle was Theodoric, and the debt I owe him can never be repaid enough, not when he took such good care of my brothers. I'll distract the men, but hurry!" The woman nodded and grabbed her children's hands. Annabelle nodded in turn and rushed out again. Clotaire was comforting Radegund and Theuderic and Theudebert were talking about something or other. "Alright... What are we going to do with the land?"

Theuderic and Clotaire perked up, but the older spoke first, "I will take it. Clotaire can take the girl." The younger brother huffed.

"Fine. I will send her to Picardy for the time being. Shall we remove ourselves?" Annabelle nodded and picked up her things from a far wall. Radegund came over near her and the older woman took her under her arm. The small girl smiled lightly, but wept as they walked outside and around the body of her previous caretaker.

"Sh, shh, everything will be alright. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

* * *

As Clotaire, Annabelle, and Radegund broke off to head to Picardy, the immortal broke off from the group to head south. "There's something I have to do. I'll let you know what happens with your sister." Clotaire nodded in appreciation and let her ride off into the distance.

It took little less than a full day on horseback, but the sounds of the Frankish army could be heard miles away. Annabelle let out a small pulse of aura and followed the sound. Frank sat in a wagon by a body and Annabelle trotted up beside them. Clotilde looked worst for wear and her nation was stroking her hand. "I couldn't help her in time..." He whispered.

"Is she...?"

Frank shook his head, "Not yet, but I doubt we will make it home before she dies. Is this what you meant, 50 years ago? When you said I couldn't left my heart get broken when I couldn't save those close to me?" Annabelle hung her head and dismounted her horse. A nearby soldier took it from her and the woman walked beside the family. "Is there someone else?"

Annebella grasped Clotilde's other hand and stroked it, "When did she get married again? I think I would have remembered the wedding..." Frank hung his head as he got the answer to his question and thought back.

"It was five years ago. You went off to Italia. I don't believe that you had ever even _met_ Amalaric. The most ironic part of this, his own men murdered him. We didn't even get justice by _our_ hand!"

A small, airy laugh met their ears, followed by a cough, "I am not dead yet."

"Clotilde, save your energy!" Frank and Annabelle gasped. The bruised girl smiled lightly and gripped their hands weakly. Childebert came up from out of nowhere and brushed some hair out of her face.

"Save your strength, sister. We will get you will get home safely."

She smiled at her brother, "I know you will. I will tell Father you said hello."

He smiled and blinked away tears, "I know you will. Sleep well, dear sister."

Clotilde was buried next to her Father in the Church of the Holy Apostles in 531. Frank and Annabelle never forgive themselves for not being there for her.

* * *

Childebert and Clotaire stood by Frank and Annabelle as the Battle of Autun raged on in 532. The Kingdom of Burgundy was putting up a fight, but they were slowly falling. 532 and 533 seemed to take forever, but not at the same time. Theudebert took over for his aging father in the latter year, becoming the king of Austrasia. 534 was an eventful year though, a mixture of happy and sad.

Childebert and Clotaire finally overthrew Godomar and ended the Burgundarian kingdom. Englaland sent word that Cerdic had died and Cyrnic took over as the king of Wessex. Theuderic, the oldest of Clovis's sons, poor Thierry, died peacefully and the remainder of his kingdom passed to his son. A message also arrived in October proclaiming the death of Athalaric. Estonia put in a few side notes, of how the pressure between the eighteen-year-old's mother and Ostrogothic nobles on his life had gotten to him and he had turned to drinking. Athalaric died of tuberculosis on October 2nd, 534.

Three of the saddest, yet oddly happy, parts of that year were rapid succession that year. The first was when France sprung up another inch or so and finally grew taller than Annabelle. The first thing he did when the two realized this was he picked her up and walked her to the highest floor to spit on the guards. They almost got caught this time.

The second was when at the same time, Frank's voice crack was slowly removing itself. He laughed and tried to test out his voice and invited Annabelle to join him. She reminded him of the last time she sang in his presence and Frank laughed nervously before apologizing. It still cracked here and there though.

The third and worst was when Frank's messenger bird died. He burst into the room holding a vaguely familiar bird and he bawled. Annabelle rubbed his back and asked him to talk about it. It turned out the bird's name was Piers, and Frank had learned they were much faster than a normal messenger, making it easier to get letters to her and back. She rubbed his back and promised to help him throw a proper burial. They dug a hole under a juniper tree outside and buried him with fond(ish) memories.

On a completely unrelated note, they had quail later that night. But Frank didn't need to know that.

* * *

 **Alright, I am dead tired...**

 **(1) Ostia kinda fell to hell after a while and I learned Ravenna was a huge commercial port after it lost its use as a military port.**

 **(2) If we go by the Punic Wars, if I remember correctly, most of Southern Italy was won over by 272 BC. So other than some of asian nations and other ancients, Romano is one of the oldest nations today. His little brother is roughly 50 years younger than him.**


	40. Chapter 38

**Guys- I am SO sorry. I've been super busy! I've spent my last two Saturdays at band competitions and those who don't know- they can usually go from 7am-10pm or later. I hate band sometimes, but it is so worth it. But I'm going to hate the next time period so much. It's rough.**

 **Reviews: Nessie is a maybe. The earliest mention in 565 AD. Hahahaha! And yes, it is. Piers is an earlier form of Pierre. And I don't know, things are weird. Norway needs to find out what Sorellona and Fratellone mean first. And perhaps, that makes sense. France got sooo lucky that he was caught in a difficult time or else she would lord it over him. If, ya know, he didn't have several members of his royal family dying. And Amalric just kinda hated christians. Spain doesn't really bring up his past, someone else will though, later. And may we present, one reason the nations hate abusers; they've had to deal with it, watching and being on the rough end. And oh yeah. I've written that out in class and everyone's going to hate me and Elizabeth isn't going to trust anyone for a while that year. AND I DIDN'T FEED FRANK PIERS. PIERS IS DEAD IN THEIR BACKYARD. HE IS A PIGEON, NOT A QUAIL. AND YOU MADE ME LAUGH WAAAAAY TOO HARD AT THAT, MOSTLY BECAUSE IT'S TRUE. And there's something in here you've been waiting for!**

 **I have a poll up on whether or not I should do a few other AU's. Please visit it and be aware that if Paint it white is popular, it may take a while to do unless someone has a transcript or until I get my hands on a DVD. Also, this chapter has a lot of history in it, but just know it has a bunch of people that I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before or you can ignore them.**

Frankish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 **Old English**

 **Vulgar latin (Italian)/Old Latin**

Middle Persian

Note: Edited (12/11/16)

* * *

Annabelle shivered as she drew the blankets tighter around herself and Frank. He hugged her tighter as the two stared into the fireplace. "It seems as though we have switched places, no?" She snorted and watched as the flames flickered. They sat on a large woven rug with a few dozen blankets late in the night of early 535. There was a large weather shift and it seemed for the worst. There was a slight change in weather and it was colder, but Annabelle knew it would be worse next year, no one would be safe.

In the previous winters, Frank would curl into a ball and Annabelle would curl around him to keep him warm, but he had grown and was acting as such. Now she was curled up as he hugged her. "Shut up, Frank. Try to sleep, the cold won't be as bad." The blonde laughed lightly as he turned onto his side and she remained sitting up.

"Don't stay up too late, Annabel. I don't want to wake up to your screaming again," He said as he peered at her sleepily. The woman hummed and let her mind wander slightly. The fire flickered and cracked and Annabelle sighed, allowing to let herself fall to the side. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Frank. Don't let the cold get your toes," She joked before she fell asleep.

* * *

"HE WHAT?!" Tears streamed down her face as she realized what Theodahad had done. "Amalasuntha..." Frank grabbed her hand in support, but she wrenched it out of his grip. "That asshole deserves what he has coming, but that doesn't mean he should bring my brothers down with him!" The blond at her side dragged her out of the room and into the hallway.

"Annabelle, what's wrong?" The auburnette wiped tears out of her eyes as she growled.

"Theodahad has murdered the Queen and Regent of the Ostrogoths and close friend of Justianian, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He has just unknowingly declared war with the Byzantine Empire, who has wanted a reason to reclaim the peninsula for who knows how long. I'm going to kill that man if I ever see him."

Frank snarled lightly himself, but pulled her into a hug, "Annabelle, calm down. Did the Queen have any children?"

Annabelle thought, "Her son died last year, but her daughter... I haven't heard much from her..." She clenched her fists, and breathed heavily.

"Breath, Annabelle. She'll be fine." The woman nodded and laid down before closing her eyes. She passed out before Frank could say another word.

The year passed into March 536, where the weather continued to dampen everyone's spirits. Annabelle had received word that bread was scarce in the northern islands and from various others that the weather was recking havoc on the rest of her known land. In that month, Frank grew a smidge and she frowned. "Frank, what happened?" He sighed as he prodded at the fish Annabelle had caught. The fire crackled and snapped as the sun began to set over the water.

"Theodahad gave us Provence and part of Alamanni for our help against the Byzantines. Apparently, he has dug himself quite a hole with them," Frank said as he stared at the flames. Annabelle growled and chomped onto her fish. The meat crumbled under her teeth and slid down her throat easily. "The good news is, the king managed to push them back. The bad news... The man rejected Justianian's ambassadors."

Annabelle growled and flopped onto the sand, "What in the hell is that man thinking? You can't just stand up to them! They'd crush you! Even I know that and I've never even met them!" Frank hummed in agreement and carefully took another bite of his fish.

"Well, that is what is happening. I don't know much, but time will tell. We should head back soon, Clotaire and Childebert might get worried about about us." The auburnette nodded in agreement and quickly stood. Frank sat there as he watched her cover the fire up and finished his dinner. The two walked back and Annabelle thought about the upcoming years. She could only hope all would be well.

* * *

With a grunt, Elizabeth's sword crashed through the poor man's collarbone and blood spattered around her. She wrenched it free and left the man screaming in pain as he flopped around. The battle of Camlann raged on near a river in 537 (1) between King Arthur and Mordred. It was still very cold out, snow dotting the ground.

Englaland stood next to his king and tried to aid the man as much as he could against the opponent. She stood in awe at the sight of King Arthur grasped a spear and charging Mordred, who swung a sword at his enemy's head. " **Arth** -" A cry went around the battlefield as the two legendary figures struck each other down. Her blonde brother choked and collapsed next to the mystical king and brushed the sword away from his head. Arthur's lips sputtered something, and Englaland nodded, grasping Excalibur.

Elizabeth fought her way over as the battle continued and quickly rose to defend her brother and his leader. Englaland looked up at her with teary eyes, but she shook her head before he could say anything. " **Get out of here**!" She yelled and pushed an attacker away. He nodded silently and began dragging him towards safety by the river. The battle died down very quickly after the death of their leaders and Elizabeth let her third eye lead her towards her brother. Three large auras lit up nearby and she paused.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the sight. As in the painting _The Death of King Arthur_ , three women sat around the dying king. The snow that had on the ground earlier had disappeared and the surrounding area seemed to be in summer. What James Archer never put into his painting was that Englaland was silently crying, grasping his hand tightly. The auburnette came over at leaned against one of the many trees near her as she watched them. " **Long live the king. Long live king Arthur** ," She muttered. The nearest woman peeked at her, but looked away quickly. The fairy queen nudged her brother.

" **It's time, Arthur** ," She whispered.

Englaland choked on air, " **W-What? It's too soon for him to** -"

Another queen smiled lightly, " **It's** time, Arthur." His eyes went wide in understanding and he looked down.

" **Long live Arthur. Long live Englaland**."

* * *

Annabelle winced as she took the boiling water off of the fire and walked it over to Frank as a small toddler followed on her heels. Another groan came from within the room and the small girl gripped the auburnette's braccae tighter. "Shh, Gundtrud. Stay here, I don't want you catching dysentery too..." The small blonde whimpered but hung back by the wall. Annabelle smiled at her and waddled in as the water sloshed around ungracefully. Frank groaned through a curtain blocking on his side of the room and she winced. "Frank, I brought some good water."

"T-Thank you, Annabel," He whined. "Please just leave it outside the curtain, I do not wish for you to catch this."

She smiled and nodded, "I'm just glad Byzantine let you go so easily and I hope you get better soon. Gundtrud and I are going to be sleeping in the hall until you're better. Call if you need anything, alright?"

A small, pain-filled chuckle made her pause, "Ah, h-how is little Gundtrud?"

"She's doing alright and misses her parents, but she'll forget them in time... I can't believe I can say that so easily, but..." Frank hummed in understanding. "But otherwise, she's learning her latin and bible rather well, so she can blend in well when she's all grown..." Annabelle said with a sad smile.

Gundtrud was a small child of a unknown soldier and his wife who had perished when the Franks went to fight the Byzantines and Goths the year before. She had been left behind with her grandfather, but then he died six months later. Frank noted the lone child wandering alone in the cold and asked his friend to take her in. Annabelle readily agreed, especially when it turned out she was the granddaughter of the baker that had resided outside Frank's home and entertained her for years.

"That's good, but I can send her to Clodoald when she is old enough to be a nun," He offered with a strain in his voice. Oh boy.

Annabelle began walking towards the door, "That would be nice, thank you." She shut the door behind her and her newest adoption attached itself to her legs. "Hello, little one. Are you ready to go for a walk?"

Gundtrud smiled, "Sure, Miss!" Annabelle smiled and ruffled her hair lightly and took her by the hand. "Who was that and what is wrong with him?"

"He is an old friend of mine. He went to fight with your Mama and Papa and he beat up a bunch of people!" The auburnette said with a smile. The childish language reminded her of Ceolmund and Attie and made her happy. "He got sick though and one of the people he beat up took pity and let him go."

The child smiled and laughed, clutching her guardian's hand, "That was nice of them!"

Annabelle smiled and swung her arm lightly, "Yeah, it was."

* * *

Romano and Gundtrud clutched her neck tightly, the former watching her tread over the walkway. " **Are we-a there yet? I'm-a tired**."

Fortuna grinned, " **We'll be there soon! I don't think he knows we're coming**." The kids nodded and Gundtrud hid her face in her guardians collar and quickly fell asleep. " **Thanks for coming Romano. I've heard the hell Byzantine has been putting you through.** "

He frowned, " **It's-a never ending! Belisarius never lets-a up. We've-a offered to support his claim as emperor, but that-a ass won't say anything! Vitiges is no help, he's-a dumb as a fucking rock**!" Fortuna laughly lightly, but looked down. Belisarius was the Byzantian General in charge of the army and seemed to favor war. Vitiges was the dumbass Ostrogoth who restarted the whole war with Byzantine after the previous emperor died and things were settling down at the expense of the Ostrogoths.

" **Thank goodness she's asleep. She's already learned how to say shit in latin and English** ," She grimaced.

Romano snickered and covered his mouth, " **And-a who's fault is that**?"

" **Hey, don't take to Girl like that**!"

Neylan groaned, " **Damnit Sasa, stop calling me that**!" The tall man laughed and pulled them all into a tight hug.

" **Damnit, let-a us go**!"

Persia blinked and pulled away from them, " **Neylan, for a moment, I thought I heard you as a small boy.** "

Romano growled, " **What did you-a call Sorellona**?"

Fortuna sighed as the two began to argue, " **Guys, Gundtrud just fell asleep**!" The two men looked over in surprise. Persia looked over and cooed.

"Awwww! Isn't she just precious! What happened?"

Her face fell as she nudged a strand of hair out of her daughter's face with her nose, "Died in the wars between the Ostrogoths, Byzantines, and Franks. Speaking of which..."

Her brother pouted lightly, taking the cue, " **My nation wants to tell your-a leader that the-a Byzantine assholes are getting stronger. You should do something-** "

Persia laughed and poked his cheek, **"He's so cute!** "

"Sasa-"

Persia dropped the dumb smile and looked at Romano seriously, " **I'll tell Khosrau in the morning and Neylan can tell you what he chooses later or you'll hear from us, how does that sound**?"

Romano growled, " **Why-a didn't you say that to begin with, you bastard**?!" The two laughed lightly and her brother hid his face in her shirt. " **Stop laughing..**."

" **Sorry, Romano. But I'll talk to Sasa's leader myself if I have to** ," Fortuna said as she placed a kiss on the top of his head. He hummed and yawned. As he tucking his head into her yellow stolla, he went out like a light.

Persia smiled and ruffled her hair, "Little Rome is right. Why don't you stay at my home for the night? Turkey would be happy to see a new face that isn't going to disappear immediately." Neylan nodded in understanding and followed him to his home.

They walked in and Persia closed the door behind her and Turkey popped out from behind a corner, "Neyla-" He was quickly shushed by the two adults and the child paused when he saw the other kids. "Who are they?"

Neylan smiled as she walked by him and treaded slowly so he could walk next to her, "She's a ward of mine and Romano's one of my brothers, just like you." He pursed his lips and nodded, his eyes low. They reached her open door and she placed her family on the bed. The auburnette crawled in and the two children on the bed. "Come on, you two. I know you two are there."

Persia cheered quietly and all but dove into the bed and Turkey laughed quietly and jumped in after, wedging himself in between them, "Goodnight, abla!(2)" The adults smiled and soon, everyone was fast asleep on the large bed. Admittedly, it was a tight fight with five people on the bed, but Neylan was content.

Breakfast was a little tense because Persia and Neylan were laughing as Turkey and Romano were having a quiet conversation and glaring over Gundtrud's head, where she sat between them awkwardly, picking at her breakfast. Then in came Khosrau, who blinked at the scene, confused. "Sasanian? Who are these people?"

He stood respectfully and waved his hand at Neylan, "This is the woman who helped the scholars 11 years ago. These are her wards. They come with an important message from the Ostrogoths. They urge us to take action against our neighbor before she becomes too strong."

"I'm interested. I've heard what they have done to the Ostrogoths and wish to be able to do the same to the empire," He said. Romano frowned and was about to shout, but his sister shot him a look and shook her head. He grit his teeth and looked down. Breakfast finished quickly and the European family prepared to leave. Romano and Turkey had a quick heated conversation and wrestled, but Neylan broke them up.

" **What's gotten into you two**?" The two looked down.

Romano spoke up first, " **He says that you like him better, but I-a know you love me more**!"

" **No, she loves me more, you idiot**!"

" **No** -"

" **Boys**!" The woman yelled, pulling them away. They looked startled and looked away. " **I love you both and that's all you need to know. You both have shining qualities and ones that make me want to tear my hair out. Now stop fighting for now, we need to leave soon**." The two glared at each other again before Romano toddled off to the shared room. " I'll see you soo, alright, Turkey?" He hummed and hugged her knees.

"I'm going to miss you, Abla..." The child muttered and she smiled.

Ruffling his hair, she whispered, "I'm going to miss you too, little tulip."

* * *

 **Aaaaand another chapter! I've bee really busy guys, this is my first free Saturday in about 2 or 3 weeks. Anyway, notes!**

 **(1) Some people believe/know King Arthur is false, but he was based off of someone, and websites are oddly adamant about his existence. But people think that this battle occurred near a river and if you look at the painting, which I seriously recommend, there's a river/ocean there. Also, Englaland is the first to get his human name, and I'm pretty sure it's because of the King. Fun.**

 **(2) Turkish for big sister.**

 **See ya later! Also, _never_ try to make a family tree of Clovis, Theodoric and a few other families from Burgundy and the Visigoths because they're all related and it's _weird_. Massive headache, trust me.**


	41. Chapter 39

**Yay! More chapters! One vote for Paint it White!**

 **AnonChan1: I'll be careful, but I'll only be able to release chapters every once in a while until band season is over... Fun. But we should be seeing our favorite Irishman and a new addition soon! And that would be _so_ bad, but they would probably laugh and get back to business because the nations have all had voice cracks and they happen everyever, even after puberty. Have you ever seen the video of the soldier singing the US national anthem and his voice cracks in the middle? And I don't blame you and it'll probably run around alot and try to trip him up. But yeah, it was contained and no way is France getting into this. And in 538, Theudebert sent over a small army over and defeated the Ostrogoths and Byzantines and it seemed like a parent smacking each kid lightly and telling them to stop it. Stop making me die of laughter! And yeah, it was, but Artie finally got his name, but did you know Arthur means 'bear-man'? And you're welcome!**

 **Guest: Thank you, I guess! If you're reading this far, your comment makes me happy!**

 **Frankish/Vulgar Latin (French)**

Primative Irish

Old Irish

Note: Edited (12/11/16)

* * *

Frank frowned as he looked over the letter Annabella had handed him. " **He wants you to visit**?"

" **Yeah. You owe him and I haven't seen the guy in over fifty years** ," She said as she took it back. Her friend sighed and sat back into his seat.

" **Fine, why not, but I want letters**!"

Annabella laughed at the dramatic blonde and leaned down to hug him, " **Frank, I'll make sure to write whenever I can**."He smiled and hugged her back before finally let her go.

" **Alright, Annabel, but don't forget your weapons! I will see you whenever our paths are to cross again**!" She grinned and ran out the door. " **Tell Hibernia I said hello**!" The auburnette laughed as she ran to her room to get her things and Guntrud. The little blonde six-year-old had grown to her elbow and still growing.

* * *

"Alma! 'Bout time!" Iverni yelled as she and Gundtrud stepped off the small trade vessel. Her old bracelet and broach were present on her and her hair was tied back in a long braid. "When I let ye go, I d'dn' expect ye te be gone fer sixty years!" Alma laughed and threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Iverni laughed and pounded on her back, "Le' me go! Yer gonna ma'e me sick!" Her ward gazed at her guardian with a small giggle, as she was completely used to the immortal's liveliness.

She laughed again and put him down, "Even if you did fall, it wouldn't be a very big one, you've grown!" The boy laughed. It was true, he had grown quite a few inches and gained a little bit of muscle, making him look like an awkward pre-teen. And that meant...

"Be quie'! But the'e's someon' I wan' ye te meet," Iverni said as he brushed himself off. "Also, we've changed te wa' we talk, so ye nee' te upda'e tha'." Alma hummed in acknowledgement and followed him deeper into the city. She readjusted her pack, picked up Gundtrud, and let him begin to speak. "The deacon is hopin' te ma'e 'is way south and I thin' ye migh' li'e 'im. Bu' 'ow have been? **Who's 'his**?"

Gundtrud peeked at the boy with clear grey eyes that made him grin, " **I am Annabella's ward. She takes care of me**."

Iverni laughed, " **That's nice o' 'er! I'm Ériu, nice te meet ye**!" Alma cast him a side gaze, but kept quiet about his name and language. " **Anywa', Columba an' Gemman a'e righ' this wa-** " A teenager ran past them and the immortals blinked in confusion. A shout from behind them grabbed their attention and they looked back, "Wha' in the he-"

A man armed with a spear charged past them and after the girl. Alma's eyes went wide and put Gundtrud down, " **Honey, stay here. Ériu will look after you**." Without a glance back, Alma drew one of her blades and quickly followed. Angry jeers highlighted the path and she hoped she could make it in time.

Sadly, by the time she caught up, the girl was a bloody red and on the ground, and the man had simply...died. Alma slowed down as she stared at the two men who stood in front of the bodies with the calmest of expressions. Ériu caught up to her with Gundtrud on his back, "Alma! What happened? Columba?" The younger of the men looked over at the nation in surprise.

"Ériu?" He spouted off relatively recognizable words, but she was too distracted to understand them. A small hand entered hers and she snapped out of her daze. Alma smiled down at her ward in thanks, but frowned at the tears in the child's eyes.

The nation nodded, "Yea. She'll 'elp. I did't know 'bout te wee one 'til now." Gemman nodded and reached a hand out towards Gundtrud. The girl looked up at the friendly man and smiled. Alma let her play with the man as she walked over to the dead pair. She growled at the man, but continued to the girl.

"Poor thing..." She pushed the eyelids down over the dull eyes and the auburnette removed her cloak. Carefully removing her pin, Alma wrapped the girl up and picked the body up. "Ériu, can you wait up for me? I'm going to..."

The kid looked at the still figure and nodded in understanding, "If I remember correctly, she did not have any family, so there is likely not a plot for her." Alma lowered her head in understanding and walked into the woods. Small feet came pattering behind her and she smiled.

" **Annabella**!"

The woman gazed down at her child with a fond look, " **You didn't have to follow me, Gundtrud.** " The girl shook her head and clasped her hand around her guardian's tunic.

" **I wanted to. Ériu told me that he'd wait for you** ," Gundtrud relayed. Alma nodded and they continued walking. A stout hazel tree made the pair pause and a sigh escaped the elder's lips. The girl looked up curiously and watched as Alma approached the base of the tree and lowered the passed child with a solemn look. She dug her fingers into the damp soil and Gundtrud came to sit by the quiet woman. They sat in silence as the trench got deeper and deeper and by the time it was knee deep, the moon was high in the sky.

Alma sighed and stepped out of the grave, casting a look at her bloody fingertips. She sighed and picked the form up. " **I'm so sorry,** " She whispered and placed her into the hole. She carefully covered them up and placed her palms on the trunk, " **Protect her, please.** " A strong breeze swept over the forest, making her smile. With a final sigh, Alma picked up her ward and walked back. The three men were still were they had left them and they quickly made it to an empty home that Ériu claimed as his own. The mortals were quick to go to bed, but the elders sat by the fire. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, his brown hair swishing from side to side, "Don't be, there was nothing you could do. How long are you staying?"

"I don't know. If Columba is ok with it, I may trail him. I've heard about him and I think he's going to need my help." Ériu nodded and leaned down and put his head in her lap. "Sleep well, Ériu." He hummed and fell asleep.

* * *

In 543, two years after her arrival, the plague that Alma had been trying to run from came to Leinster. Columba was forced to return north to Ulster because his school closed and the small party of four returned to his home. The females had uneasily picked up Old Irish and the younger had grown to meet Ériu eye to eye. The group began traveling over the land to allow the ordained Columba to preach. While Alma did not follow a religion, the man's voice put her at easy, and her ward was swept off of her feet by his sermons. However, time passed quickly and before Alma could blink, fifteen years passed.

There were a few instances she did leave Ériu, but she usually came back after short periods. Frank had called her back in 545 as Clotilde sat on her deathbed and Annabella came running. After two months of grieving, she returned to Ériu. She returned in 555 for Theudebald's death. She returned after a week.

Gundtrud had married a man whom the auburnette trusted well enough, and with a sad departure, they said goodbye in 558. Columba had been rather sad to see her go as well, but he soon set his sights on a rare book. St. Finnian's copy of St. Jerome's Psalter. Alma sighed when she realized what was happening.

Over the years, she had found out that Columba was a massive bookworm and he had a habit of copying books. Finnian should had noticed this when he taught Columba when he was younger. Columba asked to see his former teacher's book and surprisingly, Finnian allowed him. Alma hadn't noticed that he was scribbling from the book as she was helping as much around the village as she could. Finally, horror struck.

Finnian found out about the copy and they argued with a passion that made Alma both smile and wince. Their fight got so bad that they took it to the Overlord of Ireland, Ring Diarmaid. The ruling was in Finnian's favor, but that didn't stop the war that broke out between the men's clans. Alma fought for Columba's side, but even though his side won, both adults would admit that the victory wasn't worth the 3000 lives lost.

Alma rubbed his back comfortingly as he let tears fall from his eyes, "Colum, it wasn't your fault, they fought for what they believed in."

"My countrymen fought for me. They believed in me!" He cried. She hushed him and pulled him into a hug.

"Let's get a third opinion if you want. Get some advice," She suggested. Columba nodded and they gathered the necessary items before heading out. They met with an old hermit, who advised them to leave Ériu for another nation. The disturbed man seemed to accept this and nodded. In 563, they left for Scotland.

* * *

A fiery redhead stared her down with a growl as he gripped his sword tighter. "Who the fuck are ye, lass?" His massive eyebrows were a huge give-a-away to his relatives.

Alma groaned and let her head flop back, "What is with you brothers always attacking me?" The teen growled louder this time and it almost sent a chill up her spine.

"I ain't be askin' again. Who. Are. Ye? And how do ye know my brother?" She smiled and lifted a hand. A small worm of light twirled its way around her finger before disappearing.

"Let's just say that you and I are a lot closer than you think. Englaland is also my brother, but half brother more than anything. But I am one of many names, Ériu calls me Alma, but Englaland calls me Elizabeth," She said before bowing. Scotland growled again.

"So yer the bitch that's been helping my brother beat me up?"

Alma tilted her head, "What? I've never been this far north before. This is my first time meeting you!" He pursed his lips and sighed.

"Fine. But you're not staying long, aye?"

She sighed, but rose to her full height, "Aye. I shouldn't be here for more than four years."

He huffed and nodded, tensely putting his sword away, "You, I don't agree with, but your guest can take Hy. Just tread carefully, I won't be there to watch you're back." Alma grinned.

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Scotia." The redhead snorted again and familiar red hair disappeared.

* * *

Alma sighed as she pulled in her fishing line at the amount of noise the people on the river were making. It was 565 and the island Columba had been given was flourishing under the new name Iona. She drew her blade and walked from behind a tree and grew paralyzed. "No, y-you're a myth!" Sadly, it was not so, as the Loch Ness Monster tore towards a Pictish man. "Columba, do something!"

He calmly raised a hand, "Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man. Go back with all speed." As if by some miracle, the monster stopped and drew away. Within a second, it was gone from view and Alma had to pinch herself.

"Holy shit."

* * *

 **I'm sorry this skipped ahead so much, but I reaaaaaally didn't want to do 15 years of Gothic Wars that are kinda confusing... Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading!**


	42. Chapter 40

**Hey guys! Hurricane Matthew passed over us without a problem! I have to do a bit of research because I am out of years! And I am exhausted right now. I just got back from a large band trip... And I have some really bad news. My family has been dancing around the issue for a while, but currently, there is a more-likely-than-not chance that I will be moving.**

 **AnonChan1: Yay! And actually, I'm just writing this as I go! And yes, quails! Apparently, bears were common in names! The girl wasn't. Actually, I got the girl from some of my research (The Life of Saint Columba, Book II, Chapter 26/pg 222), so apparently, that did happen! And Lady Luck adopts those who need it to raise them to be them to be the best they can be, so she can feel proud... And the book thing happened too... People were weird, but this is why they need copyright. The judge claimed, "To every cow its calf, so to every book, its son-book." And which part?**

 **Primative Irish**

Frankish/Vulgar Latin

Italian/Vulgar Latin

 **Gothic**

 **Note: Edited (12/11/16)**

* * *

Scotland crossed his arms as he looked eye-to-eye with Ériu. " **Take 'er back.** "

" **Why? Di' she manage te outdrink ye?** " The Irishman grinned as Alma stood off to the side. Her hair was dipping dangerously low, even for her, the thick braids tapping the back of her knees. She shook her head at the two's antics as they continued to bicker. " **If ye wanted me te take 'er ba', ye jus' ha' te ask nicely**."

The redhead huffed, " **Ye know I don' do 'nicely'. Jus' ta'e the bi'ch back**." The woman shook her head again and approached the two.

" **Ériu, stop teasing Scotland. Scotland... Nothing I say is going to make you stop being a cow's ass** ," Alma said. Scotland growled and kicked her in the shin roughly before turning back to his relative. " **Ériu, why do you need me**?"

The teen looked over her, " **I'm gettin' a new high king. I though' you'd wan' te meet 'im**."

Scotland waved his hands and mimed the words, " **You an' yer 'igh kings! Te 'ell with them**!" She shook her head and began pushing Ériu away.

" **Come on, we don't need another fight, let's just leave...** " The boy huffed and let the girl drag him away.

" **Fine**..."

* * *

Ainmuire mac Sétnai was, as many kings and leaders of Uí Neill clans were, a descendant of Níall of the nine Hostages. He had fought alongside Columba and Alma in the battle of Cúl Dreimne in 561 and had inherited the kingship by blood. He was also the first high king descended from Conall Gulban. Alma, in all manner of memory, challenged the man to a fight. He laughed it off, clapped her on the shoulder and handed her some alcohol of some kind. As much as she hates to admit, after a while, the whole night slowly blurred together. Ériu would laugh whenever she would ask. Eventually, 566 turned into 567.

A small weight landed on her head. Carina swiped at it annoyingly, " **Ériu, I swear to God, if that's you again-** " A loud series of chirps in her ear made her groan. "God- _damnit_ , Frank. Ok, let's see what you want, Piers." She carefully grabbed the bird and smiled when it didn't squirm. Taking the small message from its leg, she opened the thick parchment. "'Annabelle, please join us at the wedding of Sigebert the First and Brunhilda. Please. Frank.' Oh this mess." (1) She placed Piers on her leg as she sat up. "Frank, you dumbass..." The auburnette flopped backwards in exasperation, grabbed a small piece of charcoal from off the table next to her and drew a small circle on the corner. "Take this back to Frank, will ya?" The bird chirped again happily and flapped his wings.

Carina watched as Piers flew out and swung her legs out. "Time to get up, huh?" Silence met her ears and she frowned.

* * *

Frank smiled happily as he saw Annabelle walk up to him, "My dear Annabelle! It has been too long! How have you been, you didn't get the death, did you?" The woman shook her head with a grave look on her face.

"Frank, did you...?"

His smile faltered, but it grew after a split second, "I recovered, but I did so with the knowledge that you were thinking of me!" She laughed lightly and drew him into a hug.

"You dork! You should have sent for me earlier!" The blonde quirked and eyebrow as he returned the embrace.

"What is that word? Dork? I have not heard that word before, what does it-"

Annabelle shook her head and pulled away, "A story for another time. But what's going on with the marriage? Is the Visigothic kingdom going to be there?" Frank ran a hand through his hair as he nodded.

"Sigebert wants a wife better than his brothers'. I hope this turns out better than what happened with..." She nodded in understanding. Clotilde's death was still present in her heart, even if if had happened decades before.

"Come on. Let's go find the pair. I'd like to met her. How is Radegund doing?"

Frank smiled as he lead her inside the hall, "The Queen is doing well. Clotaire and her had a... falling out, but he left her alone to her church duties. She is quite happy now. Speaking of which, Clotaire..."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "When? And is there _anyone else_?" The auburnette placed special stress on the last two words in exhaustion.

He shuffled his hands awkwardly, "Um, I believe that all of the sons of Clovis are dead and they are the only people I believe you knew. The sons of Clotaire have heard of you and they are rather anxious to meet you. I believe you have met Charibert before, but the others were rather young." Annabelle nodded in understanding and followed him through the streets of Metz.

They walked towards a medium sized building and a stone cross outside signified its position as a church. A woman with bright copper hair stood calmly with a few others in clothing that seemed different than something a Frankish woman would wear. The woman looked over and Annabelle straightened her back. Frank glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and nodded minutely. Annabelle hated acting formally, but sometimes, it was needed. Badly.

The women approached each other wearily, one in wedding garb and the other in leggings and a medium tunic and cloak. Annabelle stopped within three feet of the Visigoth and held the other woman's gaze. Electric blue bore into bright amber. Annabelle smiled lightly and bowed lowly to the royalty, " **It is a pleasure to meet you, High Queen**."

" **Please rise. State your name and remove those brutish clothes. I shall not have a woman-man at my wedding** ," Brunhilda stated in a strong voice.

The redhead rose with a smile, " **I am known by this nation as Annabelle. I am afraid I do not have a dress on me, nor do I own one**." The redhead hummed in distain and turned to speak to someone else. A different man covered in gold came up around his betrothed and greeted Annabelle with a warmer gaze.

"Are you...?"

The immortal smiled and nodded, "Sigebert? If I was right, you were just a child when I left for Hibernia. Do you remember me?"

The king shook his head, "No, but Father told me stories of you. He told me how you taught him a game on a board and when he kept beating you, you-" Annabelle laughed and shook her head.

"I remember. But I received an invitation and wished to come give you my best. May a long life greet you both."

Brunhilda smiled lightly at the blessing but cocked her head, " **You said 'this nation'. So you know of them? Do you know** -"

" **Annabelle is very tired from her long trip** -" Frank interjected, but was quickly cut off.

" **No, she can answer. Does she know my empire? And how does she know**?"

The two immortals shared a tired look and the woman brought out a dagger. The guards grew on high alert as they drew their own swords, but Sigebert waved them down. "Sigebert, did any of your uncle Childebert ever tell you about that time we fought with swords and he nicked me? Can you repeat that?" The man took the blade and ran it over in his hand.

"He's told me a few times, but... I cannot hurt-" The auburnette fake lunged at him, and with an instinct of a warrior, he raised it to defend himself, and within doing so, nicked Annabelle. Blood trickled down her forearm as Brunhilda and a few other women nearby began fretting over the wound.

"Calm down, give it a little bit, and it'll just be another tally. But in case you don't understand, I am... Holy shit, 508 years old," Annabelle said with wide eyes.

Frank gasped and looked at her, "Your 500th birthday went by and you didn't tell me? Annabelle!" She shook her head as she smiled.

"Frank, can we just get today over with? I just want to get this whole thing over with." He nodded and took her hand to lead her away. "Thank you. I'm sorry for getting a little mad, but this is going to be the biggest cat fight that history has seen so far. I think. But I'm sorry." The blonde nodded and lowered his head as they walked towards the capital. She was just very glad she didn't have to answer the question about the Visigothic Empire.

* * *

After their wedding, Chilperic, Sigebert's brother, got married to Brunhilda's sister, Galswintha. Within the following year, 568, two things happened. The first was that Chilperic had Galswintha strangled so he could marry his mistress, upsetting Brunhilda and she began turning her husband against his brother.

The second had her heart torn. While Frank was being torn apart by internal warfare, she received a frantic letter from Veneziano. Lombards were invading. She looked between the letter and Frank as he shook lightly in place in front of the fire, as tears slipped from her eyes silently.

"Annabelle."

She looked up to see Frank's eyes filled with sadness, "Frank, are you-"

"Go to them. There's nothing you can do for me. If there's anything you can do for your brothers..." Annabelle nodded and waddled over to him to lean against him.

"Frank, thanks. Remember, you can always send for me. Just send Pierre or Piers or whatever that blasted bird is named over to peck at me and I'll come running," She said, earning a laugh from Frank.

He nodded and pushed her lightly, "Hurry up, Belle. The Lombards are digging their claws in further with every second you waste." Annabelle nodded and stood up.

Frank smiled wearily as he watched her run off into the dark corridor and sighed, staring into the flames. They warped and twisted and they slowly edged him to sleep. He never heard his friend leave.

Over the next week, as she made her way over to her brothers, Carina was amazed by the lack of destruction in Northern Italy. After a brief discussion with an Ostrogoth, it turned out they were left in peace so long as did not resist. She had sagged in relief and continued down the western coast of the Peninsula and made her way to Venie.

The small child was weak when she found him in his home, Estonia no where to be found. Fortuna sighed and placed him in bed. She tucked him in, smiling lightly as she pushed a bit of hair out of his face, kissing the crown of his head. He sighed in contentment and the woman got up to make a dish. He got up within the next hour, happily following the smell of cooking meat, bread and soup.

Fortuna stirred the large pot over the fire and added a few dried herbs to the cooking broth. Veneziano peeked around a corner, watching her work, and silently stared at her. The woman checked the meat slabs that were smoking close to the flames and the bread that was a hair's breath away from ashes as they heated up. "S-Sorellona?" She gasped and swung around to faced her brother.

"Venie? How are you? I heard about the Lombards and..."

He cocked his head curiously, "Who? I-a don't know about that, but the new people who-a are coming in are being weird. Someone's declared a 'duchy'..." Fortuna hummed and crumbled to the ground, opening her arms.

"Fratello? Can I have a hug?" Tears poured out of Veneziano's eyes as he jumped into her arms. "Veneziano, I missed you so much." He hummed and curled into her embrace.

"I missed you too, Sorellona."

* * *

 **I'm going to cut it off there. I know I said I was going to try to do six years a chapter, but... It's getting a little late...**

 **(1) Ok, so a quick lay-down of the situation not explained in detail yet, in the voice of that lady narrator. Ok, so Brunhilda and Chilperic's mistress turned their husbands against each other and the men eventually called in their only other surviving brother. That dude was like, 'Ok, you two need to calm down, Chilperic's mistress, hand over a few cities.' She was like, 'no way in hell', and they continued to fight for over 40 years. The mistress apparently had Sigebert assassinated and Brunhilda was captured and killed by having four horses rip her apart. Fun. But still, Bitch fight. Poor Frank.**


	43. Chapter 41

**Hey guys! Sadly, marching band season is almost over, so that means more time for chapters! Also, I'm really tired and kinda sick while writing the beginning of this, so... yeah. And I'm proud of how far this has come. Compared to late June, it's gotten 3,341 views vs 25 views, 21 favorites vs 1, 24 followers vs 2 and 42 reviews vs 0. Thanks guys, you're keeping me going.**

 **AnonChan1: That was an actual quote! And the show would soooo do that, but make Nessie some tiny adorable thing that bites England occasionally. Lady Luck's tolerance for alcohol has risen significantly over the years, but there are a few humans, and most nations her age, that can out-drink her. She, however, was originally a lightweight. I'm making it a running gag now! Seeing the fact as having a birthday every year would get a little exhausting and birthdays every decade would be a small passing thing, for a nation to survive multiple centuries was a big deal. One of the oldest tribes I heard of that were constantly getting their ass handed to them on a silver platter, but still surviving were the Suebi. Their birthdays every hundred years would had been a huge thing for them. Good and bad things are always happening, but while she's the personification of good luck, bad things are still going to happen. You might have found $50 on your way to work, but you still stubbed your toe on the door-frame, but your good fortune tends to make you forget the bad. And LL definitely would go stir crazy. GET SOME SLEEP**.

 ** _Ogham_**

 **Italian/ vulgar latin**

Middle Persian

Oghur

 **Late Latin**

 **Note: Edited (12/11/16)**

* * *

Fortuna bowed her head in respect as she heard the news. Her seated form leaned against the large bed in Romano's home. Ainmuire mac Sétnai had been assassinated. Ériu's ogham(1) was engraved cleanly into the small wooden slab, " ** _I know you didn't know him well, but I thought you'd want to know_**." Romano peeked over her shoulder as his eyes looked over the odd dashes and slants that ran down the tablet.

" **What-a the hell does that-a say**?"

She looked at her brother who stood next to her, two peaches in hand, **"One of Hibernia's kings have been killed. I didn't know him that well, but he just wanted to let me know**." Romano nodded and passed her a peach. The redhead took it with a nod and they shared a bite. " **After this, do you want to go take a nap**?"

The child looked into his fruit and thought for a second, " **I'm-a fine. I had-a one earlier. Are-a you going to take one**?" Fortuna nodded and leaned against the covered bedding. Romano crawled into her lap and snuggled next to her stomach, still munching on his peach.

" **You look a lot like your grandfather, you know that, right**?" He looked up, startled.

His greenish-hazel eyes were wide and beginning to fill up with tears, " **Carina, don't-a say shit that isn't-a true**!" He bawled. She shook her head and pet his hair back lightly.

" **Romano, you just don't want it to be true. But it's true. You're more like him than you think. He's proud of you, I know he is** ," The woman said as she pulled him in for a hug. Her brother shook as tears slowly began pouring out of his eyes.

 **"Y-You bitch. D-Don't say th-that! He's-a dead**!" Fortuna grabbed his cheeks lightly and drew his face closer to her own so she could place her forehead on his and look into his eyes.

" **Romano, trust me, never forget those close to you. I forgot who helped raise me when I was a child, not much bigger than you, and I didn't remember who he was until it was too late. Rome will live on if you don't forget him**." He looked away and curled up again.

" **Why-a today**?"

The auburnette sighed and slouched, " **I don't know, Roma. I don't know...** " Tear began to slip out of her own eyes as she remembered all the times her father figure's ridiculousness made her smile.

* * *

Neylan grinned as she walked into the bustling city. A shining, albeit dark, aura was spread over the large area and she pinpointed it, following the signal. Ctesiphon had grown slightly since she had last been there and the capital could had been unaware of its new title, but the woman would make sure that her friend knew.

Persia was sitting in his home, carving away at a new relief as Neylan knocked on the doorway. His carving knife almost created a tiny gouge in his work, but the empire managed to pull his hand back, "Girl! I thought I told you not to interrupt me when I'm working!"

She smiled and and walked over, "Yeah, yeah. I come bring some good news though. I suppose if you don't want me here then I can just lea-"

"Neylan, don't be mean. What is it?" The man said as he stood up and pulled the woman into a hug.

The auburnette smiled as she hugged him back, "Considering your capital is now the largest city in the world, I thought I'd come congratulate you. And where's Turkey?"

"He's off making something of himself. He's grown a few inches since you were last here, he's probably taller than Little Rome." Neylan nodded and pulled away with a guilty frown. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I brought up the fact that he's more like his grandfather than he believes. In all honesty, sometimes I look at Romano and see a younger Rome. It bugs me that I can't just see Romano, but..."

Persia shook his head, "But you also see a dear friend. I don't blame you, anyone would. But so long as you still see him as Romano..." The woman nodded in understanding and sighed.

"I know but..."

"Girl, don't worry about it. We all see things that remind us of someone else, whether it be an object or a person. Look at your ring, what do you think of?"

Neylan's eyebrows furrowed as she looked down, "I think of Romano. He gave it to me almost 500 years ago. Where are you going with this, Sasa?"

He smiled, "What else do you think of?"

"Nothing," She said. A dash of understanding flew through her head. "Thanks Sasa. And you've done a good job in raising Turkey. He'll be fine on his own." Persia smiled again and drew her in for a hug.

Something in her mind stuck out to her. To have another immortal she commonly saw that raised another nation was a wonderful feeling that made her relieved to have someone to share the connection. The wonder if their ward will make it through life, if they'll simply fade or fall to another nation. The wonder if they'll struggle or thrive. Make the connection they'll need to or be an isolationist.

Carina smiled.

* * *

Spending the next four years in the Sasanian Empire, Neylan helped Persian in his war against the Byzantine Empire. She saw China a few times, as well as Turkey. It was nice to see the both of them and Turkey _had_ been getting taller. He was growing well and developing a new language. Neylan was more than happy to learn it. All was going well, Turkey and the auburnette teased Persia by speaking in Oghur, but then Piers or Pierre or whatever his name was arrived in 575.

Turkey was training with her when a small mass landed on her head. The boy looked up and blinked at her confused as Neylan stopped and sighed. "Goddamnit, Pierre." He laughed lightly as it chirped. "What the fuck does Frank want now?" She took the avian out of her hair and took the letter off of it's leg. The tiny pigeon jumped back into her hair as she opened the parchment. "Oh my god. Here it is."

"What? Who do I have do kill?" Neylan shook her head lightly as she read the news.

"Sigebert has been murdered and I've heard rumors that Fredegund ordered his death. His wife and son are seeking aid from his brother and Guntram has taken them under his wing. Otherwise things here are fine, but I am not requesting your presence. I just wanted to let you know, my dear Annabelle. I hope this letter arrives to you well and I hope you are good, Frankish," Neylan finished.

Turkey remained quiet as he listened to the news, "I'm sorry, did you know him well?"

"I was at his wedding, he was the son of a family friend, but other than that, I didn't know him. I need to respond to this-"

"There's some ink from China and parchment in the house, be careful though. It gets everywhere." Neyland nodded and smiled lightly. She rushed back to make a response.

* * *

"Abla, I'm making a journey, do you want to come with?" Persia and Neylan froze as they looked at Turkey. The nation had grown a little more and looked ready for war. The woman thought through her history and tried to remember against who, but forgot.

Sasanian put down his breakfast, "Turkey, who would this be against?"

He shuffled his feet a little as he looked up to his parent figure, "I heard about this place North of here and wanted to go see what's there."

"Do you have a plan or are you just running around?" The woman looked over at her friend sharply. There was only one other group she knew of that basically ran all over Europe and her relations with them... Fucking huns.

Turkey's silence was more than enough of an answer and Persia sighed, "Go ahead, but if you need help, I'm not coming and getting you." Turkey looked over to his 'Abla', his sister. He cheered when she nodded with a smile.

"So, when do we leave?"

"Now." Why did she even ask...

The Göktürks crossed the Kerch strait and into Crimea. The city of Kerch was unfamiliar territory and Turkey laughed at the auburnette's awed face as they marched to the town. A new aura peeked out as they crossed into the land and it startled Neylan out of her mind. They wandered around for a while and soon, a small girl appeared on a smaller road.

" **Hello there** ," Neylan called out. The girl looked over, startled and ducked into the bushes. " **Wait**!" The woman chased after them, using her third sight to guide her. Normally, humans appeared as a fainter color of their aura, but this one was a clear, pale blue. " **I'm not going to hurt you!** " The girl paused and turned over her shoulder.

" **You won't? Your friends have weapons and look like Persians. Byzantine told me to stay away from them**!" Neylan sighed through her nose.

" **I mean no harm, and I can try to keep my friends off of you. But just who are you? I know you're not human, so what's your nation's name**?"

The platinum blonde shook her head, " **I don't have one yet, I'm just a mass of odd tribes. Who are you**?"

Neylan bowed deeply, making the nation giggle, " **I am one of many names, but the ones you saw earlier call me Neylan. You may go with that one or come up with your own, I do not mind. And** ," she said as she stood, " **it's a little odd seeing a female nation, you're the first I've met, and I can you're one of the nicer nations I've met**."

The girl nodded happily, " **Thank you! And I'll be calling you Neylan as well! You can call me... I don't know yet... People around here just call me Girl**." Tear began to pop into the child's eyes as she thought upon the tragedy.

" **Well, we can't have that. How about you pick the name of the closest tribe, and I'll call you that. You do represent them, you know** ," Neylan said as she pulled the girl into a hug.

" **In that case, I'm Onogurs, it's nice to meet you.** " (2)

* * *

 **(1) This was an old writing system of Ireland. It was usually used for Old and Middle Irish.**

 **(2) I couldn't find a pre-kievan rus name for Ukraine, so I'm setting for the nearest tribe until the vikings come over and give it the name 'Kievan Rus', or "Land of the Rus". (Note: It didn't really remain in my head when I wrote this before, but the Onogurs were a Turkish tribe that had come over in roughly 463 and had simply needed an escape from the migrations going on. I hope that it'll work for now.)**


	44. Chapter 42

**Hey guys! After this weekend, I'm going to be band free... I want to cry so bad right now. Because I ended up throwing up earlier, I had to skipped school and my band's last football game. I really want to cry now... Anyway...**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks! And not really, but at least she had Rome there to help her build up her tolerance! And good! I feel so bad about Romano, but I feel like I've needed toaddress that at some point in the story. It's that thing where you still sneak up on your friends even if they tell you not to, he IS, and thanks! Everyone except a few are going to be taller than her and it's going to be so fun with the first mass-nation meeting! And I have a small present. It kinda sucks, but go to LadyLuck372 on deviantart. It's a small page I've made for her stuff. It was the huns. They did pretty much ravage wherever and whatever they could. Hungary's relative was an ass!**

 **Oghur (BECAUSE UKRAINE/ONOGURS)**

OLD JAPANESE (BECAUSE JAPAN)

ITALIAN/ VULGAR LATIN [ITALIAN] (BECAUSE ROMANO AND VENEZIANO AND FORTUNA)

 **GOTHIC (BECAUSE GERMANIA AND RAGAN AND BECAUSE RAGAN DOESN'T KNOW LOMBARDIC)**

 **Note: Edited (12/1/16)**

* * *

Onogur waited patiently with Neylan as the Göktürks set up a siege outside the Byzantinian city. The two sat by a large fire and simply learned about the world from each other well into 576. Onogurs told her about life under the Byzantine Empire and began to teach her eastern slavic while Neylan taught her Oghur and of any various adventure that the blonde wanted to hear. They spent the year mostly inside and telling stories to each other. Quicker than Neylan would have liked, a third sense tugged on the back of her mind and she had to part from the only female immortal she had met so far.

" **Onogur, I'm sorry, but..**."

The girl nodded in understanding, " **I understand. I used to be nomad as well, and well... Your feet never stop itching, huh?** " Neylan laughed lightly and knelt to hug her.

" **Ono, you have no idea how much I just want to plant my feet somewhere and stay in an area, but sadly, I don't have such luck**." Tears streaked down Onogur's face and the woman pulled back a tiny bit. " **Trust your people and you'll flourish. I'll be around somewhere and if you ever need help... Try to send out word, I'll see what I can do. You're strong and you're friendly, you'll adjust fine, but don't let the other tribes push you around too much, and stop me now before I rant too hard**." Onogurs chuckled lightly and buried her teary face into Neylan's shoulder.

" **I'll miss you, Neylan. Be careful**!"

Neylan grinned as she stood and wiped away the child's tears, " **Aren't I usually**?" With that, she made sure her weapons were strapped on tightly and walked out the door.

* * *

Jun managed to find way through to Japan by sea and sadly, the trip too much longer than she had hoped. It was late 577 when she arrived and Japan 'welcomed' her with 'open arms'. "What are you doing here?" He asked blankly. They were in Osaka at a random plot.

Jun smiled and laughed lightly and sat cross-legged on the ground, "Something just told me to come here. Is there any news?" Japan continued to blink at her slowly with no reply. "Something brought me here. I'd like to know what."

The child sighed and began to walk off, "One of my Princes has requested a buddhist temple to be built in Osaka and they have agreed. Three master carpenters are to arrive from Baekje, including Baekje himself." Jun hummed and followed him into a nearby home. They were soon drinking from small cups of tea. They sat in silence as they listened to the leaves rustle calmly and Jun accidentally slipped into meditation. Japan slowly followed her lead. They'd need the peace and quiet if Baekje was coming.

* * *

With a uneasy heart, Fortuna approached Romano's house a week before the 500th anniversary of Vesuvius's eruption. Her hands were sore from helping the architects and then working the sails of the ship to return home to her native nation and she carefully gripped her bag without injuring her hands. The people seemed a little uneasy, but it was the Rule of the Dukes (1), so she wasn't surprised. Romano's home stood, slightly rebuilt, waiting patiently for her as she walked up to it. With a brave push, she entered.

Some of the contents were scattered oddly around the room, but it didn't surprise her that much, he wasn't very neat. "Roma? Are you here? Italia Romano?"

A small patter of light footsteps came out of a room and he rubbed his eye tiredly, "Hey, Sorellona. I was-a waiting for you. It's-a been nearly 500 years, huh?"

500 years since this whole mess started, since she was sent back in time and forever disjointed from her own world. 500 years since she had seen her mother or any of the nations as she had last left them in that secret room of the government building. 500 years since... everything. 500 years of slowly getting new friends and new family. 500 years of raising nations and leaving her mark on small little humans. 500 years of pride, sacrifice and love. And yet, despite all the pain, the horror of watching her friends die, of nearly dying a few times herself, she wouldn't trade those years for anything if it meant keeping her family.

"Yeah, I guess it has been. I turn 520 this year. It's an odd thought..." Romano laughed bitterly.

"You-a think? Jesus, Ragazza where have you bee the past 400 years?" She smiled and shook her head. Her brother's lip quirked, "Hey, what's for dinner, I'm hungry!"

Fortuna laughed, "I can make us a small fruit dish. Can you go get a few peaches from the trees?" The child nodded and toddled outside.

The next two days were spent happily, but on the 20th of August, Romano awoke alone. He blinked sleepily as he looked around for his sister and he quickly jumped off the bed. "Fortuna? Where are you?" He called. The boy peeked into the main room nervously and shouted for her again with no response. Romano ran throughout the home and began to panic. "Sorellona?! Carina, where are you?!" He bawled into empty air. He finally ran outside to see if she was there. She wasn't and he threw himself under a taller branch and continued to cry his eyes out.

Why did she leave without saying goodbye? Did she get kidnapped or did she just leave? She couldn't have left, he trusted her more than th-

A small droplet landed on the top of his head and he looked up, prepared to yell at the sky but froze when he saw Fortuna weeping silently herself. "S-Sorellona? A-Are you-a ok?" Fortuna jumped and looked down. She saw his worried face and wiped away her tears quickly, placing a smile on her face.

"Oh, hey Roma, what's going on?"

He frowned and grabbed a low branch to begin scaling the tree. Romano didn't stop until he was able to climb onto a limb close to his sister's branch.

"Don't-a start that bullshit with-a me. Talk."

Fortuna let her smile fall and her head relax, sighing, "Right, sorry, Roma. I sometimes just forget I don't have to wear a mask with you. It gets so exhausting, you know? I miss my world a lot. I miss my mom, I miss everything, even the occasionally the shitty hotel rooms we used to stay in in America. I used to be so much quieter and so used to letting my mom talk for me, so I wouldn't have to make any major decisions for myself, Mom would just tell me what to do, and I'd be completely fine. I didn't have too much responsibility except, 'Don't drink without me there', or, 'Don't get lost in the woods.' I miss being able to have someone being able to tell me what to do, but now I'm just lost." Romano hummed and reached over and the auburnette pulled him over.

He leaned against her arm and looked out at a nearby peach, "I don't-a know how to respond to-a that, but... I can somewhat relate..." He trailed, shifting to settle into her shoulder. Fortuna readjusted him and pushed a hair out of his face, silently asking him to continue, "When Nonno died, I suddenly had-a all these people to take-a care of, but I-a didn't know what the hell to-a do. I just-a take one day at a time, it'll work out. We're-a in the same fucking boat, so don't-a you dare say otherwise, bitch."

"Thanks, you little shit," She whispered, kissing the crown of his head. He flushed and simply curled up tighter. "You can rest for now, I won't let you fall."

"Asshole, you-a better not..."

The following year was spent relaxing when they could, but occasionally dealing with the Lombardic dukes of the time. In 580, Veneziano sent a messenger. He and Germania were going to drive the Ostrogoths and Estonia over the Alps and he wished to know if she wanted to come. "I know I haven't seen you in a while, but it seems like fun and I wanted you to join!" Romano grudgingly let her leave and she laughed happily with a promise of eventual return. He had gazed at the peach ring still on her finger and accepted her answer. She quickly left and hope to joyfully met up with Germania for the first time in years.

Ragan followed their auras over to the edge of Northern Italy and it was her brother that found her first. "Sorellona!" He yelled with glee. The small child had grown a few inches and she was a little unprepared to be tackled by the unknown weight. They laughed as Veneziano knocked her over and they tumbled onto the ground.

"Hey, Venie! How have you been, have you been eating well?" He nodded and hugged her tightly.

"I-a missed you so much, Fortuna! The Lombards were-a being mean, but-a then they were being nice, and it confused me! They're-a not mean anymore, so I'm-a happy!" Fortuna laughed lightly, nodding, and kissed the crown of his head.

"That's good that they're being nice. We should go find Germania, huh?"

A small stick cracked and a blue pair of eyes peered down at her, " **I'm one step ahead of you, old friend**." Ragan smiled and held a hand up as she wrapped an arm around her brother. Germania heaved her up with a small grunt and they shared a small hug. " **How have you been, Ragan**?"

" **I've been good in the past 80-something years. Been running all over the place, but that's normal. How is Estonia doing**?" Germania grunted and the woman nodded. " **Alright, that's good, I guess... I met a female nation a few years ago**." The blonde's eyebrows rose in wonder as they began walking to the camp. Venie was oddly silent, napping happily. Old habits die hard. " **Yeah, I know. She was really young and just barely under Byzantine's control, but she's a tribe none-the-less. One of Persia's wards was putting on of her cities under siege, but I don't think they'll get that city, but they'll probably go wreaking havoc over the rest of the area. Turkey won't hurt her too bad, at least if he doesn't want me going over there...** " Germania laughed and shook his head. Ragan joined in, but they soon fell into comfortable silence.

The Lombards continued to drive the Ostrogoths out of the Peninsula and over the Alps and with small nod between the small blonde and the auburnette, they both knew, no hard feelings.

* * *

 **(1) Rule of the Dukes was apparently a violent time when a bunch of Lombardic Dukes didn't have a proper leader and all kinda was just all over and a bunch of smaller territories. Fortunately, they did unite to try and defend themselves later.**

 **Also, two more things. One, the poll with the AU question is still up, and second, I still have one more little drabble I can put in!**


	45. Halloween early 2000s

**Ok, Marching band is officially over, and I'm so sad. I had one elective this year between eight courses, and I chose MB because they're family! But anyway, it's 9:40 here and I'm going to try and type this up really quick!**

 **AnonChan1: And true! It could have been worse, but she just had to meet the man who only drank, ate, slept, and slept around... But Niiiiiiice! And thank you... I love making you feel things, I feed off of them! You'll never escape!**

 **Because this is an extra, everyone will magically be speaking the same language unless said otherwise.**

 **Note: Edited (12/11/16)**

* * *

Liberty smiled happily as she watched the kids wondering around in the their costumes in the moonlight, Carina toddling around in her own by Grandpa Rome's side. That man was a godsend and a true family man. Sitting in a swinging bench on her porch with the candy bucket on her right, she watched as he smiled as she saw the younger her open a bag of treats and grin impishly in her ladybug costume. Closing her eyes in content, she lost herself in the feeling of the wind blowing in her hair and the sound of children laughing and messing around and -

"Trick or treat!"

The woman peeked open an eye at her son, "Damnit, Alfred, what are you doing here? I thought I told you-"

He huffed jokingly, "Yeah, yeah, only Allen can be around her, she can't remember me, but she's all the way over there and I don't want him scaring the kids too ba-"

"You know he wouldn't do that. You want to do that yourself, Freddie. You can relax for now, but I just want to sit in the moment and enjoy it. I know you need to relax too..." Alfred smiled and took a seat next to Liberty and she leaned over onto him. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"Well, ya know me, the hero has to visit his mom and little sister at some point," America grinned. She laughed and he placed an arm around her. "How have you been? I heard Artie and Feli might be popping by later to say hey and chow down on some candy, so you might want to-"

"Alfred F. Jones, get your fucking hand out of the candy bucket," Liberty growled. He laughed and withdrew his hand and a few late trick-or-treaters stopped by and Alfred was more than happy to give the children their treats enthusiastically, but like the saying goes, all good things must end. Fucking teenagers with fucking respect.

A thin brunette was walking by in a typical slutty red riding hood costume and she assumed it would be funny to kick a few styrofoam graves in half. Liberty growled as she stood up. Alfred grabbed her shoulder, "Hey, let me get this," he soothed.

The auburnette shook her head and grabbed a large fake butcher knife from next to her, "Freddie, I have this. I don't want Allen to come out by accident and get a little carried away."

"But Mama-" Alfred covered his mouth in surprise and Liberty took a step closer to him.

"Allen Jones, you will listen to me. You will stay here and can have five, only five, yes, just the five, pieces of candy. Everything in there is vegan and you can watch the show. I know where these kids live too." Alfred nodded dejected and reached into the bowl and pulled out some off brand garbage. The woman gripped the blade tighter and grabbed a hockey mask while she was at it. The trio was still laughing and was now poking and stomping on a skeleton she had left out.

"Come on Barbara, you gotta made the the hands flip up so I can catch them!" A shorter friend in a pirate costume said. The third was a giggling mess with a vampire setup and fake blood gushing from her mouth.

Red riding hood Barbara shook her head, "Damnit, Diane, I'm trying! It's not as easy as it- oh, shit, it's Stutters' mom, run!" The three girls took off down the street and Liberty wasn't far behind. "She's still coming! She won't follow us to my house, Dad's home! He'll call the cops!" They ran rather sloppily towards the aforementioned home and Liberty laughed quietly as she let them run into the home. Barbara's dad, a tall, reasonable man with a receding hairline, climbed out onto the porch with a gun in hand.

"Who's out there?!" He yelled.

Liberty sighed and removed her mask, "Mr. Fronts, it's just me. It's the usual problem." The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"What's she done now?"

The auburnette had to hand it to the man, he didn't even try to deny himself the truth that his child was a bad person. She tucked the knife into a back pocket and walked up to it. The three girls were peeking out the window by the door and with a frown from the male, they retreated.

"They were messing around with a few halloween decorations, nothing much. If you can forgive me for chasing them with a knife, I can forgive the damage," She said with a few arm gestures. Mr. Fronts sighed and ran a hand through his hair, or rather what was left, and after a moment, nodded. "Alright. I left Carina with a friend, so I need to..." He nodded and with another shake of his head, walked into his home. Liberty sighed herself and walked back home. She smiled lightly as she heard her child giggling.

"Aww, where's your nose? Where's your nose? Here it is!" Allen laughed as the tiny girl giggled excessively, Rome watching happily himself from the bench. Liberty quietly watched over the small group and soon cleared her throat. Allen jumped back as if he was shocked and the toddler giggled again. Rome laughed and ruffled her hair and after a quick jerk of his head, wandered back into her home. "H-Hey Mama. H-How'd t-things go with those assholes?" Allan stuttered, scratching the back of his head.

Liberty laughed, "Allen, give Carina her nose back and I'll tell you." A bright flush spread across his cheeks as he very gently put her nose 'back'. "Alright. Mr. Fronts forgave me for scaring the shit out of his daughter and her friends in return for forgetting the dam-"

"Bullshit. You could have sued-"

"So could he. I threatened his child with bodily harm. I'm lucky he didn't call the cops!" Allen sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Several screams were down the street and a honk from a sports car brought their attention to Feliciano. Liberty sent a panicked look to Allen and he nodded, taking Carina into the house just as the Italian jumped out. "Sorellona! There you are!" He jumped over to her and they hugged for a spell.

"Feli! Congrates on the Fifa cup!" He smiled and nodded happily.

"Thanks! Arthur should be out in a moment after he gets over being sick in the car~!" He said, opening his eyes a smidge and Liberty could see the mischievous glint in his eye.

She shook her head and pulled away, "Venie, you didn't."

He laughed, "I did!"

Arthur toppled out of the side and ruined a few more of the graves that littered her yard with his last meal, "How many times do I have to tell myself, 'Never ride with that Italian again!'" The auburns laughed deeply and soon, Alfred's loud laughter joined them.

"America!" Veneziano yelled happily and the two shared a happy hug as Liberty went to help her soul brother.

Holidays are NOT a quiet affair.

* * *

 **I'm so done... I know I left it off, but I have to go!**


	46. Chapter 43

**Hey guys! Sorry I had to cut it off, but I wanted to get that out for Halloween and I had to go, but I'm open for a little bit!**

 **AnonChan1: I'm sorry, but when you said three shots, my mind went to alcohol, but I realized you meant needle shots... And how's your foot? And true. Rome didn't get where he was unless he knew what he was doing. And I'll go easy after Germania's death, I'll have my hands full with all the new nations. I do plan on explaining the Second players, and my mind jumbled oddly with posting it... It has nothing to do with Lady Luck, mostly because I believe that 2Ps are part of the nations themselves, constantly aware of each other, but sharing the same body. And he knows about the whole situation and is just making this easier on them (and their minds) both by just rolling with it. The part about him knowing... I'm going to keep that secret... She's familiar with most areas she lives in, it gets easier to know the area if you know the people. I'm going to try sooooo fucking hard to dive deeper into their minds, but is so hard because they're all fucking fan-made! That also made my day so much, I was dying, I want to hang that up on my wall! It's great! And they are, so, so much!**

Middle Persian

Latin

 **Hunnic**

 **Note: Edited (12/12/16)**

* * *

Neylan sighed as she loaded up her ship for the seventh time since she had come to the Persian empire again. A large wagon sat on the far deck just in case, but Sasa assured her that not much had changed since she had last gone exploring throughout the empire. Speaking of which...

"Girl! Don't let that brat hold you up too much!" Persia yelled from on the dock. Neylan laughed lightly as she turned around. The warm sea air was a welcome breeze through her short, bobbed hair.

"Sasa, I don't think that'll happen. I miss doing this, so Turkey's not going to hold me down!" The tan man grinned impishly and with a large spring, landed onto the deck. "Sasa! You're going to hurt yourself!"

He laughed and pulled her into a hug, "I'm going to miss you, Neylan, be sure to come visit!" The woman grinned and returned the hug.

"I'll miss you, Sasa. You can be your ass I'll visit." Sasanian grinned and ruffled her hair. The beads at his waists jingled happily as Neylan shoved him lightly. "Now go! I'm sure bitchy McBitchface is just waiting to see you again."

"McBitchface?"

She growled and pinched the bridge of her nose playfully, "'Mac' is shortened to 'Mc' and a term from around Hibernia that means child of, basically. Shapur would have been Shapur Mac Ardashir. Make sense?" The man nodded and Neylan sighed in relief. "Good, now go!" Persia shook his head lightly and jumped off.

"I'll miss you, Girl!" The woman smiled and waved. Persia let his face fall as he waited and soon watched the ship disappear over the horizon. "Take care of yourself..." He whispered as he looked down the front of his shirt and saw some of his newer, hidden wounds continue to scar over.

Between her goodbye and 584, Neylan and her crew sailed all over the Caspian Sea. The Göktürks continued to plunder Ukraine, but she was still holding strong. But in 584, she received a latin letter extending an invitation for the crowning of Authari. With a small circle drawn on the corner, she sent back the confirmation. She did as she always did when sailing and set the crew with her second-in-command and left for the Lombardic kingdom.

* * *

Fortuna made her way through the peninsula and over to the new capital area of Pavia, attempting to avoid as much of the remainder of the Byzantine empire in Italy as much as she could. Germania and Veneziano's aura were pulsing from the city as she moved into the area and by nightfall, she was outside their humble home outside the grander house. The auburnette knocked on the door five times and waited.

"Hello, Venie, Germania?" Within seconds, she was pulled indoors and Germania covered her mouth as he looked outside over her head. Fortuna struggled to pull out of his grasp silently, but her little brother trotted over and put a hand on her leg. She calmed, but still glared at the tall blonde as he quickly shut the door and released her. "Germania, what was that about?"

He sighed and put her down, running a hand through his hair, "We're facing the Franks and the Romans. We can't risk them finding us." Veneziano nodded and clutched her leg.

"Sorellona? I-I'm-a scared (1)," He whimpered. Fortuna looked down at him with wide, horrified eyes and she knelt down quickly.

"Fratello, I'll try to help, but don't be scared, please..." She begged pulling him into a hug. The child whimpered and sobbed quietly into her shirt as she rubbed his back and tried to hold back tears herself. "Venie, you're stronger than this. You're going to make it through this. Germania with help you through this. Authari will get you through this!"

Veneziano nodded vigorously, but didn't stop crying, "S-Sorellona, am I going to get hurt?" He looked up at her and opened his eyes. Fortuna's already shattered heart turned to pixie dust as their identical eyes met. Fear swam with tears in his amber eyes and then and there, the woman made a promise to herself.

Make sure never to see that look in her family's eyes ever again.

She smiled and shook her head, careful not to let any tears fall from her eyes, "Venie, you are going to go through some rough patches, but you are going to be fine. I swear. I promised a long time never to lie to you, and I haven't broken it so far." Fortuna placed her forehead on his and tried to show as much comfort and strength in her eyes as possible as her brother searched for a lie. He sagged in relief and the auburnette placed a kiss on his forehead. "Come on, have you had anything to eat yet?" He nodded and yawned and with a smile, she picked the toddler off the ground. "Then let's get to bed. I bet you two are tired."

Germania opened his mouth, but shut it once he saw the look his old friend sent him and nodded in appreciation. She smiled and followed him to a small alcove with two straw mattresses, one large, and one much smaller. Fortuna smiled as she put Veneziano on the smaller bed and he grinned sleepily before falling into the world of dreams. "Thank you, Ragan," The man said as he sat down on his bed.

The woman nodded and removed her pack strap from her shoulder, but still held onto it, "I'm a little mad you didn't contact me sooner. If Venie wasn't in here, I'd be fighting you for letting his fears get this bad." He put his head down, but she patted him on the shoulder, "Get some rest, you need it." Germania nodded and Ragan smiled. "Good. Good night." She walked into the main area and sat down heavily, gripping her bag tightly.

Sighing deeply, she opened it and removed her water-bag, food sack, coins bag and pulled out a small spool and needle. Fortuna began to patch up her cloths and pack, occasionally growling to herself, but all the same, fixing the clothes that had been with her for years.

* * *

"Who?" Neylan asked as Persia rushed around the group. He peeked over heads and his eyes lit up as he found who he was looking for.

"Kardutsat!" The Persian called and greeted the man happily. "This is Kardutsat, Bishop of Arran! My good man, this is Neylan, a friend of mine!" The man nodded slightly to her and she politely returned the gesture. Neylan looked around at the other men in the mission as Persia spoke to his friend.

She looked over to the west at the setting moon and frowned, "Sasa, why did you invite me out here? I could be helping my brother right now when he's a step away from breaking down. What the fuck?" The man scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I'm going on a mission currently, but I thought you'd like to see more of the land north of here in the planes. Places you've never seen before!"

The auburnette froze, "Sasa, who are you hoping to convert?" She was hoping, hell, she was even praying he didn't say-

"The huns."

"God- _DAMNIT_."

Persia froze and looked at her worried, "Girl, what's wrong?" Neylan shook her head as she shifted her pack forcefully and jumped on her horse. "Girl! What's wrong?!"

"The huns! I don't want to meet them, not after what they did to me!" With a spur, the horse launched her towards the North. She needed some time to calm down, but Persia would be able catch up with her later. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet, that is, if the huns didn't throw it at her first.

It was nightfall when Persia caught up with her, sitting on a rock, and he gently pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry, girl, I don't know what they did to you, but I promise that nothing will happen to you." Neylan nodded slightly and wiped her eyes before returning the hug. "You've been crying? What did they do to you?" He asked as he pulled away, lifting her chin. She shook her head again and sat down by her chair. "Girl?" Neylan just scratched at her legs through her pants and continued to shake her head. "Alright, I'll leave it-"

"We need to bury the hatchet, I can't deal with this any longer." Persia sat next to her and she leaned onto his shoulder. "I'm tired..."

He smiled knowingly, "So am I, Girl, so am I."

The group decided to set up for the night and soon, they were off on their way again. They crossed over mountains and soon, a vaguely familiar aura appeared. She gripped the reins tighter and sent out a small pulse, hoping they wouldn't pick up on it. Sadly, another returned. Persia edged them on, and soon, they reached a hunnic area. A dark haired man sat mounted on a horse in front of the strip of land and had a hand on his sword.

"Girl."

"Hun."

Persia watched this tense meeting with his hand on his own blade. "Girl, what's going on?"

Her eyes didn't stray from her old tormentor, "Right now, we're sizing each other up. But it's time to end things." She dismounted her horse and approached his slowly. "It's been a while, Hun."

The man snorted and she saw his hand clench on his sword, "Indeed it has. How have you been?" Neylan grinned arrogantly.

"I've been good, I've been bad, how about you?" He nodded and she relaxed more. A baby's sharp cry echoed and the three immortals were surprised by a weak green aura. Neylan's eyes widened, "You..."

Hun growled and raised his sword minutely, "If you dare hurt her-"

The auburnette shook her head furiously, "I would not hurt a nation that hasn't hurt me, nor would I use a baby to get back at you." The man stared her down for a moment more before tucking his sword away.

"Come. Your friends will be welcomed for now." The tense atmosphere disappeared enough and the group were lead into town. Hun lead Neylan into a tent where the cries were coming from. The woman cooed as she saw a small baby bawling her eyes out and her guardian carefully picked her up and gently rocked her. "I haven't named her yet, but she's still just an idea, people barely think about a future joined nation, but it's just enough to..." Neylan nodded in understanding.

"How are you going to raise her? I've seen how the world treats wo-"

He growled, "I'm going to raise her as a man. She'll grow being strong without having the other nations chasing her around simply because she's a woman." Neylan blinked in surprise and nodded again.

"She's going to just fine..." Hun smiled as the baby wrapped a finger around his finger and gripped it tightly.

"I hope you're right..." They stood in silence as the baby eventually calmed and soon fell back asleep. "I'm sorry, you know."

Neylan sighed and nodded, "Hun, that's all I need to know. If you don't put me through that again, I'll be fine. I don't entire forgive you and I still hate and fear you for what you did, but if you can raise your ward to be a better person, I'll take that as enough of an apology." Hun nodded and Neylan lowered her head. "Sasa, you can come in now." Her friend sheepishly came in and the woman shook her head grinning. "Sasa, what am I going to do with you?"

He jokingly bat his eyelashes, "Love me forever?" Neylan laughed and silently compared the looks of the two men. Persia's skin tone seemed to match his dark eyes and silky hair better than Hun's coarse long hair and beard, but the man's thicker shoulders told of the harder, nomadic life since he had lost in 451 and been pushed around even more. "Girl, you're so mean!" She smiled and punched his shoulder lightly.

"Shut up, Sasa. But should we get down to business?" Hun's eyes sharpened, but Persia didn't let this affect him and gradually began explaining what he intended to do. The men would eventually come to a steadier agreement and it worked well. It would better, as they began plotting against the Byzantine Empire, only at the Persia's expense.

In 586, Avars- a nomadic tribe that took over much of the Hun's culture but at the same time, not quite huns- stormed into the Byzantine empire as they stormed into the Byzantine Empire. While Neylan knew that this particular invasion wouldn't kill Persia, she knew that it was coming up and Byzantine was not helping things, at least in this decade. Next one is a different story.

* * *

 **Hey guys, sorry for another late night chapter, but I have been swamped this entire week!**

 **(1) This was actually the whole reason the Lombards appointed a king in the first place- they were scared that the Franks and the Byzantines on either side of them would make a pincher move and take them out. I don't know if people were this scared, but they were scared enough!**


	47. Chapter 44

**Hey guys! I have a surprise coming up and a lot of homework that may delay it, but it'll come! I also realized a huge mistake and the Onogurs were actually a turkish tribe, but I'm going to keep it, as every tribe had important part in history. Also, I set my hopes high at 1000 AD by christmas... But anyway...!**

 **AnonChan1: Alright! And I hope you feel better! But you're going to kill me when you find out what I'm going to do in 61 years. And ooooh yeah, it's so much easier. And I can't wait to introduce all of them! And just you wait, it'll get sooo much worse in a few years. Things will get easier, I hope, in a few decades or centuries. Hungary is pretty cool, and while she shouldn't have been brought up, I do believe that the idea that was her existance was being thought about, but there was a reason she was a baby, the basic unit of life and very fragile. I WILL BRING HIM UP WHENEVER.**

Vulgar Latin (Italian)

 **Lombardic**

 **Vulgar Latin (French)**

 _ **Middle Chinese**_

 _ **Late Japanese (quick note, if it's just italized, then it's still Late Japanese, it's just extremely emphasized.)**_

 **I apologize for the rushed formatting. Note: Edited (12/12/16)**

* * *

Fortuna grinned widely as she saw Veneziano standing side-by-side with Germania in the battle, fighting against the Franks. Her blonde friend was fighting far to the side, probably sensing her own aura and choosing to stay away, which she respected. Venie was crying lightly as he carefully pulled back his drawstring and let the arrows fly. In complete honesty, it was terrifying to see her brother growing up so much, no it wasn't that, it was...

A grunt cut off her train of thought as a man dropped to his knees in front of her. She stared in horror at the arrow embedded in her almost-attacker's temple. She glanced over to see Veneziano nod shakily before continuing on in the fight. Germania thankfully stood close to his ward with his sword in hand as they beat away the Franks and Burgundians.

In the end, Frank ended up suffering a massive defeat and, as the remaining men retreated, Frank caught her eye. The two nodded and smiled lightly to each other, but soon turned their backs and walked off. Fortuna quickly caught up with Germania and reached up to clench her little brother's hand. "Venie, are you ok?" The blonde shot her a look and took the boy off of his shoulder, passing him silently. The woman nodded appreciatively and smiled lightly as she stared at the boy. "Venie?"

The boy broke down and sobbed into her shoulder, "S-Sorellona, I-I-a didn't want to kill-a them! I-I feel so-a guilty!" She rubbed his back as she shushed him quietly.

"Venie, yes, you did kill, but you defended yourself. You defended me. I owe you my life, Venie. Frank invaded you, you had every right to push back, alright? But if you really want to make it up to them..." Veneziano looked up at her with tears and snot streaming down his face, shocked to find his sister's face with her own tears in empty eyes.

"Sorellona?"

Fortuna's eyes drifted over to his, never changing, and continued, "If you want to make it up to them, don't forget them. Remember their faces, each and every one. They'll haunt you and make you wish you could forget, but no one would remember them anyway. They'd be lost to time. Don't do that to them." He nodded slowly, and the woman can 'regret' to say, she ignored the small dark flash in her brother's aura.

* * *

In 589, Fortuna noticed Germania and Veneziano getting increasing coughs and fatigue and began worrying. She took care of them whenever she could and cooked and did a small trick that her mother taught her when she was younger.

" **Ragan, why are you pouring alcohol on me**?" Germania asked as the woman poured early whiskey onto his hands.

She grinned, " **Trust me, please? Do you know what this illness is**?" The blonde thought for a minute and shook his head. Fortuna's head fell, " **Alright... Thanks. I'm going to go clean up Venie and then I'm going to go check on Romano**." Germania nodded again and she raised an eyebrow, " **Hey, are you ok? You've been really quiet...** "

" **I'm fine, I just-** " He began hacking into his hands, but managed to get a few words in-between, " **Go-t-to-your-b-b-brot-thers...** " The redhead nodded and collected the bowl of alcohol and walked out.

" **Damn plague** ," He whispered, his sore throat gritting painfully, his hands stained bright red.

589 was the first year Fortuna had seen the plague firsthand. Thankfully, Italia would both get over it, as well as Germania. The plague actually ended up saving the Lombards in the first invasion of the Frank in the next year, but quickly following was the next invasion by the same offenders. Frank did end up meeting her on the battlefield. In an argeement that ended their progression, Fortuna left her brothers again to help them.

Frank guided her back to Austrasia, informing the auburnette about the rough issues that the royal family had this time. " **They are driving me crazy! They've already had several relatives assasinated and it's driving me mad**!" She sighed lightly and patted him on the back.

" **Is there anything I can do**?" He sighed and shook his head.

" **No, I'm just ranting. Just stay away from Fredegund...** "

Annabelle nodded and put an arm around his waist, " **You're too tall, I can't put my arm around your shoulders anymore**." Frank laughed and slipped an arm across her shoulders. " **Jerk**..."

The blonde grinned, " **Shorty**."

" **You are so lucky that it's too late to turn back**." They laughed and continued on, beaten and bloodied.

* * *

With a lighter heart, Jun arrived in China in 592. As she made her way throughout the land, she was happy to note the lively green fields. Once she arrived outside the capital Chang'an, she sent out a customary pulse, the auburnette was surprised by the speedy response from her right. " _ **Hello, Jun Fu**_ ," China said as he strolled up to her.

She grinned, " ** _Hey, China. You're looking well_**!" He nodded happily.

" ** _I haven't been feeling divided since Wen united the surrounding area. I'm feeling better than ever_**!" He said happily. A small rustle emerged from a sprig of bamboo bushes and China removed his aura. He sent her a silent look and Jun repeated the action. A large panda with a small cub in front of it emerged from the brush and Jun smiled lightly. China approached them slowly, crouching, and scratched the larger one behind its ear as the child headbutted China and knocking him over. The man laughed and Jun ended up doing the same.

She watched them silently until they ended up walking away and helped China off the ground, " ** _How did you get them to trust you_**?"

He smiled knowingly, " ** _I learned when to give them space, patience, and love_**." Jun shook her head. " ** _Come on, I have a feeling you're tired. There's someone I want you meet..._** "

" ** _China, what's going on_**?" China grinned and began to lead her into the city. " ** _This isn't Chang'an.._**." She trailed and China nodded his head.

" ** _Emperor Wen thought the other capital was too small, so he had this capital built nearby. I've noticed that some officials are calling this city Daxing_** ," The man explained as they sped walked throughout the large area. They reached the palace in silence and China quickly ushered her in. He lead her around the home and while several people looked at the odd woman. China and Jun smiled knowingly as they walked by, catching some of the snippets.

" ** _Who is tha_** t?"

" ** _Why is there a peasant in the palace_**?"

" ** _Why are her hair and eyes orange, Mother_**?"

" ** _Why is she with Mr. Yang_**?"

Jun shook her head and her friend lead her into a large courtroom where a older chinese man was chatting with a small variety of officials, a decorated woman sitting next to him. The Emperor looked over and nodded to the men, and they silently exited. " ** _Yes, China? May I ask who this is_**?"

China nodded, " ** _This is a friend of mine. This is Jun Fu_**." The woman bowed lowly and rose, looking the Emperor in the eye. Wen nodded to her. " ** _S_ _he is simply here for a visit_**."

Narrowing his eyes, Wen silently judged her, looking at the Persian sword at her side, the Irish one on her back and the various other weapons on her, as well as the strong stance she stood with. " ** _Jun Fu... I think I have heard of you._** " The woman raised an eyebrow, " ** _You are immortal_**." Everyone in the room knew it wasn't a question.

She bowed again, grinned, " ** _Indeed I am. I haven't seen China in a while and decided I would come over. It's been a while since I've sparred with someone._** " China pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

" ** _Jun_**..." He droned out, and the woman sitting next to the Emperor raised a sleeve to giggle behind it. The Emperor cast her a loving look and Jun smiled. "... ** _Tell me you did not come all the way out here to fight me._** "

Wen laughed lightly as Jun turned around quickly, shedding her pack and weapons. " ** _China, don't be too ma_** -" She was cut off as China threw a foot in her face, and she barely dodged it. Taking the foot, she pushed it up and got into a stance as her friend backflipped to land in a standing position again.

" ** _CHILDREN_**!" They paused and starred in surprise at the Empress. " ** _No fighting indoors_**!" The decorated woman smiled to Jun, " ** _It is a pleasure to meet you, but I must ask you to refrain from fighting inside the palace. You can do whatever you wish outdoors_**." Jun's face grew serious as she nodded.

" ** _I thank you, Empress._**..?"

The woman nodded her head lightly, " _ **Dugu Qieluo**_." Jun and China bowed again and exited once the former gathered her possesions.

The auburnette grinned over to China, " _ **I like them**_." He laughed and shook his head.

* * *

Somehow Japan heard where she was and asked to see her for a while. China sighed and relented, leting her go. She had learned to appreciate how easy China went on her and was slowly reteaching her science and math, however she might have not needed it. Back on track...

Japan greeted her with a nod as he lead her wordlessly towards Osaka. " ** _Hello, Japan, why did you call me_**?" Jun asked as she strolled behind the confident child. He didn't answer, but continued to lead her off somewhere. They walked in silence, even as Japan bought them two small bowls of rice to munch on in a break. They stopped to rest as the sun went down, and as she leaned against a tree, the child stood blankly, looking around. " ** _J_ _apan, come here. You can rest on me tonight_**."

A small flush appeared on his face, " _ **I-I do not th-**_ "

She growled, " ** _Japan, you are not sleeping on the ground and I've known you long enough to consider you a young cousin that I don't get to see very often, or maybe even a little brother if you want to stretch it. Now get over here_**." He continued to hestiate and without much thought, the woman reached over and pulled him onto her stomach as she used to do with her Italian brothers. Japan squrimed, trying to get out of her grip. " ** _Child, so help me, just go to bed_**!" His struggles grew weaker and eventually he settled down. " ** _Thanks. I'm sorry for making you do this, but I'm not going to make you sleep on the ground_**."

He hummed and readjusted, hiding his face, but she knew he had a large blush. Jun smiled and hugged him to keep him in place, letting her gaze travel upwards to look at the stars as Japan slowly fell asleep. Birds and crickets sang a soothing song, and she followed the boy's lead. "Good night Rome..."

The next morning, they continued on the journey, still completely silent. The two didn't even try to bring up what happened. They walked until they reached a large temple. " ** _Wow_**..." Japan nodded and walked onward and into the gate. " ** _Um, Japan? Can I-I stay out here_**?"

" ** _Why_**?"

Jun looked down and fiddled with the peach pit ring on her finger, " ** _Um... Personal reasons... Can I stay out here_**?" He shrugged and turned into the gate. She lowered her head and grit her teeth. " ** _Fuck my judgement.._**." She growled.

With a step forward, she entered the buddist temple that she had helped build.

* * *

Jun looked over the letter in late 594 and clenched her fists. " ** _Goddamnit_**." Japan raised his head silently and his eyebrows rose when he saw the tears leeking from his friend's eyes. " ** _God_** _FUCKING_ ** _damnit, Greg. You were the only human left.._**." Japan quickly left the room, correctly leaving her to mourn alone. "Greg..." Gregory, one of her close Frankish friends, one of the wisest men she had ever met, was dead(1). She clenched the letter and growled. Pierre, as Frank had told her in the letter, chirped rapidly and she roared. " _FUCKING BIRD!_ " He chirped, terrified, and dove at her, tearing out a few hairs and flying off.

The woman trembled and fell onto her back, "Can't I just go a few FUCKING years without being in a war or having someone die?" Jun heard the door open and Japan crept in, placing a small doll next to her. She laughed bitterly and clutched the doll. " **Thanks, Japan**." He hummed and walked outside, leaving the door open to the cool winter sun. "Fuck everything..."

* * *

 **Ending on a sad note... Not the way I was hoping this to go to be honest... Small notes, the first part is in 588, then 589 and 590, then I skipped 591 with Frank, 592 with China, 593 and 594 with Japan. Also, to make people even sadder, Japan never forgets the 'few years without...' line and asks Venie later and dies internally.**

 **(1) I'll right a personal oneshot in a PM to the first two people who find out who this is. It isn't very hard... (Note: These two have been filled, but there is a simple drabble request still open *hint hint*)**


	48. Paint it White Special

**Here we go...**

 **Disclaimer:I do not own any form of Hetalia or any of it's dialogue. All rights go to them. This dialogue isn't edited too far.**

 **Also, the oneshot guess is closed as two people have guessed who it is!**

 **AnonChan1: You'll see soon, and prepare your heart. I hated doing it! I know he's old and stuff, but to Lady Luck, her little brother is being forced to grow up! And yes, yes it is. I've also found the reason behind his name, too. "Lucky" Luciano was an American-Italian Gangster. She'll get back at him, she always does. It might take a little more time, but he'll get the trust of that one family. I can see it too... She's also being careful not to get too favoritisic of a particular religion, so she won't go into a religious building unless she has to or is afraid of offending the nation she's with. I tried. And yes it was! He was a close 'friend' of Clovis' sons and grandsons, and he wrote the 'History of the Franks', one of the leading books that gives us information on that time period! He was awesome!**

 **Alright, because everyone seems to speak the same language here, unless I say specifically, it's italicized, it means it's one of the mini-episodes within the story, but some scenes I'm going to skip altogether. Also, I will be using subtitles! Off we go!**

 **Note: Edited (12/14/16)**

* * *

Liberty clenched her fists under the table as she listened to the girl's cry for help. France placed a hand on hers, and she tried to relax, but she couldn't. "That is not one of your..."

She shook her head, her long hair swishing gently, "No, but I used to babysit for her." Her gaze was drawn to the her phone where green light covered the video that America had sent her. She looked up to the television and was horrified to see all the faceless beings walking around.

"Gentlemen! This is an emergency!" Amercia declared from the head of the table. Liberty sighed and straightened her back, looking into the document again. France smiled and took his hand back. As the document in front of you states, a majority of the people around the world have been turned into noppera-" She sent a quick glance over to Japan, who all of a sudden stiffened in his seat. France was looking off into the distance and shot a kiss over to one of the maids who had been staring at him rather creepily. Liberty sighed and smacked him upside the head.

"Focus." He laughed nervously and nodded, and the two tuned back in.

"-by the suspicious beam of light have been shot by noppera-bou! According to my friend Tony, they're Pictonians from the planet Picto, a far-off planet in space!" The nations shook their heads, but didn't question the alien.

Britain slammed a hand on the table, "You watch too many movies, you idiot!" Liberty put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He nodded lightly, and calmed down.

"Dude, they're born as noppera and are planning to turn people on every planet into noppera," The American summarized and took a chance to look around the room, mentally gauging how serious everyone was taking the news. Germany was glaring at the paper to give him answers, Italy was... Being Italy, and Japan just looked startled. "However," He continued, desperately trying to get people to listen, "we cannot allow such a thing to happen on our plant, Earth! Let's put a firm stop to their plans!" Liberty nodded in agreement, as did a few other nations. "By the way..." The woman raised an eyebrow as she leaned back into her seat. "What's a noppera?"

Silence echoed around the room as Japan and Liberty all looked at each other, but finally, the asian nation spoke up, "Well... that's probably..." Everyone came to look at Japan as he explained, "It is a Japanese monster, with no eyes, nose or mouth, called a noppera-bou."

"Oh man! It's Japan's fault they came here?!" Britain asked as he rose out of his seat.

Liberty growled as Japan sputtered to defend himself, "Oh no, I was just explaining what the word noppera means, that's all." But it was too late and the meeting room began to fall into chaos.

"Anyway, I want to hear your opinions on how we can overcome this crisis! Well, since no one has piped in, I'll tell you my idea!"

"Oh no..." Liberty groaned.

America ignored the comment, "We'll simply resist with everything we've got!"

The woman blinked in surprise, "Wow, that was..."

Britain leaned over, "Just wait for it."

"We'll join every country's military together under my command! Gather under my flag!"

The Brit pursed his lips, "There it is."

"Gather under the-a white flag! Flap, flap, flap!" Veneziano piped up, waving said flag.

Liberty sighed and put her head into her arms, "Wake me up if you all actually agree on something." France snorted and nodded. The room then fell into chaos and she let herself drift off into a doze. Through the haze, she could hear France and Britain fighting, Venie declaring he made white flags and put one next to her head, and America gong around, harassing the others. They all began fighting to a higher degree and she sighed, sitting up. She could see Germany getting rather irritated and covered her ears.

"ZAT'S ENOUGH! AS WE SPEAK, MORE OF MANKIND COULD BE GETTING TURNED INTO NOPPERA BY PICTONIANS OR VATEVER! LISTEN! BEING TURNED INTO NOPPERA MEANS WE ALL LOSE OUR FACE, SO WE CAN'T TELL WHO EACH OZER IS! ZINK ABOUT IT CAREFULLY, YOU DUMBASSES!" The woman uncovered her ears and looked around to see everyone still putzing around. Germany sighed and gripped the table.

She shook her head and stood, taking the white flag into her pocket, and left. Liberty heard the room get quiet, and a moment later, Germany left the room. She walked next to him and said nothing as she followed him outside to his car. "Are we going to Gilbert's performance tonight?"

The blonde sighed, "I don't see vhy not. Bruder is just going to pressure me unless I go. Are you going?" She nodded wordlessly and put her head on the window, letting herself doze off.

* * *

Liberty smiled as she saw her albino dance around the stage, "Hey, hey! Now it's time for 'Dancing Prussia', the popular song show made for me, and by me, ze Great Prussia! Today, we start right off with some amazing guests!" Liberty and Germany shook their heads at the extravagant motions the ex-nation was making, the former chuckling quietly. "Believe it or not, we have Ukraine and Belarus! They'll sing' Carrot and Stick'!" The crowd stared as Prussia stumbled to introduce empty air.

"What?! Are all Russian stars like zis!" Liberty let her head fall into her hand and shook her head. People were slowly escorted out of the room and Prussia sighed as he sat on the edge of the fancy stage.

The albino put his head in his hands and his old war buddy came and sat next to him, crossing her legs underneath her white dress. "Hey, Sword. You were great out there," She encouraged, rubbing his back. He growled.

"Why do they always have to leave me hanging?"

Liberty shrugged and pulled him into a hug, "Do you want to go get some beer? We don't need anyone else to to and drink with friends, right?"

He nodded, reaching around to pull her into his lap, "Ya, ya. Thanks, Shield. I'm open to beer. But can we just sit here right now?" Liberty's face was flushed as she nodded and Germany silently got up and left himself. "Hey, was he our ride?" She blinked and scrambled off. "Shit! West! Wait up!"

* * *

The next morning, the three immortals watched cautiously as green blobs of light circled around the clouds. "Vell, I zink it's time for us to go. Hopefully, zose idiots will work togezer," Germany stated as he rose, collecting his dishes. Liberty nodded and picked at her eggs, trying not to get any on her attire, her favorite green trenchcoat that hung over some cargo pants and a black turtleneck.

"Alright. Be safe. Leave your dishes, I'll take care of them..."

Prussia shook his head, kissing her on her crown, "Frau, what kind of guests would we be if we left a mess?"

She grinned back, "What kind of host would I be if I let my guests clean for me?" Germany's groan was heard from the kitchen.

"Not now you two! Bruder, we need to be leaving, not flirting. Liberty, I'll clean the dishes while Bruder gets the bags, don't worry." She sighed and nodded, rubbing her temples. Her head began to pound randomly again and she breathed deeply. Prussia rubbed her back and kissed her on the forehead again.

"The headaches?" The auburnette nodded and he walked off. Within fifteen minutes, the brothers were off, back to their home nation. She stared back up towards the sky and frowned at the alien ships. Walking back inside, Liberty brewed some tea and prepared to bunk down to read for a spell, not literally.

She doesn't remember when it happened, but a sense of foreboding hit her, similar to when she sensed a surprise attack and the woman all but threw herself outside. A large green ray was rapidly turning the city white and heading her way. Mentally bracing herself, she recited an ancient spell Britain had told her long ago. Sadly, she never truly did get a good hand on the after effects and she immediately passed out.

* * *

"Liberty? Liberty!" Germany yelled as he shook her. The woman groaned and opened her eyes, putting a hand to her head. "Are you alright? You appeared out of nowhere..."

"I-I-I'm fine. Is everyone else-"

"S-Sorellona! Are you ok?" Veneziano cried as he plopped down onto the white ground next to her. Wait.. white ground?

Her eyes widened as she sprung up, "Venie? Is everyone o-" A shock passed through her as an aura fading to white in the back of her mind, and her brother's eyes widened in realization. They instantly understood what was wrong. The electrifying feeling of having a massive part of you missing was heart shattering as the sibling just _knew_.

"Italy? Liberty?" Germany tentatively asked, but the woman collapsed into her brother's hold as they bawled their eyes out. "Mein Gott, you're serious... Tell me..."

They shook their heads as the siblings trembled, crumbling to the ground.

"Roma..."

"Fratello..."

They wept for their fallen brother and Germany fell to his knees, "No... If Romano fell, that means..."

"We're vunerable too. Venie, I don't want you out of my sight, ok?" Liberty demanded as she pulled away a little, connecting their foreheads. The two stared into each others' eyes and he nodded. "Come on. If there's something we can do to fix this, Romano's going to be mad if we don't fix it soon." Veneziano nodded and stood first, pulling his sister up.

"Si, let's go help Fratello- Sorellona?" She shook as she felt a green aura turn to white, and then a bubbly violet one do the same, followed by a lazy, mossy green.

Germany put a hand on her shoulder, "Who is it now?"

"P-Pol-land and Fin-nland-d a-and Gr-reec-ce..." The two bowed their heads.

"Come on, we must hurry..."

* * *

For whatever reason, they decided to see the damage done to their landmarks, their pride, their hope. With a heavy heart, Liberty looked over the damage done to Germany's cathedral and Veneziano and Romano's Colosseum. She clenched her fists as she looked over the latter, memories flying through her head. "They went too fucking far..." The woman growled, threading her fingers through her brother's. He squeezed it reassuringly, but Liberty knew it wasn't for her. Dark hair replaced auburn as Luciano emerged.

"Sorellona? Don't-a let me accidentally kill a human when I wipe out their-a fucking race," He snarled. Liberty nodded, trying to ignore the chill going up her back that reminded her of the time when Rome was in the building in front of them. She shook her head. Rome was safe at home with Car-Liberty's eyes widened.

"Shit!" The woman pulled out her phone and attempted to dial her home in America. An empty tone met her ears and she cried. A gentle hand on her shoulder made her turn around to Veneziano's eyes. "Where did Luciano go?"

Her brother shook his head, "He thought-a you'd want a hug and we-a both know he-a doesn't do-a hugs." Liberty laughed a little bit and pulled the taller man into a hug. "Was it another adopted?" She nodded and Venie put his chin on top of her head. "We'll get them back to-a normal. Let's-a go find the-a other, Germany will protect us!" With another nod, the Italians walked off, trying to ignore the aura that was once Romano's that wasn't too far away.

* * *

 _The nations listened irritably as the American continued to stuff his face, "Now, Let's start the meeting to discuss bringing down the Axis of Evil!" He stuffed another burger into his mouth and Liberty could have laughed at the sounds he was making. The glory of sounds again! She closed her eyes, but shook to her horror of the darkness behind her eyes and was forced to open them again. Canada rubbed her back comfortingly and she nodded in appreciation. "I'm the moderator, so listen to me carefully. Really, it's annoying that huge sausage-loving bastard started all this racket." Liberty growled, but he continued anyway. "Well, I bet he's deeply in love with Italy. He's probably chasing after good artwork or Italy's butt. What's so good about his butt? Really, I'm at a loss."_

 _Liberty and Britain stood at the same time._

 _"Alfred F. Jones, Germany's the whole reason-"_

 _"Hey! I can't hear what you're saying. Don't eat while you're talking!"_

 _America brushed both comments, "Oh yeah. Iggy, since you're stupid, I'll stop eating hamburgers so that you can understand what I'm saying. Mom, take a chill pill, I don't think you're ready to stand yet." She growled, but still collapsed into her chair and Kumajirou edged into her lap. She hugged him to calm herself down. Her child simply went to slurping on a drink and was even less understandable than when he was eating the burgers, or 'Liberty Steaks'. Liberty was not amused by either situation._

 _"In other words, I'm the Hero!" The man concluded._

 _Britain yelled, "Shut up!" Liberty chuckled and shook her head, happy she was back witht these idiots_

* * *

 _"H-Hey! It says that Russia took a mysterious dive and broke some bones," France said solmenly. Liberty sat on a nearby couch looking out the window as Britain stitched at his cross-stitch._

 _He absently-minded answered, "Oh yeah..." The Brit snapped out of his senses, "Er, hey, what are you doing here? Go back to your hometown, you wine-loving jerk!"_

 _Liberty shook her head as she watched people outside go about their daily lives, listening to the conversation. "Yeah... I came to hinder your needlework. Also, Annabelle let me in." Britain squawked and looked at her angrily._

 _"Hey, he brought wine. Was I about to say no?" The man sighed and shook his head, putting his circle loom down._

 _"I'm going out to get some air... It smells too much like cheese and betrayal in here," He whispered to himself._

* * *

The siblings managed to find a vintage operating plane and Liberty breathed in wonder as she ran her hand over the side. "This thing bring backs memories..."

Her brother smiled happily, "Sorellona, you-a know how to-a fly this thing?"

"Yeah... I haven't touched one like this since Amelia Earhart though... I'm going to check the gas and hopefully, it should be able to get us to at least Britain," The auburnette replied. Veneziano nodded and climbed inside as Liberty checked the gas, "It's our lucky day, let's get over. Let me do one thing before we leave..." She pulled out her phone and sent off a quick text. 'Is everyone ok?' Several replies were almost instantaneous, but with minor debate, they all agreed to meet on America's coast. She ran a hand through her hair and climbed inside.

Veneziano was already strapped in, "Are-a we ok?" The woman nodded and began turning on the plane and thankfully it turned on. "Here-a we go!" He cheered. Liberty smiled silently as she looked over at how happy her brother was, both attempting to keep a happy demeanor, otherwise they'd breakdown.

The flight was long and they had to stop to refuel, but eventually, the two did manage to reach the superpower without too much more issue. They walked down the large beach and found a large, rag-tag beach with the label 'UN Temporary Headquarters'. Liberty shook her head as she lead the two onto the porch. The G8 Nations, except Romano, were all sitting about on the worndown wood.

Germany was the first to say anything, "As it stands, we're all really going to be turned into Pictonians." France and several others, the woman noted, had changed clothes.

"Give me a break. Who wants that ugly appearance?" The Frenchie said with a frown.

Britain sighed from his place leaning on the fridge, "But to think that our militaries aren't helpful at all..."

"I'm hungry!" Veneziano complained. His sister sighed and went into the kitchen to find anything, the openness of the building allwoing herself to pitch in if necessary.

America strolled up to his older brother, "We're not gonna be discouraged by this! Let us unite for now! Though I don't want to."

Russia smiled, "I agree... Though I don't want to." Liberty growled as she rooted through the pantry.

"I'll also promise that I won't fight again! Though I don't want to," China agreed.

"Let's see... Fish, canned tuna, moldy wheat bread, but there is a few good bananas..." Liberty noted, grabbing the bunch and walking back.

Britain grudgingly agreed, "Though we don't want to," as France agreed in sync.

"Well, in any case, let's share our opinions here..." Japan proposed. Liberty nodded and began handing out the bananas. Russia, China, France, and Japan distastefully took one, but everyone took one as it was likely the only food they'd have for a while.

Germany stood, "All right. Raise your hand if you agree to work together." Nations slowly raised their hands, Veneziano being the last. Liberty looked over at France with a frown. He frowned back and sighed. She bowed her head in respect of his decision.

"Okay then! I'll start off with my idea! That is, to put it bluntly, a hero!" America boldly volunteered, "Let's have a huge hero, who can repel any attack, kick them about!"

Venie joined in on the ridiculousness, "In that case, Japan is more amazing!" He listened off a few animes, which Japan was quick to point out. China also jumped in.

"If you're talking about anime, I have confidence in that area!" Liberty instantly thought about a show that China introduced to her a little while ago, but forgot the name. She could tell everyone else was also thinking of it.

Germany was quick to break everyone out of their stupidity, "Can you guys come up with something a little more realistic?"

Liberty nodded in agreement, "Why is the youngest one of us pointing this out?" China, Japan, Britain and France frowned, but Britain stepped forward.

"I can try to be more realistic, sister, as it is the most realistic." She crossed her arms and frowned.

"Ok, brother. What is it?"

The brit frowned, "If you let me speak, I will!" He revealed a magic circle and the others turned their back on him.

"Hmm... What on earth should we do?"

Britain squawked, "Listen to me when I'm talking, you bastards! Liberty will stand behind me, right?"

"I'm sorry, brother, but I ended up using most of my magic to get away from the large beam not long ago..." Britain sighed and a small beeping, or rather 'fucking' came from the computer at the table. "What the fuck? Since when have we had a computer?" America laughed and his mother shook her head. "Only you, Freddie."

The dirty blonde turned to the computer and grinned as France caught sight of it, "Oh? There goes an alien!"

"That's no alien! That's my friend, Tony!" America protested and Britain facepalmed.

"No matter how you look at him, he's an alien!"

The American ignored the jab and focus on his friend, "What's the matter, Tony? Did you find something?"

Tony looked directly at the camera, "Fucking bitch. Bitch." America looked up to everyone's disturbed faces.

"Oh, I see! Guys! Tony said that he got a top secret picture from the Bureau of Space Development!" His older brothers were stumped and Liberty laughed.

"Hey Tony!" She called, looking at the camera.

The alien nodded, "Bitch."

The woman grinned, "Bastard." The alien pressed a button on his spaceship and a picture came up.

Britain barely looked at it, "What's this? No matter how you look at it, it's photoshopped." America laughed and China leaned in closer to see the image.

"Yeah, he just needs to be scolded. Tony! You shouldn't mock your friend!"

Relaxing back into his chair, Tony simply said, "Bitch fuck."

"What?! It'd better be true this time!" America yelled, slamming his hands on the table, nearly breaking it. Liberty shook her head, laughing into a facepalm.

Tony confirmed it with a thumbs up, "Bitch!"

Her son smiled, "Alright! Good job, Tony!"

"So, what did your friend say?" Japan inquired.

America stood to fully explain, "Yeah, after he gathered information at channel 100, 102 on the biggest message boards in the Galaxy, he was able to obtain the URL of the Pictonians' research site."

Britain relaxed hsi stance, "Whoa! Good thing he's an alien, too!"

"He's my friend!" France shrugged and with a pop, a website popped up in some obscure language.

Germany was quick to speak up, "Hmm, I can't read it at all. Liberty, do you know how to-"

Liberty leaned in to look at it and marveled, "Oh wow. I've never seen anything like this before."

"It's no problem! Tony, please start the translation software!" With a word of enthusiam, the alien started it up and quickly turned it to Japanese. The screen scrolled down and there was a video. It began to play, an hourglass popping up.

"America, tell me again why you're still using fucking windows," The auburnette growled. America laughed and scratched the back of his head.

Britain huffed, "Shut up, you two! It's starting!"

Indeed it was, and it explained the Pictonians' plan with a very comical narrator. They stood around the computer and looked at the device in horror. France was the first to speak up, "Well, sorry that our planet is behind in the times," he snarked. Veneziano grumbled in agreement, followed by Russia.

Tony attempted to break the atmosphere with one of his curses and Japan turned to America, "What does he say this time?"

"The more evolved the planet is, the more noppera the people's faces are..." America explained quietly.

Russia let some of his other's aura peek out as he grinned maliciously, "I see... That's one planet that's thinking something unique." Liberty stepped away from him in worry, falling behind Veneziano. He looked at her lightly and smiled encouragingly.

"Don't they have any weaknesses?" Germany desperately asked and the Italian looked at each other solemnly before their gazes fell to Tony. 'Please let there be something we can do. I feel heartless without my home nation (1)...' Liberty thought desperately.

"They do," Tony said, and everone shouted something different, but along the same lines. "Let's see... Their weaknesses are..." Tensions were high as Tony began typing into his smart phone and Liberty clenched her fists.

* * *

 _Liberty growled as she was flipping through the channels on her television. Her life in Spain was going well and Carina was studying upstairs. The girl was learning to speak Spanish currently and was getting too old to stay with Rom, she would remember him too much if she stayed around him much longer._

 _A commericial flashed on and a familiar voice came on in an ad for a cafe. "Oh hell no!" She bellowed, throwing the remote. It landed with a loud_ twang _as it lodged itself in the wall._

 _Footsteps came from her daughter's room, "Mom, is everything ok? Is your book-"_

 _"It's not the book, just an old friend of mine is being weird again," Liberty explained in Spanish. In english, she asked, "Can you repeat to me the gist of what I just said?"_

 _Carina cocked her head, "That a friend of yours was being weird...?"_

 _The woman nodded, "Very good! So how's your friend doing?"_

 _"H-How did you know?" Carina asked. She sighed nonetheless and handed her phone over. "Sorry, mom."_

 _Liberty smiled and ruffled her hair, "It's fine, but I just want you to be ready for the world ahead of you, ok, darling?" Her daughter laughed at the pun at their constant moving and nodded._

 _"Fine, Mom! Just stop with the jokes! They hurt my heart!"_

 _"Love hurts and I love you a lot!" Carina shook her head again and walked back into her room. Liberty smiled lightly and turned back to the TV. "Spain, I am never letting you live the t-shirts down." She picked up the phone from the wall and ordered two dozen shirts._

* * *

"Their weaknesses..." A few nations were ready to tear the laptop a new one when a green light came on screen and turned it all to white and the camera fizzed out.

"SHIT!" Liberty screamed and threw a punch at the wall. The plywood crippled and she breathed heavily as removed her bloody, scrapped, and most-likely-broken hand. A green light came from outside and everyone charged outside. Liberty growled and tore a strip from her turtleneck and wrapped it loosely. She whispered a few 'magical' words, and soon, the blood at least stopped flowing and the bones knit back together. She sighed and went outside and froze in horror. "They found us..."

The ships began to merge and form a single large... mothership.

"What on earth..." America mumbled.

China added on, "It's growing rapidly!" Veneziano was swinging one of his white flags desperately, but Liberty came over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Venie... Sometimes..." Her brother shook his head.

"Never give up!"

Britain and France took a step forward, "Don't tell me this is..."

"...Their mothership?"

A large breeze pushed off of the ship and everyone braced as best as they could, and Veneziano crashed back into his shorter sister. She grunted as she fell backwards, but still held onto him so he wouldn't fly off. As the gail calmed down, Liberty heard the others talking and smacked her brother's arm lightly. "Venie, get up, you're crushing me!" He squeaked and scrambled off, pulling her up.

"I'm-a sorry, Sorellona! The wind was-a strong than I-a thought and-"

"Venie, let's just listen to the others right now, they seem to be coming up with a plan."

His face fell for a split second before hardening and paying attention. Liberty could barely remember the last time she had seen him this serious, but she remembered his independence wars. Oddly, he ran off to the plane they had taken and she watched him carefully until he came back with a box.

"We'll infiltrate the ship to find their weaknesses!" America declared and the nations jumped to it.

"But how?" France asked.

Veneziano returned with the box and grinned widely, "I've got a good idea!" Everyone looked over and Liberty was surprised that he was suddenly in a blank Teletubbies outfit.

"Venie, what the hell are you wearing?" She asked.

Germany shared her sentiments, "What the hell? What is that?"

Veneziano, being on of the most straight-faced people when saying something stupid or funny, in true fashion, simply said, "A pictonian costume! I made this yesterday using the cloth I keep for white flags!"

Liberty facepalmed, "That's what you were working on yesterday and why all the green lights on the plane disappeared!"

He grinned, "I made one for everyone!" The nations looked over and a few looked... sick to say the least. The woman shrugged and cast off her trenchcoat.

"Fuck my life. It's been long and well-lived, but if I'm going to die, I might as well die laughing because I'll look like a fucking teletubby." America snorted and went to grab one and very quickly, the dam broke. The woman ended up having to cast off her turtleneck and it left her in a black tank top. Everyone changed and within a minute, Germany gave the call.

"CHARGE!" Everyone ran behind and cheered their own battle cries, but Veneziano stood back, forcing Liberty to stay back as well.

"I'll wait here!"

Germany was in his face in a second, "Hey! You're coming, too!"

"What? I don't want to. I'm scared. To be honest, I didn't make the costumes for that purpose. It was just a joke! A joke!" His voice began to fall in volume, and the auburnette half-suspected it was to try to relieve the headache that Luciano was giving him.

Germany straightened and with it, his resolve. "Then, stay here alone. Liberty, come on."

She glared at him, "If Venie's staying, I'm staying. I'm not leaving him to be turned into noppera alone. I already let one brother be turned alone. I'm not leaving another."

Her brother panicked, "We're going to be turned into noppera if we stay?! Wait for me!" Veneziano took off after the group and Liberty smiled, watching Germany follow behind.

"Roma, I'm taking care of him as best as I can." She took their lead and charged after them. The amount of Pictonians were minimal when they managed to get on and all of the white was giving Liberty a headache. With a jolt, they took off.

* * *

 _Fortuna looked at some of the books in Veneziano's home and sighed. "Venie, why you not have any real literature!" He looked up from his book and grinned sloppily._

 _"Sorry, Sorellona. I-a don't have too much time for reading, I'm always-a off doing something-a else!" She sighed, but left it alone. Japan wandered into the room and the two friends shared a brief nod._

 _"Hello, Jun. How are you?"_

 _"I'm good. How are you?"_

 _He smiled politely, "I am well..." His gaze turned to Venie, "Italy-san, what is that you're reading?"_

 _The man looked up and smiled at his friend, "Oh, this? My combat record!" Liberty laughed as she walked over._

 _"Damn, I remember most of them! That one was one of my adopted. Venie, I still don't know why, but you FOUGHT for my attention when I was with her! Ooh! And these women! They were all over yo-" Japan took the book and slammed it over her mouth. The Italians laughed and she took it off. "-Your cats." The bright flush on Japan's face would probably not die down for a few hours._

* * *

America led the lead on the espionage and he looked back after he checked the coast, "All right! Follow my instructions! Russia, back me up. China, back me up. France and Britain, back me up. Germany... Hm ?"

The strict blonde held up 8 sticks and Liberty narrowed her eyes lightly, but nodded at the good method, "We'll split into three groups using lots and then go search. Liberty... You're...?"

"Staying with Venie. I'm not losing another Roman," She stated and some of the older siblings nodded in understanding with a grim look on their face.

America growled, "Hey! You're ignoring me?!"

Britain and France ended up drawing the same lot to find the info room, then America, China, and Russia to find the self-destruct button in the cockpit, and finally, Japan, Germany, and the Italians were off to find and rescue the captured earthlings.

Germany and Japan led the group as Venie took the middle and Liberty the rear to keep an eye on them.

"Hey, where are we going?"

The blonde looked over his shoulder, "We'll go rescue the earthling who got turned into Pictonians!"

"There's got to be a housing facility somewhere!" Japan huffed. A ...blobby... sound echoed throughout the halls.

"But there's something weird! It was like they were acting as Pictonians once they were pictonians!" Liberty added, just as the blobby sound was heard within the distance, rather, right in front of them.

There was a battalion of the figures rapidly approaching them, and Germany and Japan pulled the two back. Venie was held back my Japan and he whimpered, "A whole bunch of them are coming!"

She grabbed his hand in comfort, "Venie, I'd rather die than have you transformed. Hold o-" Japan gasped as he looked around.

"Mr. Germany! Look over there!" They looked up and Liberty smiled in relief at the vent. It took a bit of teamwork, but they all managed to get in there in time. A loud bell rung throughout the building within minutes.

"What's going on? There's quite a commotion outside..." Germany asserted.

Japan agreed, "Could it be that something happened to the others?" A meow was heard and made Liberty pound her head on the vent wall.

"Venie, don't tell me-"

"What the hell, Italy?! When'd you sneak in something like that?!" Germany reprimanded.

The Italian smiled, "What? It somehow relaxes me, so..."

His sister sighed, "If it keeps him calm, let him keep the fuckin' cat."

Germany growled, but it somehow set off the cat. It launched at his face and the man began thrashing to get it lose but it wasn't working, "Hey! Stop it! Don't scratch me!"

Japan was panicking, "Uhm, please don't go on a rampage in a place like this!" Sadly...

 ** _CRASH_**

The four, five if you include the cat, fell through the vent and fell to the ground. Sadly, albeit luckily, they all fell on their backs and not their heads, arms, legs, or neck, and all had the wind knocked out of them. Liberty gasped for air, but it hurt. Venie gasped for air as well and she crawled over, taking his hand tightly. Managing to hold a different status of immortal, the nations were able to recover quicker and looked at the situation. By the way Veneziano gripped her hand, they were surrounded.

The others panicked and slowly, she got her air back and sat up. Indeed they were completely surrounded.

"Fuck."

* * *

 _"Germany, Germany! I wrote a song for you!" Veneziano cheered, holding up one of his acoustic guitars._

 _"Wha...? For me? Even though I'm your enemy? Okay. Let me hear it," Germany resigned, leaning against a wall. He occasionally cast gazes over to the identical female over in the corner and noted how once she noticed the instrument, took a seat on the floor and leaned against a bookshelf._

 _With a delicate strum of the strings, Veneziano began the song and a smile grew on the siblings' faces. Liberty seemed to talk absolute joy in her brother's playing, and he seemed more than happy to play for her. Germany listened to the lyrics that the girl translated easily, although in the voice of a dying elephant seal. It was within the lyrics that he decided on thing- He's gotta go._

 _With little remorse, he packaged the boy back home in a literal box._

* * *

 _"Hey, hey, Germany! What're you doing? Let's play football together!"_

 _The man looked over from his story to the man poking his hand, "I'm reading."_

 _"It's a beautiful day! I-a don't know where Sorellona is, so play football with me!" Germany looked over at him in exasperation and a small amount of guilt. The Italian began patting the muscly man's hand around, "Hey, Germany! Let's play football! Football! Hey! Football! Football! Germany! Germany!" He stuck the blonde's hand with two fingers and he snapped._

 _"Vat're you trying to do?! And vat does that word even mean, Sorellona?"_

 _Veneziano's smile faltered lightly, "It-a means big sister! That's-a what I call Fort- Liberty! Nowadays, if I-a ask, she'll normally come right-a over, but I can't-a find her!" Germany's guilt grew, but simply marked his page._

 _"Fine, I'll play football with you." Venie cheered, but his heart clenched as he remembered his search for his sister, but she was strong, she'd be fine!_

* * *

The first to react was Japan, "Now that it's come to this, there's no other choice! Pictonians! We've come to show you our hospitality!" Everyone gasped and sputtered. Liberty facepalmed, 'leave it to the most hospitable nation on Earth to welcome our deaths...'

Japan turned around, "Everyone, calm down and think about it carefully. It's true that they came to invade the Earth, but they're our guests who came from the faraway planet, Picto. It's very natural as a Japanese- no, as an earthling- to show hospitality to our guests! Now, let's hold a reception for the Pictonians!"

The Russian was first to break the stunned silence, "Reception?"

"Hospi..." France began.

Germany picked it up, "...tality?" Everyone else seemed to accept it as a farfetched idea, but they accepted it nonetheless.

"Okay then! At this point, why don't we try anything?!" Liberty smiled up at her son.

"That's the spirit, Freddie." He laughed and to everyone's surprise, literal red question marks appeared over all of the Pictonians' heads.

China took the first turn, and somehow created a mini-Chinatown inside the ship. "When it comes to receptions, leave it to me!" Somehow, humans were able to go about and help serve and China raised an eyebrow at Liberty. She sighed and went backstage as the Pictonians ate, changing into an old flowing sleeve dress for one of her oldest known dances, her water sleeve dance. The slow and deliberate dance was like dancing with ribbons, but the cloth was meant to gather back up to be launched back outwards. The performance ended and she and the other actors walked off and she quickly returned to her tank top and cargos.

The 4000 year old nation nodded his thanks as he took back the outfit. Then he whispered in her ear, "They are not enjoying themselves yet. Cheese monkey is next."

Liberty nodded and walked towards France as he began. He shook his head and she sighed in relief, she didn't have to do anything. Then came Russia when his predecessor failed. His attraction: Ballet.

The Baltic states trembled as they were forced onstage. Let's just say, as Swan Lake played, it was weird having Latvia be Odette. Even years later, no one brought that particular play up. Russia still failed however, and it was Germany's turn, but however, he could not even pour his precious beer to outsiders. Thus, America took over.

The casino was weird, especially with all the bunny girls around. The nation was about to give a peace treaty, but Japan stepped in.

Liberty had taken to resting on the far wall, but still kept tabs. Japan managed to throw one of the most beautiful festivals the she had ever seen and smiled as she saw a few nations enjoying themselves. Soon Britain was ready with the gifts and all was coming to a wrap. She shook her head as her brother yelled with the others as they held the gift baskets.

"All right! They look super happy!" America yelled in joy.

Japan looked over to the gifter, "By the way, Mr. Britain, what's in those bags?"

"What else?! Of course, it's scones specially made by me!"

Liberty stood, "You, or Ollie?"

He huffed, "I wasn't about to let that psycho to poison the Pictonians! I made them!" The others' reactions had one feeling: absolute horror. They looked over to see the beings eating the scones and as their moods quickly turned sour.

"L-Looks like it's turning out quite bad!"

"What? Why?"

The woman of the group punched him on the shoulder lightly, "It's because of your damn scones!"

Veneziano noticed the hostile mood and took the british snack out of his mouth, "What's the matter everyone?! Let's play more!" His goofy manner made Liberty shake her head again at his blind bravery. The aliens began to disagree and when they were distracted...

"I don't know what's going on, but for now, retreat!" Germany called, and everyone was quick to agree, turning tail.

"What?! Wait for me!" Liberty took the rear of the run and kept an eye on everyone as they ran off and she growled as she pushed her brother onward. The Pictonians took quick notice and as she turned back, she shook as she saw they faceless beings gaining. She swore she saw muscles twitching underneath the skin into a frown and her heart jumped around rapidly in her chest. Her group took one of their original routes and jumped into the exact corridor they had first arrived in.

Germany, in the lead, kicked out the door ad with a look back, at all of the Pictonians rushing at them with who knows what intentions, and with resolve, he jumped. And as monkey see monkey d- fuck that, these guys were running for their fucking lives. "MOVE, VENIE! It's just another race!" He opened and eye and looked at her with a smile. He paused right before the door and as much as she would beat herself up over it, Liberty accidentally slammed into him and his palms scrapped lightly. They plummeted towards the ocean and with one last glance up, Liberty noticed the stars and mentally graphed their general position before she landed feet-first into the cold water.

* * *

 _"We finally invented a machine that can make perfect boiled eggs!" Britain announced proudly to the meeting room. "It's a state-of-the-art boiled egg manufacturing machine that, we, the British Empire, marshaled our intelligence to create. We spent several years on the concept and its development took... So... Our long years of effort were worth it and now we can make delicious boiled eggs by using technologies that not other country can imitate." Liberty laughed airily, not even looking as America cracked a hard boiled egg from his breakfast on his brother's head._

 _"Seems like some years wasted if you ask me. Whatever happened to home-cooked? We all know there's nothing better if you're a decent cook!"_

 _America hummed in agreement, "She's got you there, Artie!"_

 _"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?!"_

 _Years later..._

 _Britain perked and nodded, "We finally invented a machine that can release beer-foam without a mess!" The brit barely got through his sentence before France smacked him in the head with a beer. The foamy slush gushed over the top and dripped into Britain's hair. Liberty watched as the blonde slowly processed what just happened. "You bastard! There's no need to hit me with the beer, is there?" He yelled as he attacked his offender._

 _"Yes There is!" She laughed and shook her head, reaching over to serve herself some beer._

 _China sighed as she took a long gulp, "It's another peaceful day today for the Allied countries."_

 _She looked over and wipe the foam from her mouth, "Allies? China, it's been 20 years!" China blinked and shook his head._

 _"I'm getting too old..."_

* * *

When Liberty woke up, she was lying on an unknown beach, and the moon had not moved too far, so it had been over a 24 hours, or a mild time pass. Liberty decided on the latter. She looked around, seeing Veneziano sitting next to her, the cat sitting in his lap happily. "S-Sorellona! Y-You're awake!" She nodded, holding her head.

"Y-Yeah. How long was I..."

"Not too long, but I-a don't know where the-a others are..." He whimpered and his stomach grumbled.

Her eyebrows rose as she carefully sat up, "When was the last time you ate, Venie?" The man looked down and she let a tear go down her eye at the display of love. "Let's get you some food." Veneziano nodded happily. "It's been a while since we've all done this, huh? We've come to rely too much on the modern world," Liberty noted as she shakily stood. Her brother watched her carefully and watched as she removed her shoes, and from there, shoelaces. "I'm going to get some wood, are you going to be ok?" He looked up at the sky and nodded.

The woman smiled and walked towards the jungle and tried not to venture too far into the brush to gather the fire-food. With a large curved branch, some kindle, and smaller logs, she returned as she could. Veneziano was still where she left him and began helping her start the fire. Under their hands, a bright orange flame was born and it soon flared into a decent blaze. "Alright... I have a few leftover sticks... I can try fishing but I don't think we'd catch anything..."

The two hummed and he looked over her shoulder in surprise, "Is that a pot?" Liberty looked over in shock. Indeed, it was a random-ass, dented bucket. "We can-a make pasta!" She looked back to Venie.

"Do you have some on you?" He laughed, pulling some out of his jumpsuit.

"Do you forget I-a never leave home without-a it?" She shook her head and went to clean out the makeshift pot. "The-a seawater should be-a fine! We just-a need to-a boil it longer!" Liberty nodded and went to clean it out. Within minutes, they had the pasta boiling over the fire, tied up by the shoelaces, and Venie sighed as he stirred the pot. "I-a hope the others are ok. Sorellona?"

Liberty nodded and closed her eyes. Her third sense spread out and took in a sharp intake of breath as she saw a pale blue aura beginning to flicker. She opened her eyes and stared at her brother. "Venie, you need to do your thing."

Veneziano sighed and closed. He lowly whispered a prayer and Liberty relaxed as a calming and a hopeful wave washed over her and, hopefully, the entire island. He sighed again and stared happily into the pasta. "I'm-a hungry..." Within minutes, all of the nations were gathering in the background. The two noticed this and Venie stood, "Guys! We-a were waiting for-a you guys! The-a pasta will be ready soon, okay?!" He smiled and laughed, and his sister knew that he was happy that all of his friends had made it alive. After all, the Italian siblings all feared one thing- being completely alone.

"Hello, everyone!" A faint british voice called out. Liberty groaned and looked over the horizon. As glad as she was to see another one of her sons safe, she would prefer this one to go into hiding and stay safe.

Everyone looked out at the ocean and a lighted platform caught their attention. A small boy stood on the helm, waving, "It's me, Sealand! I found your whereabouts using the Internet, my specialty, and came with my entire island to rescue you!" Britain growled and dashed as close to the water as he could without getting wet.

"You don't have to! You'll become a burden instead, right, you idiot?!" Liberty was right behind him.

"Sealand, I don't want you getting hurt! This is a job for the adults!" She knew she didn't get through, but still tried.

* * *

 _"Hey, Japan. Some kid has been making a racket for a while now..." Liberty sighed as she sipped the tea that Japan served, placing her cup down. She just hoped it wasn't what, or rather who, she thought it was._

 _Japan lowered his cup, "Really? Sorry... But... I live alone." As a thoughtful look crossed over his face, Liberty heard a ball bounce in the front yard and she sighed._

 _"Japan, I have some quick business to take care of. Excuse me," She whispered and the asian nation nodded silently. The woman walked out to the garden and smiled as a memory played out, one of long ago. The memory of playing ball was cut off as Britain pulled the door open._

 _He ran a hand through his hair, "Japan just offered me a bath. Tell me, do you hear the laughing too? The little girl." She clenched her fist and shook her head._

 _"Sorry, Brother. I don't..." He nodded and walked off and Liberty climbed into the garden. "It's getting late, little one." A ball bounced and ended at her feet and she looked up to see an old friend. "Hello again."_

 _The kappa smiled, "It's been a while." She nodded and smiled gently._

 _"Indeed it has. A friend of mine is preparing to take a bath, but he has to unpack, so he should be a while." The being nodded and walked past her._

 _"I thought you'd want it back. She lost it when-"_

 _"I know. Good day, Mr. Kappa."_

 _Later in the night... A shriek woke Liberty and she grabbed the gun from her bedside as she rose to her feet. "So you were the one making all that noise earlier! Wait up!" The auburnette sighed in relief as she clicked the safety back on and walked to a window to see her brother running around pointlessly, and for a moment she thought she saw... "Hey! Dammit! You're so quick! Stop!" The running light ran him towards her room and she stepped aside, the brit crashing into the room and made a hole in the wall. "Who the hell are you?"_

 _His sister growled, "Al, stop shouting and stop using such language among children. Little one," she whispered down at the light that shifted. "Don't make so much trouble and you need to move on. Big Brother is fine and your promise is fulfilled." The child smiled and relaxed. "Thank you..."_

 _Britain groaned, "Bloody hell..." Liberty growled again and grabbed him by the collar to throw him out of the room._

 _"Go back to bed."_

* * *

Liberty shook her head as the nations chowed down on a mix of pasta and chinese food, her lap being a pillow for Veneziano. He laid on the ground and she looked into his eyes, blinking slowly. He was no stranger to 'kitty winks', a cat's slow blink that said essentially, "I love you." He smiled and pet her hair lightly, returning the actions. They smiled, enjoying the temporary peace. He was in a half-nap, ready to fall completely asleep if he felt safe enough.

"Geez... How can he take it easy and sleep at a time like this?!" Germany questioned. Liberty carefully pet at her brother's hair, avoiding the curl.

"Venie's trying to get away right now. The world is falling, Roma is... and chances are, we won't be able to run forever.

"And in thanks to him, we were able to have some food, so let us give him his rest," Japan added, staring at his old ally.

China pouted, "Hey! I contributed, too!"

Russia let his curiosity show onto his face, "At any rate, I wonder why they stopped attacking for a moment when they saw Italy?" Everyone looked curiously at the said half-nation. His sister smiled down on him, knowing a good reason why.

'Venie is a ray of sunshine, no matter what happens.'

"I bet just got dumbfounded by his happy-go-lucky face, that's all," France pitched in. The woman looked up in surprise, but just ended up shaking her head. 'Of course Frank would know.'

"Yeah, that must be it!" Britain agreed, laughing. The others joined in and Germany looked over at the sleeping man. Liberty caught his glance and shot him a wink and a subtle finger over her lips, 'to be quiet'. He frowned but nodded. Neither noticed Japan taking note.

A growing rumble caught the German's attention and he stood, "They're here!"

"It appears so," Japan agreed. Liberty searched her person for a weapon and sighed when all she found was Venie's white flag. She pulled off the fabric and held the small baton. 'It's better than nothing.' The nations panicked as the spaceship drew closer and she noticed Sealand get a glint in his eye.

"Sealand, don't!" She roared, but she was held down by Veneziano. It was too late, the young nation ran off towards his land.

"Ah, you idiot! It's dangerous!" Britain yelled, and it was too late for him to do anything either.

Somehow, Sealand managed to jump onboard his deck, "I'll be fine!" Liberty began to tremble, getting her brother's head off of her. He whined, but Liberty was already racing towards the beach. The old fort was moving and guns emerged, but it was too late.

Liberty fell to her knees as another aura turned white, "Sealand..." She looked back and saw Britain in a similar state, but to a lesser extent. The ship took a crash landing into the sea, but she didn't notice. "Sealand..."

Another nation.

Another nation who trusted her to take care of them.

Another nation who trusted her to take care of them and she failed.

She failed. How many more times would- A thundering charge made her look up and her gaze reddened. It grew more and more crimson until she couldn't see anything else but. She heard Germany calling her brother to get up, how desperate the man sounded. Her brother, her dear brother, her last true remnant of Romano, sounded so confused as he rose out of his doze and the need to protect him made her able to see again. She rushed over to stand in front of him.

"I will not let you get him. Stay away from Italia." Italia. The peninsula of Italy. She hated referring to the nation as one person, but it wasn't right anymore.

The full impact of what was going on hit him and Veneziano panicked. Germany tried to snap him out of it, but the cat the redhead had escaped into the bushes and his 'owner' jumped in after him. Germany called after him, but Britain called him back. She didn't hear what, but the Pictonians were here.

* * *

 _Liberty smiled as she walked alongside Veneziano, well, until Japan came into view. "Good morning Japan!" He called, running up with a fast foot. The poor Japanese man barely had time to turn around before- "Hug!" -he was pulled into a hug._

 _He sputtered as a bright flush came over his face, "Wh...Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What're you doing?!" With surprising strength, Japan pushed the bouncy Italian straight into the other Italian. "This is my first time!" Liberty laughed and pushed her brother off of her. It didn't help that Venie looked so confused and looked like he had just slaughtered an entire litter of kittens._

 _"Oh, that's bullshit!"_

 _Japan still shook his head and dove into the comfort of covering clothes almost magically, "I-In any case, I want you to take responsibility." Venie's facial expression didn't change and Liberty didn't help as she rolled on her back, cackling her face off. Prussia needed to hear about this!_

* * *

 _Fortuna watched her little brother standing by the river by Holy Rome. She shook her head as they simply clutched each others' hands in need and saying the other's names. "For peaches' sake..." (This was left on a 'To be continued...)_

* * *

Liberty raised her baton as the Pictonians charged. Pulling together every ounce of blind bravery and battle experience, she attempted to hold of the Pictonians off. She caught small glances of everyone, Britain and France fighting back to back, Germany and the US fighting in their own hand-to-hand combat, Russian in.. hand-to-face combat, and China and Japan fighting with a wok and stick respectively. A large glow caught her attention and she glanced over.

"CHINA!" She screamed, seeing his hands a solid white form.

Green blobs flew at America and she watched in horror as his foot was hit, "FREDDIE!" She growled and began working her way back, dodging green blobs of her own to the best of her ability.

Britain was hit next in the chest as he cried out to his little brother, "BRITAIN!"

Before her eyes, Russia fell, then France, then Japan. She managed to get over to the tree line and she stood in front of the bushes where her brother was. "Stay strong, Germany!" He roared at the Pictonians and together, despite their different positions, charged various Pictonians, but Liberty never drifted far from her brother. "I'D RATHER DIED THAN HAVE VENIE KILLED!" She screamed as tears ran down her cheeks.

The Pictos decided a new strategy and three decided to overpower Germany. They covered his torso and a green glow came underneath their bodies. Germany was lost. His screams sent echoes through her senses and she heard the cries of her other fallen friends and family.

The worst of all was Veneziano's. She screamed, her promise from long ago was broken, to keep pain out of her sunshine's heart.

Germany's last words begged him to smile. Liberty didn't know anymore if he knew it would fix their problem or if, as the last thing he would see, one last smile. The Pictos surrounded the remaining two immortals and in an effort to get them both, sent off a line of blows. Liberty sobbed and stood directly in front of her brother.

She peeked over her shoulder and offered a twisted smile, "Smile, Venie? For me? Luci?"

The shock of it all hit her and wasn't painful, not at first. But after those words, pain torn through her, just as painful as when she had gotten sent back. The blobs' effect tore through her being turning her to white and changing her very being. Her aura was being ripped apart; torn apart, and warped and reformed. She tried to fight it, trying to keep her soul together, but it was no use. The being she was becoming fell to her knees and the last thing she heard was Veneziano was pleading with the Pictonians and the strum of an electric guitar.

Suddenly, she was no more. She remembers being suddenly confused and a pressure on her face and being very happy.

Liberty gained a bit of sense back, but she was still a Noppera. She felt as though she was looking through a screen and found Venie. He smiled and her and she nodded with a deep curtsy and bow. She wandered over and found a random puddle and shook her head as she saw the frown drawn on her face. 'Is that what I'm like now-a-days? Frowning constantly?' Everyone began freaking out and she looked over and to her joy, Germany began turning back. Slowly, all the nations began turning back and she looked down.

A feeling, one that Liberty can only describe as being reborn with a large weight off your back, took over and she felt herself revert back slowly. Her soul was reformed to a whole that she hadn't felt in millennia and she cried.

For the first time in a while, she cried in pure happiness. Not a single shred of fear struck her, no sadness, no loneliness. Only hope.

 ** _Only hope._**

* * *

 _The woman sighed as she sank into the woman's hot spring, the men's hot spring on the other side of a fence. Japan and Venie were relaxing in the other hot spring and she sunk into the hot water and let it seep into her muscles. She let herself sink until only the top of her face was under, but she could still hear the tow allies chatting. Her brother shrieked and she jumped lightly. "Fratello, are you ok?"_

 _All she heard was her brother screaming about how amazing something was and she shook her head, sinking under the water._

* * *

Liberty watched as the national monuments and panicked internally. "Thank you for turning them bac-" The Italian male began, but paused as a large green blob emerged from the crowd. A blank form transformed into a Pictonian woman with what looked like an insulated dress and cape and long, flowing hair. France and England shouted their protests, but Liberty paid them no mind as the woman flew closer to Veneziano's face. Liberty prepared to step in front of him, but a few locks of hair turned a dark russet.

A hand was thrown in front of her and she looked at the single purple eye that she could seen and caught the message, nodding. Veneziano took back over and by the time he refocused, the representation was floating in front of him. "I am really sorry for all the fuss we caused. We came to conquer this planet, but since this place is somehow very fun, we'll leave without changing it. You drew faces for us, too," She gracefully said. Liberty was in complete awe of her voice, as were several others. The alien woman continued, "We'll responsibly turn other people back to their old selves and bring them back to their own country. So please do not worry..."

The woman trailed, hesitant, "Also... May I have that?" Veneziano, Germany, and Liberty looked at each other before looking at the marker the oldest of them was holding. "We do not have any of those on our planet..." She explained.

Veneziano smiled, "Sure! No problem! Here!" With a light flourish, he held it just before the bubble and the woman gently reached her hands out to receive it.

"Thank you very much," She said. The Pictonian held it to her face and Liberty could tell, if the other woman had a face, she would have had a smile on her face that would have made the Mona Lisa and angels jealous. "I'll cherish it forever."

The nations watched as the normal Pictonians they were fighting slowly loaded onto the ship for relocation and the leader bid them farewell.

Faster than they had arrived, the Pictonians loaded back up and the immortals watched happily as their citizens were getting loaded up to go home. They could be whole again, but in Liberty's case, she felt empty without a nation to call her own. Had it not been for America and the adrenaline in the final fight, she would have stopped long ago. She looked and saw Germany almost smiling at her brother and she elbowed him lightly.

He looked at her in surprise. "I still expect you to take care of him, regardless of your failed proposal," The auburnette grunted. He huffed.

"I was planning on it."

Liberty nodded. "Wait. How are we going to get home?"

* * *

 _Liberty stumbled into the ancient home and threw off her shoes, "Roma?" Loud footsteps echoed as a character stomped towards her._

 _"RAGAZZA, WHAT-A THE FUCK HAPPENED? ALL-A I FUCKING REMEMBER IS A GREEN ASS-A LIGHT AND EVERYTHING GOING BLACK AND THEN I'M-A WAKING UP IN-A MY BED AND SOME OF MY TOMATOES LOOK LIKE YOUR-A BOYFRIEND! HE-A WON'T LEAVE-A ME ALONE EITHER!" Romano grabbed onto her shoulders and began shaking her. Tears began pouring out of her eyes again as she pulled out of his grasp and pulled him into a hug, clinging to him for dear life._

 _"Italia, don't you dare EVER disappear again," She bawled. Romano looked at her with wide eyes._

 _"Carina, what happened?" She shook her head and just clung to him, crying her eyes out. He sighed and returned the hug, kissing the top of her head. "Whatever happened, it-a won't happen again."_

 _Liberty nodded and let go, "Come on. Let's go look at those albino tomatoes, shall we?"_

* * *

 _"Frau!" Gilbert hollered as he met her at the airport. People looked over at him with mixed glances, but shrugged it off. Liberty laughed and ran to her boyfriend. "I heard what happened from West, are jou ok?"_

 _She looked at him with teary eyes, happy to see him safe in one piece, "I am now, my sword. Were you..." Gilbert shook his head._

 _"I vas off visiting Switzy for a while. Nothing happened there," He whispered and the auburnette sighed in relief. "I know. They had no idea or at least Switzy didn't want Liech to know." She nodded in understanding._

 _She ran a hand through her hair, "Can we just go home? I've had a rough week. I just want to stuff myself like the french right now." The albino laughed deeply and Liberty grinned as she felt the vibrations in his chest._

 _"Come here jou dork," He whispered, bringing her in for a kiss._

* * *

 _"Carina?" Liberty called as she entered the two story home in Maine. Small footsteps echoed throughout the home as a tiny child carrying a tiny brown teddy bar came around the corner._

 _"MAMA!" The not-quite-kid-not-quite-toddler raced for her parent and Liberty scooped her into her arms. "MAMA! I MISSED YOU! Grampa Nova was really scared last week! He disappeared for a little while too, but I don't remember when... I just remember a green light when I was on the TV watching about two guys named after countries were helping these guys out!" Liberty laughed._

 _"It was all a dream, little one. Just a very odd dream." Carina nodded and seemed to accept that. "Alright, do you know where Grampa Nova is now?"_

 _"He's in the wine again!"_

 _"Thanks."_

* * *

 **Done, gotta go! Also, I learned that things go so much faster if there's not much research.**

 **(1) Liberty just lost her nation, and people are nothing without their nation, just like vice versa. There's a few things keeping her going, but not many.**


	49. Chapter 45

**Hey guys! I'm posting this either short chapter or late chapter because I'm leaving for family stuff. Fun. But anyway, I've been having a hard time (Mostly because of heart attacks) placing different countries and their pasts. Austria, for example, was settled by slavs and they were ruled by germanics or similar in the 13th centuries. It would explain his purple eyes, that's for sure, but then the Germanic part kicks in and all is as we know it! But as for the heart attack, some of the only other people who have purple eys and were settled by slavs were the Kievan Rus family. Austria's related to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine! Also, it is so nice to hear from you guys! I want to hear feedback, I don't care if it's "This story needs some work..." (reasons why, please) or if you just say if you like something! Please, I want to hear back from you!**

 **AnonChan1: I hoped you liked last chapter! I'm good! You? Japan really can't... She's there for him! She's his shield! Yeah, it is. Most immortals didn't get where they were without getting some sense of self-preservation. I HAD TO, MY BABIES. Lady Luck has not met 2P!Rome, I have no knowledge of that side. And you know what's going to happen, she has to readjust to daily life again. Thank you~! She's going to learn with America, hopefully. Also, funny story, I went through the story and made a 'set in stone' list, and my mom got ahold of the list and wrote 'peanut butter jelly time-2016'. Fuckin' love you mom. Please don't read this, but its probably too late though. I hope there's not, there'll be Daphne jokes. And maybe later, I just made a long chapter and I'm not doing that until at least 1200. Of course he made shirts! Baby Carina is just confused as to why they have four dozen 'why don't you just shut up' tshirts. You will, but not for a long time, and ooooh yeah. That can be taken badly. Eh, Pros-cons. She's just learned not to try, except with America, who thinks her singing is the greatest thing, influencing him in the same way England's cooking did. DAMN STRAIGHT. And Venie's 'thing' will come up. The precious baby child is coming faster than I'd thought. I blame Sealand. The peach curse will be heavily influenced by a certain character and the high middle ages where she wouldn't have been able to curse in public without losing all of her influence. FUCK THE GENRE, I RUN THIS STORY. A little, I ship them and they're heavily implied. Thank you~! And I think this is one of the first chapters where everything doesn't go FUCKING WRONG. WORSE PART, ITS THE 50TH FUCKING CHAPTER. GODDAMNIT. Especially you Rome. He did all of this.**

Old English/letter

 ** _Latin (As in the latin Rome spoke)_**

 _Old Irish_

 **Middle Chinese**

Middle Persian

 **Old Korean**

 _ **Italian/ Vulgar latin**_

 _ **Note: Updated (12/13/16)**_

* * *

Sailing around Africa in 595, she landed in Britain in 596, near the upper-east coast, Elizabeth sighed as she read over the letter Frank had sent in October. Childebert had died and Brunhilda was ruling as regent for her grandsons. She pinched the bridge of her nose and stuck the page in a random page of her spellbook along with all over her letters. She had taken a spare spare of paper and wished Frank luck. Brunhilda wasn't done with her path of destruction.

She sighed and climbed off. The crew nodded to the lady and she returned the gesture. She had kept to herself this trip, so the men weren't all that friendly. A redhead nearby growled and Elizabeth snorted back. "Hey, asshole, where's Al?"

Scotland shrugged, "Do I look li'e I give a shi'?" Elizabeth shook her head and readjusted her pack. "Wha' the 'ell took ye so lon', bitch?" The kid had grown slightly since she had seen him, but he was still shorter than her.

"Finding ships to take me from China to England isn't easy. I had to wait a few days between stops and I didn't even know I was late for something," She quipped when they began walking. He chewed on a small stick and she could tell it was due to either stress or irritaion. "What's got you so pissed?" The redhead shook his head and Elizabeth sighed. "Fine, but I'll find out." They walked until they reached a large battle camp and various soldiers looked up. A few stared at Elizabeth and her sword and she frowned at them, moving her cloak ever so slightly to show the other and pugio strapped tightly to her leg. Most looked down in acknowledgement of the threat and she sighed.

Scotland looked over curiously and grinned, "Puttin' them in th'r place, lass?" She snorted, facing him.

"I have to. I don't want any to lose something precious if they try something. Want to- YO, AL!" The short blonde yelped as he turned around quickly and he was soon on his back and his sister tackled him.

"You crazy wench, get the fuck off- you want to go?!" He yelled. Scotland shook his head as he watched his brother and theoretical half-sister wrestle and snorted as they both came out with a split lip and a large bruise on their face. "What the fuck, Bess?"

She grinned and ruffled his hair, casting off her pack and swords, "I missed you, Al. What's going on? Li'l Red isn't giving anything u-"

Scotland huffed as he lowered his leg. Englaland shook his head as he helped his kicked sister out of the dirt, "I totally deserved that."

"You think," The blonde growled. "If you two can stop fighting, I can tell you that we're expecting a battle against more Angles." Elizabeth nodded and Scotland pinched his nose.

"I'm only in 'is becaus' those fuckin' Angles keep comin' ove' he'e. If only someone", He emphasized, looking at Englaland, "could control thei' people!"

He leapt to his feet, "It's not my fault, Scottie!" The teen growled and pushed his brother. He fell on his back and Elizabeth growled.

"Enough you two!" She stepped between them and Scotland was in her face in a second. Several soldiers watched the fight and some looked ready to step in if neccessary. Vivid, dark green eyes bore into hers and she growled.

"What are ye goin' te do, lass?"

Elizabeth frowned, "Whatever I have to." Scotland looked over her shoulder and dove under her arm, rather attempted to. " ** _Al, whatever you're doing back there, quit it!_** " Scotland froze as he heard the old tongue and pulled back.

"Albion, wha' the FUCK did she jus' speak?"

A small mass jumped in front of her, "Brother, she had no part in that. She didn't help-"

"She was wi' tha' ass when 'e killed Mum! Tha's enough! Git away from he'!" Sctoland yelled, drawing his sword. Several other men, whom Elizabeth assumed were Scots or Picts, drew their own swords and surrounded her.

She ran a hand through her hair, "For fuck's sake." She took off her cloak and her Irish bear necklace rattled around her neck. "I didn't kill Britannia. I haven't met her, but I respect her. She defended you against an enemy, died trying. That's enough in my book, to die for those you love. I wish I cold have met her! I want to have been her friend, and I know Rome did a few dumb things, but who hasn't?!" Scotland lowered his weapon, frowning.

"He's gone, isn't isn't he?" She nodded and Englaland sighed.

"Can we get ready for the battle and stop fighting?" Scotland nodded and sheathed his sword.

He walked over and whispered in her ear, "Don' hur' Al. We're doin' tha' enough te teach 'im defense. I'm watchin' you." Elizabeth nodded.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from a brother."

The battle of Raith was one of the dumbest battle moves that Elizabeth had seen yet. It reminded her of dumb college stories she had heard when she was younger. The king's British royal escort had gotten drunk off their asses early into the morning and all 300 or 350 at least, charged onto the Angles' camp. It wasn't until later that Áedán found out that all but three apparently died and paid ransom to get them back. To say the least, Scotland hand not been happy.

* * *

Alma breathed the familiar air as she landed in Iona. The sea air caused her hair to frizz up more, and she fingered the ends that ended at her rear. "Dumbass hair." She sighed and approached the Church of her old friend, " _Columba_!" The old man jumped lightly and smiled when he saw her.

" _Alma, my old friend, how are you? You haven't aged a day! How is the little one... Gundtrud?_ "

She shook her head, " _I haven't seen her since I left her with her husband, but I hope she's happy. Columba, I don't think time has been friendly to you lately._ "

He laughed and shook his head, " _Not as friendly as to you. You still look the same as when you left us_." The 75-year-old sighed and Alma sighed.

" _I know that sigh, Lum. When_."

The pale man smiled lightly, " _I believe tonight. Would you like to join me in the church tonight_?" She smiled and patted his shoulder.

" _Anything for you, old friend._ "

Indeed, Alma joined him in the church and another man sat near the old priest. She jumped in her seat as the bell tolled midnight, and the auburnette looked back to Columba's prone, praying form to see an outline of something. The man in the back gasped and whispered something and she squinted and her eyes widened. An angel stood before him and took his spirit, hand in hand, and faded away. Alma smiled and closed her eyes. 'At least someone I know died more than happy.' Columba died June 9th, 597.

She was in Kent by Christmas and was surprsied by all of the baptisoms going on. Arthur looked at her as he himself was getting baptized, maybe not for the first time, and looked over to her room. Elizabeth nodded and wove her way around and spent the rest of the night in her room. A small pecking at a window made her look up and grin.

"You fucking dumbass, Pierre." She took him out of the cold and smiled and she held the messenger pigeon close. He cuddled into her chest and cooed happily. The woman took off the letter and grinned. "Frank..." Elizabeth opened it and began reading. "Annabelle, I hope this reaches you well. Merry christmas! I wished for you to know that Fredegund is dead! I wish I could write more, but the candle is running low and I need to get back to keeping these lands together. The people aren't the problem, but it's the royals are giving me a headache! It's insane! With much madness, Frank."

She shook her head and looked to the bird, "Let's get him a letter back, shall we?" The candle in her shared room was running low itself and she looked in her bag for a scrap of paper and a small vial of ink that China had given her. "Book of spells, jewelry, money, clothes, here we go!" She opened the bottle and grabbed a stick from the ground.

Writing quickly back, "Frank, I hope Pierre doesn't accidentally lose this, but Merry Christmas! I'm glad that bitch is dead. Burn this letter or blot that out with ink, but really. My own candle is running low and do I need to come over there? I can be over there by mid-January if you need me. And I'm glad it's just the royals. An old friend of mine died in June, but he died happily, and that's all I can ask for. With just as much madness, Annabelle." She wrapped it up and placed it on the bird's leg. "Good luck, Pierre." It chirped loudly and flew into the air. It cirlced the room once and to her surprise, it took a flying dump on Englaland's pillow before leaving.

"Goddamnit Pierre."

* * *

She lived in 598 and 599 in Britain and watched Rædwald become Bretwalda. Elizabeth pinched her nose as she remembered all the places she had seen his burial helmet, but shook her head. So, under Æthelberht of Kent, the king who had led the mass baptisms in the previous year before last, Rædwald became a king of East Anglia.

* * *

" **Jun Fu, there has been a huge development**!" She scratched her head as she sailed over to France on her way to China. The letters were formed awkwardly and she sighed. She pondered it until she looked at te perfect letters, like from a stamp or an old-

"Printer's press. Oh my god!" In the year 600, or at least around then, China had began using woodblock printing. Jun headed through France, and to her surprise, a new trade center as on the fork of the Rhine river. Dorestad was used as a minting city as well as a large trade center. She shook her head at Frank for him not finding out sooner.

She continued through and as she passed over the top of Italy, she heard a man sneeze and another say, " ** _God bless you_**!" Jun had paused and smiled. 'Maybe the world was modernizing quicker than I had thought.'

With another smile, she continued into Eastern Europe. To another heart attack, she saw various Slavic people using a moldboard plow to over turn the dirt. 'Where have I been?'

Jun continued on and managed to sneak into Persia. She grinned as she snuck into her old friend's home and tiptoed behind him, hiding her aura. " **Hello, Jun**."

The auburnette quickly noticed he was playing... "Chess?" He leapt to his feet, his ahoge was flying everywhere. China looked at her from the other side, grinned and waved.

Persia looked between the two, "China, how did you know she was there?" He continued to smile pleasantly and in a similar fashion, his own disappeared. Jun shifted uncomfortably. She could see her was there, but she had gotten so used to there being a presence that it was weird for there not to be one. "That still doesn't explain anything."

She laughed, revealing herself again, "China taught me. It would make sense if he could sense me, considering that he's been doing it longer and taught me. Who's winning?" Persia grinned and China's face fell. "Ok, can I take Sasa after this? I haven't played in a few hundred years, so you'll have to excuse me." The desert nation nodded and returned to the game. Unsurprisingly China lost, but he continued to grumble as they reset the board. Persia looked up at her and smiled.

"White goes first," He said.

Neylan raised an eyebrow, grinning, "Exactly." Persia looked down at the board and facepalmed. Laughing, he move one of his pawns to e4, even if it wouldn't be known as that for a while. Focusing, she moved one of her knights and the game commensed. It took a little while, but Persia did manage to beat her.

"Good game, Sasa."

He grinned, "Good game, Neylan."

China had gone quiet, and they turned to him, " **Hey China, are you ok**?" He looked up.

" **Oh, yeah. Japan is being mean lately**!" Persia laughed loudly.

" **Reminds me of when I met Girl! She did not like me**!"

Neylan grinned, punching his shoulder, " **Whose fault was that?! You did not shut up**!" China laughed lightly. The two looked over and he waved his silk-sleeved hand. " **What**?"

" **How long have you two been together**?"

She yelped and a blush exploded over her face, " **C-China! We're not together**!"

" **What are you two saying?**!" Persia asked as he looked between them.

He cocked an eyebrow and looked into her eyes for any lies and after a moment, sighed, letting his head fall, " **I'm sorry, Jun..**."

The auburnette shook her head, " **N-No, it's fine, but we're just close, kinda like you and me**." China nodded in understanding.

" **Thanks for the feedback** ," The man said as he switched back.

" **Anytime. And you have any print-** " China slapped a hand over her mouth and made a 'shhh' motion. Persia scratched his head again, but let it drop.

* * *

Venie cried as a large eagle swooped down, landing on the back of a chair in their home, " ** _S-SORELLONA_**!"

Fortuna dashed out of the kitchen, brandishing a sword as she charged into the main room, her gaze settling on the large bird. The avian was staring her down, a package hook to a leg. She approached it carefully, putting the sword against the wall, and made sure the bird could see her. It gazed at her with a guarded expression as it ruffled its feathers. The auburnette reached towards its claws- _oh damn those were sharp_ \- claws and undid the wrap. The bird screeched at her and she winced, pulling away, present in hand.

The bird-of-prey pushed its wings out and left through the open window from which it came. Fortuna sighed and removed the cloth over the book as she looked for her brother. " ** _Venie_**?"

He peeked out from under the table, " ** _Is it-a gone_**?" Fortuna nodded with smile. She looked at the gift and gasped.

" ** _Venie! Look at this_**!" She fell into the chair and he crawled into her lap, gazing at the book.

He looked at her and cokced his head, " ** _What is it_**?" The woman sighed, opening the front cover, staring at the printed letters with a smile.

" _ **Veneziano, I've told you about China, right? This is his written language, but printed. He can make books so much faster than writing them**_!" She gushed and Venie nodded, looking back.

" ** _What does it say_**?" Fortuna looked at the front inside cover and saw a small scribbled note.

" ** _The name of the book is Qieyun, but China wrote a small letter for m-us. 'For Jun Fu, I hope you like the surprise! Tell the little Daqins China said hello.' Daqin was the name for Grandpa Rome_**."

Venie nodded again solemnly, but giggled a little bit, " _ **Hello, China**_!" Fortuna smiled and turned to a random page, looking over the random words in the dictionary.

* * *

 **Yelp, I think I managed to make a chapter that wasn't too sad for once! I got a little violent, but things got so much better! And guys, crack open the wine, WE'RE IN THE 7TH CENTURY AND THE 50TH CHAPTER! I can't believe I've made it this long! But I have to go and I'll be gone for a week, so here's this!**


	50. Chapter 46

**Hey guys! Sorry about the wait! Out of eight days, I sent four in the car with no internet service. But happy thanksgiving, at least American thanksgiving (I'm looking at you Canada)! I am also happy to announce this story hit the 4,000 view mark! I also finally found the name of her pack!**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks, I did~! How was you break? SLEEP. And nice! I did! You're going to see the little one soon, hopefully! I did, and she laughed. I fuckin' love my Mom. Oh... Welp... I WILL DO AS I PLEASE. Anon, you need sleeeeeeeeeeeeep. Of course. The only other person who would do that is Sasa. Their relationship is going to be strained, but it'll calm, hopefully, I have no idea. And yeah, it wasn't happy, but I think it's sad that this was one of the first chapters that wasn't too sad, but that'll have to go... I fucking love Pierre. YOU DRAGGED ME INTO THIS. I'm going to make you cry now: Prussia: Name starts with a P, carefree, eventually 'dissolved'. Persia: Name starts with a P, carefree, eventually 'dissolved'. I'm done with everything. Venie is so cute.**

Italian/Vulgar Latin (Italian)

Middle Chinese

 **Vulgar Latin (French)**

 ** _Italicized_** _ **is just emphasized. Note: Edited (12/14/16)**_

* * *

Jun smiled as she flipped through the pages, the sea air gently crisping the pages. Veneziano decided to send her back, "Go-a tell him thanks! You-a don't get a gift from-a someone and don't say-a grazie!" She shook her head and closed the book and placed it in her bucket knapsack on top of her other clothes and stood. The ship was approaching the Chinese empire and the auburnette shouldered her pack. Her current lack of fighting made her comfortable enough to leave her persian sword at home, but her celtic longsword was still strapped to her waist under her sheer grey cloak. The large boat slowly docked and the woman sent out of of her customary aura and waited.

A strong wave of gold followed by warm brown made her grip the rail as Jun wavered. "Holy shit, who's that?" The woman jumped of and began running towards the west. "Why is it over there? Chang'an is North... What's in the West again?" She muttered, tapping her forehead as she muttered. Her eyes flew open in surprise and she laughed, shaking her head, "Vietnam."

It was close, as when she traced China's aura to the city of Long Biên, the capital of Northern- "Giao Châu!" Jun yelped as a boat oar slammed into the back of her head. She blinked and fell to her knees in a dead faint. China sighed and grabbed onto his friend before she completely hit the ground and touched the back of her head. He winced and looked at the frowning child who wielded the oar bravely. He held up his fingers and growled, "Giao Châu! You made Jun Fu bleed!" The girl frowned and spit at his foot.

"So what?!"

China sighed and picked up the auburnette carefully, "She's not going to be happy when she wakes up." Giao Châu gulped when she saw the long sword hanging from the woman's waist.

* * *

Jun winced as she slowly sat up. Her hand instantly traveled to the back of her head to touch the pounding pain, but a familiar hand grabbed her wrist. Her eyes opened to look at China and sighed, relaxing. "What the hell happened? I remember something hitting the back of my head, but-" Her eyes went to the doorway where a small girl a little bigger than Italia (1) was standing. "You were the one who knocked me out?" The girl nodded slightly, her golden eyes never leaving her figure. "Nice job," Jun grunted, swinging her legs out. China protested, but she snorted. "China, how long have I been in bed? Who is this?"

He looked down and pouted, "Two days. This is Giao Châu." Jun looked over at the girl in surprise.

"Really nice job. I haven't been knocked out like that since..." She looked at China and he nodded. The girl cocked her head.

"Thanks...? What are you talking about?" Jun smiled and patted the place next to her on the mat. Giao Châu looked over carefully at the other asian nation and he nodded lightly. She crept over and sat carefully on the fabric, ready to spring at a sudden movement. Jun laughed airily and fell back, cradling her head.

"You remind me of my nation when we met for the second time. He didn't trust me at all and watched my every move like a hawk. Of course, you don't have a younger sibling with you and you don't think I'm a prostitute, so that's good at least," The girl snorted and the two looked at her. "What, not even a smile? Roma gets bright red every time I bring the last part up!" China shook his head and left the room.

Giao Châu watched his every move sharply, "I don't like him." Jun laughed again.

"I didn't like him that much at first, and I don't know the circumstances of your meeting, but his ruler pretty much kidnapped me and almost started a war, partially because Rome wanted to play a joke on him. I take it your meeting wasn't under the best... anything?" The brunette's head shook as her eyes skimmed over the taller girl.

"He _'took me under his wing'_ ," She said bitterly. "He hasn't left me alone since." Jun nodded and looked at her own attire. A airy green robe was covered by a darker green... tube? Something that just came over her chest and it somehow wasn't falling. "China didn't change you. Your clothes are in the corner, but he asked me to tell you to tell you that he would like you to stay in those, but it's your choice." Jun smiled and nodded.

"Thanks. Why did you knock me out?" The child once again looked minutely nervous as she watched the auburnette frown. "I'm not going to get too mad unless you decided it was 'hit random stranger day'. If that's the case... Damn, I missed it. There was this guy giving me the sting eye earlier-"

"I was scared. Your aura was new and I knew you weren't a mortal," Giao Châu spouted.

Jun looked at her surprised and her eyebrows raised in surprise, "How? I've only met two or three who knew the truth suddenly, but-"

"It's your eyes. I've heard that eyes are the window to the soul and it's true. China's aura matches his eyes, as do mine, but you have orange eyes, you should have that aura. You have a bright white aura though and it scared me, but... I don't know. There's also a little bit of green, I have no -"

"Don't worry about that, it's a long story for another time. But thanks for your help, Giao Châu," The auburnette said, standing shakily. Her head swam and she kneeled again. "I won't be doing that for a while. Shit." The girl pursed her lips and looked down, but the bigger woman smiled, ruffling her hair lightly. "It's ok if you were scared, I would have attacked under similar circumstances, but try to confront it before you attack. Not everyone is as forgiving." The girl nodded and came over. Jun blinked in surprise as she raised and put a little bit of weight onto her shoulders. Well, as much as a child could with a person little less than twice their height. China was not amused that his friend was up.

All in all, Northern Vietnam had come under the reign of China. Her name would change waaaaaaaaaaaay too often over the years.

* * *

Fortuna sighed as she put down her bag, "Venie? Are you home?" Small footsteps came from the bedroom and he came peeling into the main room. "Venie! You've grown!" She noted happily. He grinned, looking at his feet, rather how his normal white attire dangled an inch or two above where it had previously been and also marked it too small. It was faintly true. Aguilf, the current Lombardic King expanded further east in 603 and allowed the kingdom to grow minutely.

"Maybe I'll-a get as-a you someday!" She laughed and crouched to ruffle his hair. He smiled and leaned into her touch, humming. "Ve..."

"I'm going to miss picking you up, ruffling your hair... and everything about you being little!" The older nation suddenly frowned and shook lightly, but his sister smiled. She kissed the crown of his head, "But you'll always be my little brother, even if you are older than-"

"Sorellona!" Veneziano laughed. She blinked and stared at him with wide eyes for a second as he grinned up at her innocently.

Fortuna smiled and picked him up, "Come on, its getting late, Fratellino(2)."

In truth, it made her happy that he understood what she was trying to say and put her fears to rest. No matter what, the woman would still be his older sister and family. In their world, true siblings were hard to come by, without all the backstabbing and double-crossing. But once family, always family. She stayed with her smaller brother until 605, when she headed south. Aguilf had just been recognized by the Byzantine Emperor, Phocas, as the king of the Lombards and been handed a few cities, but Rome was still under that bitch's control.

"ROMA! I'M HOME!"

A similar shout came from the back garden, "I'm-a back here!" Fortuna placed her knapsack down by the door and strode towards the back. She squinted in the bright sun, but grinned as she saw her brother sitting on a lower branch of the two intertwined trees, munching on a peach. "Hey, Ragazza."

"You've gotten a little bigger too," She noted.

He raised an eyebrow and hummed, "My-a Fratellino grew too? Where is-a he anyway? I've never met-a him." The auburnette shrugged and climbed onto a different branch, a little higher up than Roma's and plucked her own fruit. "Don't-a fall this time."

"Shut up, Roma," Fortuna grumbled, biting into the fuzzy food, letting the juice crawl down her face. "I don't know why you two haven't met again yet, but yeah, he's gotten a little bigger. Do your clothes fit? I could fix them if they're too small..." Romano nodded and they made small talk as the sun slowly went down. As the moon began to rise, they watched as stars came out and the milky way lit up the sky. Romano had eventually drifted over and was resting on her stomach, but his ear was right over her heart.

"Hey, Romano?" The child hummed and looked over. "In the future, in large cities, you can't even see the stars. The light on the ground is so intense, it blocks out the star's light." His gaze headed back to the sky and sighed.

"Let's-a worry about that when-a the future arrives. It'll work itself out-a, right?" The woman smiled and hummed, wrapping her arms tighter around her brother.

"Let's-a head inside. It's getting cold and you have a dress inside. It's from _them_ , but you-a need new clothes." Romano said, picking lightly at her tunic.

A seam fell apart under his fingers and she swatted at his hand, "Fine, fine, I'll go see what I can find. I need a new cloak and pack anyway. I'm pretty sure both are more repairs than actual cloth." He snorted and they went inside. She grabbed the nightgown that Romano mentioned and smiled at the green silk. Yeah, she was a little mad because they stole silkworms, and silk, from China, but the Byzantine Empire was mellowing out a little. She slipped it on, crawled into the shared bed and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

It was times like this that restored her faith in mankind. Annabelle hugged Frank as he heard what had happened. " **King Theoderic was forced to sign a peace treaty after the death of Protadius.** "

This needs some back story. In 606, Brunhilda was still on her war path and when she had failed to manipulate one of her grandsons, Theudebert, he had kicked her out. She had turned to her other grandson and managed to twist him against his brother. The woman had placed Protadius in charge of the Burgundian army and Theuderic prepared to launch the attack, but compassion broke through. The army refused to fight their fellow countrymen and under Uncelen, Duke of Alemannia, they killed Protadius. Uncelen _did_ trick the army by saying Theuderic had ordered his death, but it worked out. Theuderic was forced to sign a peace treaty.

" **Annabelle, I-I-** " He choked, sobbing happily into her shoulder.

The woman smiled and rubbed his back, " **I can't believe it either, Frankish**."

He laughed minutely, bitterness seeping into his tone, " **The royals are giving me a headache...** "

" **I don't envy you. I can only imagine what she's doing right now**." He laughed and continued to cry happily. It made their hearts lighter knowing that the people could take their own fate- and their nations'- into their hands and save it against various brutalities.

* * *

 **Alright, I'm going to cut it off there. I noticed some (read: way too many) errors, spelling and history-wise, and I'm going to go back and fix those, as well as a little bit of dialogue. It's not going to be anything too drastic, but if any of you who have been with me so far (THANK YOU) notice anything different in the coming week or two, that'll be why. I'm not going to make any new chapters until the mistakes are fixed.**

 **Notes:**

 **(1) If you guys haven't noticed yet, I've taken a huge dislike to referring Veneziano as simply Italy, because as both Lady Luck and I have stated, Romano's just as much Italy as his brother. I refer to Italia as the peninsula or the brothers two in a whole. And I'm going to bring this up later in the Italian independence wars, but we've all seen the 'who would dissolve if it came down to it' between the brothers. I believe whoever holds the heart/capital of the nation is the one that lives. Rome is in the lower half of Italy. This is my own opinion, enough of my rant.**

 **(2) Little brother in Italian.**

 **Final two things that you have to know altogether: 1. The move is confirmed. I'm going to be moving in the coming weeks, so my updates are going to be limited in the next few months. Sorry guys. 2. I WILL _NOT_ UPDATE AGAIN UNTIL I HAVE REVISED ALL OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS. ( _NOTE: LIES_ ) IF ANYONE SEES SOMETHING THAT MAKES THEM MAD OR IF YOU JUST GENERALLY NOTICE, PLEASE PM ME IF NOT REVIEW. I WILL NOT TAKE ANY CRITICISM BADLY. I WANT THIS STORY TO BE GOOD.**

 **See ya, and sorry for the rant.**


	51. Concert Bonus

**Hey guys. I just came back from my last concert that I will ever play in high school and in honor of that (selfish) and all the joys the band has brought me, I'm doing small snapshots (I know I promised I wouldn't do it too often) of music and the Hetalia characters. There will be no specific languages unless told otherwise.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Hoppy854: There will be, but not for a while, sadly.**

 **AnonChan1: Oh, that sucks! I hope they ease up! RIP, live long, Vietnam. LL's congratulating her because it had been a while since she had been knocked out and it's to be seen as an accomplishment. He really doesn't, but apparently many have come to see him as a mentor. In the history of Vietnam under china until... 967, Vietnam took the names Giao Châu (602-679), An Nam (697-757), Trân Nam (757-766), back to An nam (766-866), then Tĩnh Hải quân (866-967). It's going to be so cute and I'm actually going to bring that up. Trust me, I know the pain. My little sister, whom I fear, is going to be an inch taller than me at 5'5" and my bro, younger by 4 years, is going to be 4 inches taller than me. fun. Roma is the best and yes he will. Always will. France has seen what love can do. If Brunhilda's sister hadn't been murdered, then the large bitch fight that's been going on probably wouldn't have happened for a while. Tensions were still high (Sigebert thought he was better than is brothers), but he's also seen Clotilde. Childebert I caught wind his sister was getting abused and started a war. Chilperic murdered his wife, a Visigothic princess and her family (except her sister) didn't do anything. That's love to come to someone's rescue when you could leave them be and not get into a war that could potentially kill thousands of your subjects.**

 **PS: Amalia is going to be the Germanic name she takes on after Germania's death in 800 (Roughly). I also still have some editing to do, but I needed to to this.**

 **Note: Edited (12/14/16). I will be writing chapters again. I have another trip to go on, so it won't be from Saturday - Wednesday.**

* * *

Amalia smiled as she helped her little not-so-little-anymore brother with the dishes as he sang a song. Due to his past in the Roman choir in the 16th century, his vocal chords hadn't developed and he still carried the childish voice he had always had. She grit her teeth on the thought and carefully dried the porcelain dish in her hands as she focused on her brother's voice. As much as she hated the pain he had to go through, the siblings enjoyed listening to his voice.

"Hey Hey, Papa, couldI have some wine?" She looked up to him with wide eyes, but shook her head side to side when she realized he was singing a work song. "Hey hey Mama! Hey hey Mama! I can't forget the taste of the bolognese I ate before!" Veneziano grinned over at her and cracked his eyes lightly and winked. Amalia laughed at the teen who was eye-to-eye with her. "Draw a circle, that's the Earth! Draw a circle that's the Earth!"

He grinned at her and she attempted to sing the next lyric, "Draw a circle, that's the earth!" Ah the wonders of the discovery of circumnavigation. It was beginning to become popular and people were accepting the earth was round.

"I am Hetalia!" The two sang together. Amalia was off-key, but as always, Venie wasn't sharp or flat, evident of his training.

Venie continued on with the tune as the two other residents of the house crept through the open doorway. The auburnette smiled as she placed a finger to her lips at the two and listened to her brother's voice.

"Toast with- A big boot!" Amalia looked at her brother in shock as his voice suddenly lowered. The man cocked his head in confusion as he also tried to readjust his vocal chords to get the sound he wanted. "Hetalia~!"

She grinned and pulled her brother into a hug and buried her face in his shoulder, "Venie, h-how? I thought it was impossi-" He grinned at her and patted her back.

"Nothing is impossible, Sorellona," He whispered in her ear. Amalia looked at his face and shook her head at the mischievous grin and glint in his eyes.

Austria face-palmed and Hungary grinned, pulling the two into a hug, "Italy, I'm so happy for you!" Amalia smiled as she continued to hug her brother and listened to his heart. A strong beat was thumping steadily and she turned back to the dishes.

Music can bring hope.

* * *

Carina looked over to her brother as his arms spasmed again and picked him up to take him outside. "Romano, is everything-" A small hand accidentally smacked her and she sighed. "Roma, is there anything I can do?" He shook his head stubbornly as his leg twitched as well. The auburnette bit the inside her cheek and hauled them onto a nearby fence that overlooked a field of tomatoes. Spain followed them out and sat a distance away, watching them patiently. A few minutes later, the siblings got off the fence and simply curled up on their side on the soft grass. Romano's feet spasmed again and Carina barely managed to catch him.

"Sorellona, lemme go!" She shook her head and pulled him onto her lap. He wasn't as small as he used to be, but he reluctantly complied. They watched the clouds pass, failing to see their companion speaking to a farmer. The failed to see him perk up and run inside.

The gentle strum of the guitar dragged their attention over to the grinning Spaniard. "What do you-a want?"

The man's grin got larger as he plucked the strings faster, "Dance, Romano!" The child growled and attempted to stand, but somehow his chorea, the dance-like movements that were causing his spasms, caught onto the fast tempo and forced his body to move along. Spain grinned as he took this as a sign to continue and improvised the lyrics. Carina shook her head and stood, ready to intervene. Romano was stronger than his body's dance and broke out of it just as she was going to pick him up.

"Shut up! Don't-a sing, you bastard!" The child growled and launched himself at his guardian, being careful to hit him just above where his guitar rested on his chest. The man laughed as the guitar and child sat in his lap, pouting.

"Oh, come on Roma! I just want you get-a better!"

Carina shook her head, "Romano, one dance? I'll dance with you." Romano looked at her with a frown. "Romano, please? If there's even the slightest chance it could go away..."

"Fine." He crawled off of his 'boss' and toddled over. His sister held out her hand and the Italian reluctantly took it. They looked over at Spain, who quickly realized they wanted a rhythm. Quick to set one up, the siblings thought over the phrases and caught onto the gist and stepped into a fast tempo. Romano stumbled, but Carina never let him fall, and little by little, the fumbles lessened.

The sun was setting late into the horizon as the three finally collapsed. Spain placed his guitar by a tree and came over to the siblings. They crumbled into a heap and Romano caught a glance at the man's fingers. There were deep indents and some even had deep slices into them. The child looked at his boss, who winked and put a bloody finger to his lips. Romano sighed as he relented, not letting his sister know that Spain literally played past the point of his fingers bleeding to give the two enjoyment and relief from the chorea.

Music can bring people together.

* * *

Liberty smiled as she listened to the violin music that Britain played in the large room. The soft sound echoed around the room in personal celebration of the victory of WWII. The music was soothing as it entered her ears and provided an alternative to the white noise that haunted her. The woman continued to listen even after Arthur ha stopped playing, listening to the resonating sound, ignorant to the soft footsteps and tears on her cheeks. "Thank you. You know I always love it when you guys play."

Without looking, she could tell he was giving her a pitying smile, "I should bring the macaroni brothers and that pompous ass Austria over for a small string quartet." A smile split her face as she let sleep being to take her as another tune started up.

The Brit barely caught the next few words, "I would like that."

Music can bring comfort.

* * *

 **I've been crying all afternoon because of my band and I'm feeling sappy, but this fanfic has been my rock and constant throughout all of the shit that's been going down the past few weeks, so anyone who's been reading this far, thank you for helping me get this far. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere this far without you. Thank, guys. And to anyone in my band, I really couldn't be prouder of you guys. You all have come so far since the beginning and I dedicate this chapter to you. (Note: Don't forget the christmas party and secret santa.)**


	52. Chapter 47

**Hey guys, I'm back! I've been really busy lately and I'm going to try to get this out before friday's over. I'm going on ANOTHER FAMILY TRIP. Anyway, I had to fix some spelling and history errors/ notes, but that's all done. I just want to let y'all know that I still have one more add-on open to add to the end of a chapter. I chose each of those carefully with my band in mind. I always knew that no matter whatever shit was going on in my life, if I could go to that room, everything would be ok. I have hope that everything will be ok with them, I have family there that I can lean on, and they've always been a huge comfort. I once had a guy dump me gently, it still hurt, sure, but I didn't actually cry until Band class (my third block) because I knew that people would be there to comfort me.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Hoppy854: I'm glad you liked the chapter, but the second part, I really have no idea how to respond to except to smile awkwardly in all honest. But otherwise, thanks!**

 **AnonChan1: Thank them indeed! WE MUST. BUT WITH WHO ELSE. Anyway, I _am_ taking a huge risk with the Roman choir thing and I hope it doesn't go too far. I really hate various parts of history so much. MY LIFE GOAL IS TO GIVE PEOPLE FEELINGS. I KNOW WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS, BUT I SAY OVERRULED. NO. And thank you!**

 **A FIRST BIT FROM AN EPISODE FROM THE ACTUAL ANIME. HOLY SHIT, IT'S HERE. WHAT DO I DO- OH. I do not own hetalia! It's from episode 16 from season 1, and just a few minutes long, but it's still there.**

Old Japanese

 _Flashback_

 **Middle Persian**

* * *

Jun smiled at the small girl standing next to her. The brunette played with a small silk ball the woman had gotten for her, attempting to ignore what had happened merely days ago.

 _The auburnette grinned as the boat drifted lazily into the Japanese harbor,_ _happy to feel the cool air seep through her hair. A small nation stared blankly at her on the dock and blinked slowly, "Why are you here?" Jun shrugged and stepped off the wooden vessel._

 _"Felt like I had to. Is there anything going o-"_

 _"No," Japan said bluntly as he began to walk away._

 _The woman laughed and ran after him, "Fine. Is there anything I can do?"_

 _He glanced at her with calculating eyes and frowned, "I guess. Follow me." She frowned and trailed behind him until they reached a nearby village. A child's crying could be heard, but the adults seemed to ignore it. The immortals followed the sounds until they reached a small tree with a tiny child crying underneath it. Japan came and sat on the ground across from her and Jun stood passively behind him. As much as she wanted to hug the child, she knew better than to disrespect a nation's customs and scare everyone. "Momoko-san?"_

 _The girl looked up with tears streaming down her face in a familiar pain that Jun instantly recognized. "Y-Yes, Big Brother?" His face remained passive as he looked up to the auburnette. The woman nodded and kneeled down, holding a hand out._

 _"Hello, little one." Momoko had ended up coming with Jun as a new ward of hers' and quickly got over her parents' deaths._

Currently, China was grinning as he also cooed over the child, "She is so cute!"

"She is. Can you watch her for a bit? I really hate to ask this, but I need to go help Ja-"

He smiled and pushed her out the door, "Jun, I've got this. Go help with the rice." The woman smiled and ran off. China sighed happily and turned around to the smaller girl. "Hello! I'm China! I'll tell you an old tale today."

Jun laughed from the doorway, "It's not that old! It happened a week ago!" It was true. It was August 8th, a complete week from when the tale happened. Her friend squawked and pointed a finger at the door playfully.

"Go, young one!"

She stuck her tongue out, "You're only 2000 years older than me, but that does not make me a kid!"

"Go!" Momoko giggled and bounced the ball happily in front of her. It was stuffed thickly with bits of everything imaginable, making it a very firm ball. "I was walking through the forest one day, talking to myself, when I saw a small child speaking to your guardian. I knew this child, but Jun Fu decided to be funny." The child laughed again and China smiled. "She asked me who I was. I introduced myself, offering my help, and asked her who the child and her were. She began to say something, but Japan cuts her off, playing with the game. 'The Son of Heaven where the sun rises, to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets, may good health be with you.' How rude! He and his emperor actually had the nerve to greet me like that!" Momoko laughed happily and China cooed, picking her up and spinning her around.

* * *

Momoko was clutching tightly to her ball as she stared at the tall man that stared back at her. The large ahoge bounced on top of his head with every breath as he blinked curiously at her. " **Girl, who is this**?"

Neylan blinked and looked over at Persia as he stared down at her ward, " **Sasa, leave her alone. I couldn't leave her behind, so when you asked me to come-** "

" **Well I didn't know you had a child with you! I'm not going to ask you out there and leave her** -"

" **I know. I'd be fine staying here with Momoko.** " Persia nodded and ran a hand through his hair. " **We're fine, Sasanian. We've had a long trip, so could we all just go** -"

The man nodded without hesitation, " **Of course. Let's go**!" As always, the members of the family gathered together for the night. Momoko clutched her mother's tunic and the women fell asleep quickly. Persia smiled at the two and crept out of bed. " **Good night, Girl**." He strapped on his weapons and walked out the door to join his war.

Neylan opened her eyes as he left through the door and let her face fall as a few tears slipped out of her eyes. It had been his first time leaving without a word and she didn't know why.

The news that would reach her ears told her had reclaimed a strip of land that ran towards Constantinople in into 617, even though he lost at the battle of Dhi Qar in 609. He hadn't returned home yet, but it just made his friend sad and angry at the same time. It was unusual and it was breaking her heart when she realized how long nations were gone in war.

By 617, Momoko had just turned fourteen, and Neylan was beginning to worry. Her child wasn't getting any taller than her 4'3" height and it was beginning to worry the parent. Concerned, she sent a messenger pigeon to Persia and went off to China to speak to him over the problem. The two left early in the summer, but made a pit stop at Japan's first. Jun would never forgive herself during this trip.

They stopped by Japan's home and it had been nice to see a familiar face. "Hello Momoko-chan, how are you?" The nation greeted as they were let in. The girl smiled happily.

"I am good. Mother is not doing as well. She's been..." Jun looked at her daughter and shook her head lightly. The brunette offered a small smile in apology and the older returned the motion. "May I go play, Mother?" The auburnette looked up and nodded.

"Sure. Do you want your ball, little one?" Momoko clapped happily and nodded. Jun reached into her bag and got out the new ball. It still had its flowery silk cover, but the insides had been replaced by a wooden sphere to help it bounce and float. The teen grabbed it and walked outside. "Momoko, hold on a minute, ok?" The girl blinked and nodded in confusion. "Japan, do we need to know anything?" He shook his head and walked deeper into the home. Jun sighed and walked out with her daughter.

"Mother?"

"I might leave you here, little one, if China can make his way over here." Tears sprung to the brunette's eyes and they stopped. "I know I can leave you here with your big brother and you will be perfectly fine. Can you promise me something?" Momoko hummed, gripping the ball in her hands. "Can you keep an eye on Japan for me?"

"Yeah, I can do that, Jun," Momoko cried, speeding into the distance. Her mother opened her mouth, but let her run off. She needs to blow off some steam. Jun turned around and walked back to the house. That was her first mistake.

When she got back to Japan's place, the woman bunked down for the night and let herself trust Momoko. That was her second and final mistake. Rubbing her eyes in the morning, Jun took note of the empty spot next to her and panicked. "Japan, did little one come home last night?" The boy's eyes widened and it was enough of an answer.

"MOMOKO!" She screamed, running in the direction she had parted ways with her daughter. "MOMOKO!" The screaming didn't help and eventually, Jun reached a nearby creek and sat in front of a large pond. The reeds swayed gracefully and a log bobbing in the water caught her attention, but from her own experience, Jun knew it wasn't a log. She screamed and dove into the water.

A scaled hand tugged at her ankle and Jun attempted to kick it away without hitting her friend. The kappa frowned and dragged her back to the shore. "Miss, wait here, I will get her-"

"MOMOKO!" The sand clung to her clothes as she crumbled and Mr. Kappa gave her a sad smile before he slid into the water and brought over the 'log'. Momoko's body was face down in the water and when se was turned over, her face was swollen and her hair clung to her face tightly. "No, little one. Momoko..."

A cold hand rested itself on her shoulder, but when Jun checked the aura of the person first, it wasn't like an aura she had ever experienced. It was faint and constantly flickering. When Jun looked over her shoulder, it was gone. "I am so sorry, little one," She cried. Mr. Kappa, a friend of her and Japan's, explained that a friend of his had seen Momoko had gone to sit by the river to mope, but dropped her ball in the water. She went to go get it before it went too far, but she slipped in and fell into a deep patch. Momoko had never learned how to swim and her clothes dragged her down enough for her to not come back up during the night.

Japan found her hours later, sitting in front of the tree they found her at with a fresh grave in front of her.

* * *

 **Welp, back to sadness... Sorry guys. I'm sorry this was so rushed too, but I was not prepared to deal with this chapter. Thanks to AnonChan1 for proofreading!**


	53. Chapter 48

**Hey guys! A few notes:**

 **if the chapter previous was very rushed, but I was just so done.**

 **2\. The move is on. The end of January, usually full of only exams for my family, also has a giant move in it, so just a heads up about that. In all honesty, my life is just a giant FUCK YOU right now, so thanks to y'all who keep reading and making this. You guys are getting me through this.**

 **3\. Actually, for small laughs that y'all are going to kill me for later, 'Momo' means peach in Japanese.**

 **4\. I am also trying to remain non-bias in terms of religion in this story. If anyone ever sees anything wrong, please let me know.**

 **5\. In a pure need to simply get it over with, at the end of this chapter there is going to be a large time jump. Get tissues.**

 **Reviews:**

 **AnonChan1: Way too many. It sucks, but yeah... Thank you random deity! TRUE. True again, but there are some lines that people just don't cross, but I have no idea how I'm going to gloss over a few. Meant what? But I did love that one part! PERSIAAAAAAA. Thing is though, this was his first time dealing with Neylan when she was needed in a time of war with a kid with her. As a 'parent' himself, he knew he didn't want them out near the front because he's seen the damage done. He didn't want to put up with the guilt of watching a small child watch him go and because of this, he might of stayed out of guilt or something. He didn't want to get guilt-tripped into coming back either with letters and he couldn't have gone to visit much. He does have 33 years left. I'm going to cry writing that. it hurts so much to kill them off! Other than Sasa, we only have one other main person to kill off and we'll be 'good'. Lady Luck hasn't been very happy staying in Persia's home without him, it's the same problem she had when Venie and Roma separated, it's the same place, but not the same people. I HAD TO. I HAD TO EXPLAIN THE LITTLE GIRL. I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL HER OFF EITHER. POOR LITTLE ONE.**

Middle Chinese

 **Middle Persian**

* * *

China looked at Jun as she sat in the garden, munching on a pear absentmindedly on the grass. He sighed and approached her. A slight pause in her chewing was the only sign she gave in acknowledgement and he turned to her, "Jun, what happened?" The woman lowered her head and let her bangs cover her face. Gentles waves hid her eyes until she looked up and her friend instantly recognized the look. "I'm so..."

Jun hummed and bit into her pear again, "I don't know what happened, I don't know if my luck didn't rub off on her enough or if something went wrong..." He put a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"Jun, it wasn't your fault." She growled and clenched her other hand.

"I could have been the-"

"And you couldn't have known. Do you think the little one would have wanted you to beat yourself up? Your little girl with a smile on her face?" He demanded.

Jun frowned and sagged, letting a few tears slip out, "I don't know why she's affecting me so much. I've had other children I've adopted, but I haven't..."

China breathed heavily through his nose, "It's because she was under your care at the time and she was there when Persia wasn't." The woman nodded in understanding and chomped into her pear one last time. "Anyway, did you want to know why I called you?"

She smiled knowingly, "Is it because of Emperor Tang?" China's eyes widened and he shook his head in defeat.

"How do you always know?"

The woman's smile grew into a grin, "Because I just do. How's the transition going?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's been rough since the war with Baekje's sibling, and a few nobles are giving the Emperor some trouble and giving me a headache." Jun hummed and fell back onto the grass to look at the cloudy sky before closing her eyes.

"Things will get better. They always do." China hummed in agreement. Tiny footsteps came up and a body came up and plopped next to them. "Hello, Turk- HOLY SHIT?! TURKEY?!" Jun flipped over and tackled the familiar aura. The boy laughed and hugged her. "What are you doing here?"

The child smiled, "His ruler and my ruler's families are close. Seeing as we're neighbors, it could be expected." She shook her head and curled herself around him. "Abla, is everything ok?"

"It will be, Turkey, it will be." In 618, China entered the part of his history known as the Tang Dynasty. It as still undergoing a harsh period of transition, but it had begun.

The two did remain friends, even when things got a little... weird. "Turkey, did you just murder a man in China's home?" He blinked and looked down sheepishly.

"M-Maybe. China said I could!"

China decided to pass by randomly at this moment and Jun grabbed his sleeve gently, "Hey, China, did you-"

"-My ruler-"

"-tell Turkey he could kill this man?"

China looked down at the body and then back at Turkey, "Thank you for not getting blood everywhere." With that, he continued on his stroll to the garden. Turkey grinned over at his older sister with a shit-eating grin. Jun shook her head.

"What the hell, it's November, anything could happen." It was, it was November 2, 619.

* * *

Neylan crept into the old home and was tackled by a large mass, " **Girl! I was so worri** -" He looked at her face and paused. She looked at him with defeat and pulled out of his grip, " **Neylan, what's wrong? Where's the little one..**." Persia trailed as he looked at her for confirmation. She nodded and put her bag against a wall.

" **Yeah. I... wasn't there.** " He wordlessly pulled her into another hug. He rocked her side to side gently as tears pooled in her eyes. " **We-e had stopped at another nation's home, h-her home, before we w-would stop at China's. I was g-g-going to leave her at her home to get on with her life and I don't t-think s-she was ready. S-S-She stormed off a-and I found-d-d her...** "

" **Shhh, it wasn't your fault, Girl. You couldn't have known**."

She sobbed, " **I-I've a-a-already gone over t-this w-w-with China, b-but I-I could h-have followed h-her! And t-t-this was her home**!" The man shook his head gently and rubbed her back gently. He held her for another minute or so before picking her up. Neylan still cried like a child as she clung to him. He carried her to the room the family had shared throughout the ages, watching her head as he guided her through the doorway.

" **Neylan, it wasn't your fault. You trusted her to take care of herself. I can count on one hand how many parents I know are willing to trust their child like that** ," He soothed. Her cries began to edge off and he smiled gently as he turned to put her carefully in the bed. "Everything will be ok." The man tucked her in and carefully stood, his beaded scarves dangling noiselessly as he walked out the door.

Neylan slept deeper than she had in years. When she woke up, insects were chirping quietly and the loud snores of Sasa made her look at him. He was curled up at the top of the bed as always, almost like a large... kitten. She smiled at the thought and looked at the ceiling. Her thoughts drifted and she thought back on her children. She had raised them and trusted them, saying goodbye when she felt they were ready to be left on their own, but it was different with Momoko because the girl left before she could properly say goodbye.

A finger tapped her on the head and Neylan looked up. Sasa was peeking at her behind a tired eye and he smiled, " **Get to bed, girl. Time isn't going anywhere. I would do anything to pause it right now though.** "

" **Why is that**?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled, " **Because I'm back to the way I was under Darius I. I've been kicking Byzantine Empire's butt while you were gone and things are good right now**." Persia took her hand and closed his eyes contently. Neylan smiled in the same emotion and let herself resign to sleep.

* * *

Two years later, in 622, Persia brought her to a prosperous city of Yathrib, later known as Medina, and brought her into a building, " **Girl, you have to be very quiet in here and they can't know you're here**." The auburnette nodded wordlessly, confused. They entered and she pulled her green scarf over her hair and crept behind him, removing her aura. She caught a glimpse of a man with a brighter aura than a normal human speaking with several other men around a table with a large peace of paper in front of them. Persia walked up to them and greeted them, a smile adorning his face.

Neylan walked to a far corner and listened to the conversation and her eyes glinted happily as she realized what she was hearing. The men were drafting the constitution of Medina and the man with the not-quite-nation aura was Muhammad himself. The document was a peaceful set of terms that created a single, peaceful nation of the area. The multiple religions in the area would be able to live harmoniously if all went well.

The two left the building just as easily and returned home. Persia was happy, but his friend was over the moon. To be able to see such an important event... She shook her head in silent wonder and Persia grinned at her. However, the grin didn't last long as he paused.

" **Sasa**?" He waved his hand in reassurance, but she knew better. " **What is it**?"

The man hung his head and took her arm carefully and led her home, " **The tides have turned. I need to get back onto the field**." She frowned but nodded. " **There isn't much you can do here.** " A particular glint in his eye begged her to get the message and not to argue, to do as he asked. Neylan bowed her head and walked off to gather her things. Strapping her persian and celtic swords to her sides under her cloak and throwing her pack over her shoulder, the woman met up with him in the doorway. " **Are you going to be ok**?"

She smiled up at him, " **Aren't I always**?" Persia frowned and pulled her into his shoulder. " **Sasa**?" The man gripped her tightly as a few tears slipped out of his eyes. " **Sasanian, are you ok**?"

He shook his head, " **I'm scared, Ney-** "

" **Carina**." Persia pulled back a little bit in confusion, but she smiled, " **The name I went by as a child was Carina Amalia Brewster**." More big, fat tears came out of his eyes as he crumbled. Neylan smiled as she kneeled beside him and rubbed his back in comfort. " **Everything will be ok, Persia.** " The man continued to cry, but he simply needed her presence.

His breathing began to even out after a while and she decided to poke the bear, " **Sasanian** -" Persia's grip on her loosened and his hands trailed up to caress her jaw. Her breath hitched as he lowered his face and placed a small kiss on the crown of her head.

" **I'm going to miss you, Carina Amalia Brewster**." With that, Persia stood suddenly and quickly threw himself into his room and shut the door. To further make his point, his aura disappeared and Neylan looked down. A single tear came out of her eye and she reached into the depths of her bag. Pulling out a single small pouch, she looked at the lumpy form and concentrated on the wood inside it.

Placing it down, Neylan walked out of his house and away to join a ship crew. A small, tiny blip of aura remained behind, encased in a small, wooden tulip that held so many memories in it.

* * *

Jun Fu sat in a chair in front of a fire pit, watching the flames dance. China sat next to her, smiling contently as the night's sounds echoed through the open doors. They were enjoying the quiet crackling and crickets when suddenly, a familiar sensation tickled the back of Jun's mind and a dark brown aura blip disappeared from the back of her consciousness. China silently choked and the two shared a knowing look. Jun's eyes widened as her suspicions were confirmed and she ran to to the highest point she could.

China's eyes widened as he followed her, but the adrenaline pumping through her system didn't let him catch up. He turned the corner and she was standing in front of the window. "SASA!" She bawled, leaning out. China came to pull her back inside, but she tried to keep a firm grasp on the door.

"Jun, he's gone! Don't let his death do his to you!" He cried, tears pouring out of his eyes. She turned around to look at him and saw the streams coming down his own face. Tackling him in a hug, the two grieved. The nation rubbed her back comfortingly as he thought on his old friend and trade partner. The two, other than the Byzantine Empire, had dominated the silk trade and faced outstanding enemies together.

"You loved him, didn't you?" Jun's breath caught in her throat as she froze completely. "You didn't know it. My god, Jun, I-I..."

Her grip relaxed completely and she trembled, "It's too late. I-I never t-t-told hi-"

"He knows. His spirit is-"

The auburnette shook her head, "China, I can't. I don't believe in that stuff. I want to believe that he's in a better place, but I can't because everyone seems to have a different place-"

China lightly pulled her face away from his shoulder to grasp her face, looking her in the eyes, "Jun Fu, the best place he can be is in your heart. Don't forget him and he'll feel your love every single second. He would want you to move on with your life and live it without a care as he did. Keep an eye on those you care about. That's all we can do for each other, mortals or immortals. We are nothing without each other. Listen to this, young one, and take my advice." He pulled her into another hug.

Neither of the two knew it, but if someone had looked from above, the silk pooling around them from their outfits formed a perfect circle with a slight weight indent. China wouldn't mention it, but he could barely sense a faint aura draping itself around them, mostly around the small girl in his arms. Carina wouldn't mention herself that she felt Persia with her, wrapping ghostly, cold arms around her. Soft jangles alerted the two of two new items in the room and they froze as they saw a beaded scarf around each of their necks as a final gift.

It was 651.

* * *

 **In all memory of this story's Persia and to maybe cheer y'all up a little bit, I decided to add a little drabble. Cheers to AnonChan1 for giving me this golden line.**

Liberty smiled as she walked out to the great body of water and twirled the small flower in her hand. " **Hey, Sasa. I don't know if you're there or not, but I've heard about this thing where people come and talk to graves and it allows closure or some bullshit like that, but here I am** ," She said, waving a hand out, letting it fall against her leg a moment later. " **It's been a while, huh? I heard about what the army did with your body, but I heard they didn't give you a grave. I hope you didn't ming but...** " The woman pulled a small rock relief and placed it in front of the water for it to be consumed by time.

" **I also brought you this, I know it's too late, but I... wanted to ask for forgiveness. I should have told you all those years ago and I-** " She choked on her words and placed the small white tulip on the gravestone. " **I loved you, even though I didn't know it. I loved spending time with you and I know we got off on the wrong foot for a little bit, we got used to it and... I don't know. But I want to ask you... Are you ok? I'm hoping you're in a better place, wherever you are and... I don't know, Sasa. I'm just getting so tired. I have no idea what I'm going to do when it comes time to go back. I know I have to, or I never would have met you, but I'm scared about what happens after it all...** " A few tears slipped out of her eyes and she kneeled in front of the body of water to wash the tears off. " **That was weird, but I just wanted to let you know... I still remember you, Sasa, every little bit.** " Standing up, the woman looked out at the Persian Sea once more before heading back to the car.

A wave broke over the gravestone and the pull back brought the tulip back, revealing the engraving.

 _Persian Empire_

 _550 BC - 651 AD_

 _VIVA LA PERSIA_

 _FUCK YOU._

* * *

 **Don't kill me.**


	54. Christmas 2

**Here's the next christmas chapter! I have to research for the next few dozen years so I'm ahead and then we'll be good.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Hoppy854: Thank you, but the credit for that line goes to AnonChan1 for the review on Chapter 46!**

 **AnonChan1: Is everything ok? Why did you have a panic attack?! I HAD TO. I'M GOING TO GO INTO DEEPER DETAILS LATER. PERSIA WAS A GOOD PERSON. No it wasn't. I'm not killing him off. I lied, it's technically two people: Germania and Hun/Magyar. Yeah it did, but... Turkey's great and her current support system. I'm kinda sorry, but at the same time, not. I'll try to go a little easier on you for a while, but on what research I have done, it's not going to be easy. What was rude? Persia was just worried about Lady Luck if that's what you meant. I HAD SO MUCH TROUBLE KILLING HIM OFF. I KEPT STOPPING TO BREATH FOR A FEW MINUTE BEFORE CONTINUING. But let's remember one thing- China was there and he and Persia were amazing friends. From what I can tell, the Sasanian empire never went to war with the Chinese Empire and those two were generally close. So China and Lady Luck understand each other to some capacity in mourning. They can mourn together with some who knew Sasa. I added that drabble to make things easier. Love ya too, my friend!**

 **There aren't any specified languages, but there are some emphasized parts in italics.**

* * *

Liberty smiled lightly as extended family sat around the large dinner table and placed the stuffing on the table. Veneziano grinned as he moved it to make more room. Next to him on his left was Romano, who was chatting to Spain. Britain glared at him from across a pair of empty chair meant for France and Canada. With another empty chair for Ireland, Prussia sat next to it with another vacancy on his left. America sat next to Veneziano, laughing and just enjoying himself.

The woman growled as she counted the three empty seats and put her hands on her hips, "Boys, hurry up! Dinner's getting cold!"

"Could you stop yelling? The frog and the drunk will be out here soon," England cleared his throat. She hung her head and sighed.

"Don't call them that, it's christmas. Be nice," She scolded. A crash in the kitchen made her groan and head into the room. Spain made a remark she didn't hear as she scuttled away. "France, where are you?"

The blonde clamored out of the pantry, "I'm in here! I'm looking for the wine! The good stuff!" Liberty laughed and shook her head. She went over to the sink and crawled into the space, pulling out a dusty bottle.

"I keep it in here, so unless I get really drunk or someone actually decides to clean, they can help themselves. I have a bottle from 1946 that I think will work for tonight." France carefully took a hold of the old bottle and gasped lightly as he saw it.

"Belle, you have been holding out on us! Let's head out, we need to show the others this!" France lead her back into the room. She smiled and followed him out.

Her shoeless feet slapping on the hardwood sharply, as she reentered. Ireland's borwn hair alreted her of his presence, but something else was there. "Hey guys! I brough- Luciano. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Indeed, Veneziano's hair and eyes had shifted and he was holding a steak knife to America's neck.

The man grinned over at her viciously, "Ciao, Sorellona. The American began to-a eat the food and our dear Veneziano knows how-a much effort you put into the meal. He started to-a get a little mad and I decided to help out," He said, twirling the dinner knife in his hand. She frowned as she turned to America. The blonde's eyes were wide and he looked like he was about to reach for some unknown weapon.

Liberty sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "America, really? Thanks, Luciano. Do you want a slice of cake before Veneziano comes back, or are you ok for the night?"

The other personality smiled lightly, "Grazie, Sorellona. That would-a be lovely. I'll try not to ruin his-a appetite too much."

"Thank you. And Merry Christmas," The auburnette smiled. The 2P nodded and climbed out of his seat, putting his knife down. Romano watched in mild interest, but had a small smile on his face. While he normally disliked his brother's alternate personality, so he let them be as he knew that Luciano would never hurt their sister. After all, she had accepted him, even after a small 'argument'.

Luciano pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back, "It was nice to-a see you again, but I'm afraid I-a have to go soon. Veneziano is freaking out again, he's-a worried." She smiled lightly and grabbed her brother's face, pulling the head down to rest their foreheads together.

"Hey, can Venie still hear me?" The man nodded carefully and Liberty smiled, "Veneziano, everything's going to be ok. Luciano's just going to have christmas with us for a little bit and then you can come out and celebrate then, can you hold on?"

The man paused and seemed to be deep in thought, "He's called down a little, but he's still a little mad. He says he's going to have some of the cake later as well." She nodded and let her brother relax.

"Alright... Should we all say our preferred meal prayer before we dig in?" The table nodded and joined hands and Liberty stood to the side as she watched them do their own thing. "Merry Christmas everyone!" She grabbed Luciano's arm and lead him into the kitchen. "I have a few different cakes in here. You're welcome to a slice of any one of them. Leftovers will be going home with everyone, so you have first choice to them." The man nodded and reached in.

The sounds of a small fight breaking out in the dining room made her sigh and Luciano glared at the door, "Don't worry, Luciano, I got it. Enjoy the dessert. I don't think Venie lets you out too much, so take your time." He nodded and grabbed a fork while she went into the adjacent room. England and France were having a small argument and Ireland and America were throwing in a few comments here and there. Spain frowned and a scary air was beginning to surround him slowly. Romano, China, and Prussia were trying to stay out of it.

" _Can I not trust you for ONE MINUTE. It's CHRISTMAS_. Can you all act like the mature nations that I know you are!" She yelled, clenching her fists.

America grinned and lightly pumped his fist in the air, "Yeah, go Mom!"

The pissed off woman turned to him, "You weren't helping! Romano, Prussia, China," she began. The men raised eyebrows in her direction. "You're not doing dishes tonight and you get to open presents first, along with Veneziano or Luciano. You four, "She growled, looking at the blondes at the table and Ireland, "are doing dishes tonight and opening presents last. Spain, calm down, _please,_ " She stressed and ran her hand through her hair again. "Enjoy the food, I'm stepping outside for a while. I'll be back in a little bit." The nations looked down and picked lightly at their plates as she walked out the door.

Her feet crunched the snow beneath them and her green turtleneck protected her from the light snowflakes falling from the sky. The snowman she had built earlier with America sat in peace as she walked to stand next to it. Magic swirled from her hand as it blinked. "What's up?"

Liberty smiled as she sat down, "I just needed someone to take to who I'm probably not going to see again or is going to judge me." The snowman shrugged and curled it's wooden hand around her arm.

"Dear, I'm just a random voice in your head. You've made it through worse, you'll do fine. Also, you have a guest," The arm turned static again as the magic loosened in Liberty's panic.

She looked around and saw Canada and Kumajirou headed down the small hill towards her home, "Attie?"

"Yeah! Are they arguing again?" He asked with a knowing smile. The pointed look on her face was enough of an answer and he pulled her into a small hug. His polar bear curled up at their feet. "What went wrong this time?"

Liberty laughed bitterly, attempting to pull away, but failing. "The usual with a twist. America tried to eat some of the food and Luciano made an appearance to stop him. I offered him some cake before Venie takes back over and then France and England started fighting and I just kind of lost it. Why do the fucking holidays always end up like this? I end up getting stressed out and having to take a breather. I sti- Attie?" Canada grunted and rocked her side to side lightly as he rubbed her back, "Oh, hey, Matthieu."

"Ignore those assholes. I'll go and see if I can take some sense into them. I'll be back in a few minutes." The Canadian pulled away, but Kumajirou still sat at her feet.

She grabbed her son's arm and he looked back, "Don't be too hard on them. It _is_ christmas. You're welcome to some of the food, but save some room for Attie."

Matthieu hummed and continued on his way into the house. Liberty sighed and sank back onto the ground. "Sometimes, I really, _really_ hate the holidays..." The door opened a second later.

"It's safe to come back inside. They're already well behaved and Italy is freaking out," Canada said as he popped his head out a minute later. She swallowed and stood. The polar bear whined and followed her into the house.

Liberty smiled lightly as she passed the now-passive nation, "I managed to find a dead seal a little while ago and saved it for Kuma if he wants it." The nation lit up and pulled her into a crushing hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you! It's getting harder to find those for Kumajiji, this is an awesome christmas present, thank you!"

She smiled and pat his back, "Well, that's _his_ christmas present. You still have to get yours! Can you let me go now? You're crushing me..."

Her other 'son' released her and scratched the back of his head, "Right, sorry. And I'm sorry I got here so lat-"

"It's alright, I already set a place for you at the table, let's go." Canada nodded and followed her into the dining room where all the nations were silently picking at their food. Veneziano was nervously twisting his hands around and Romano pat him on the back. "Veneziano-"

"I'm so sorry, Sorellona, I-a didn't mean for him to get-a out and-and-and-" His shoulders shook as he began to panic more, rocking in his seat.

"Venie, it's fine! No one got hurt and it's nice to see your alternates every once in a while, so it's fine! Now is everyone else calmed down?" Liberty asked, looking around the room.

"Si, we're all good, chica!" Spain said, grinning happily.

Liberty smiled and looked across the table, "Hey, why haven't you guys started eating? I thought I told you to eat!"

Prussia piped up, "It wouldn't be awesome to eat all this food without the second-most awesome person here."

"Yes, and, well, a gentleman doesn't eat until the cook does, so get over here and take a seat so we can eat, please," Britain huffed from his spot.

Ireland raised his beer mug, "Yea', i' woul'n' be Chris'mas without ye!" She smiled and nodded.

"Hold on one moment while I go get Kumajirou his seal and then I'll join you. Veneziano, Luciano prayed for you, so you're good. I got presents for everyone's other, so they can be let out later. It isn't an option, ok?" Liberty looked around and her family looked down in slight resignation. They slowly nodded and she walked off towards the garage. Opening the door, she winced at the sounds coming out of it. The bear was already feasting on the bloody seal and she smiled, leaving it be. The aubrunette walked back inside and dinner resumed semi-peacefully.

England, France, America, and Ireland managed to put away the dishes well enough and soon everyone was piled into the living room. Between a three-person couch, a love seat, a large chair and the floor, they all managed to fit. The FACE family managed to squeeze onto the couch while China sat in the chair and Ireland and Spain sat by the roaring fire. Romano and Veneziano took the love seat and Prussia and Liberty sat against their shins. "Alright, China, Prussia, Romano, you guys can open yours first."

Romano wasted no time tearing into the paper and looked at the small collection of cloth bound books confused until he opened the front cover of one and immediately slammed it shut. "T-Thanks, Ragazza..." He said with a red blush across his face. Spain laughed at tried to look at the contents.

"C'mon, Roma! What is it?"

Romano's blush didn't go away as he tried to hide the disguised romance novels from him, "Go away!" The two went back and forth as Prussia opened his quickly. He blinked as he pulled out the bag of blue cornflower seeds.

"Amalia... Danke..." He whispered, putting his head on her shoulder.

The auburnette smiled and pat his knee, "Merry Christmas, Gil."

China carefully unwrapped his present and grinned as he saw containers holding the ten great Chinese teas. "Thank you, Jun!"

She smiled and nodded, "Spain, its your turn."

"Alright!" He cheered as he picked his up. Opening it with a flick of his wrist, he turned it over in his hand confused. "Is... this...?"

Liberty face palmed and walked over to him, "It's a pair of thin soled shoes so you don't accidentally get tripped during one of your 'Run of the bulls' next year. They provide cover, but you can run longer and faster in them." He nodded in understand and smiled.

"Thanks, Ca-"

"Don't call me that," Liberty grunted before walking off to her old spot. "Alright, you guys, now you can open your presents."

America cheered and dove into it and laughed, holding up a few mystery tv show cassettes. They bore the names 'Jersey Devil', 'Champ', 'Aliens', and 'Sasquach', "Dude, you have got to be kidding me!" The video recordings had taken her a while, but she managed to pull together a variety of documentaries and tapes on the various creatures.

"I never kid at christmas. You know that," The auburnette shot back. Her son laughed and shook his head.

Canada went next and grinned when he saw his new hockey gear, "Mom, no way, thanks!" He breathed and Liberty smiled.

France carefully opened his and smiled lightly at the coaster, "Annabella, what is the world are these?" He laughed. The guards had a glass covering with various pickup lines written underneath in fancy scrawl.

England snorted at the gag gift, and coughed when he caught Liberty's look, "Right, so it's my turn?" The room was silent as he opened his gift, "...Thanks, Bess..." A basic white coffee mug with a red cross on it made France smile.

"That's the flag of Saint George, right?" His old frienmy nodded and turned it over in his hands, looking at his old flag.

Liberty looked over to Ireland, "Hey, isn't it your turn?"

He blinked and held his wrapped present shakily, "Yea..." America snorted.

"You're drunk, dude. Go back to the hotel."

Ireland mumbled as he nodded and walked off. "Alright, guys, I know you hate this but..."

Matthieu didn't waste any time coming out, turning the gear over in his hands and then England's hair went pink. Oliver tackled her in a hug and Allen pulled the man off. "Ollie, back off." The energetic man hummed and took his seat again, chittering away to Allen, who tuned him out.

"Oui, it's Christmas night. Calm down," Francois grunted bitterly. He hit his head lightly and Liberty shot him a small look.

Luciano nodded in agreement, "Sorellona's been through enough, si?" His brother smiled at him, but said nothing so far.

She clapped her hands together, "Merry Christmas guys. I got you guys presents this year!" Gilbert looked down and Liberty cast him a sympthatic look and took his hand.

Flavio and Oliver cheered and dove into them. As Flavio moved his legs out from under his sister, he whispered to the woman, "Romano really like those books, Ragazza. It's really hard to get those without looking weird." Liberty smiled and nodded.

"Anything for you two." The blonde's smile lit up brighter than the tree and the rest of the family slowly opened their presents.

The rest of the night went peacefully, the 2Ps giving their hold up as they spent time with Liberty. After everyone was gone, she sighed as she collapsed into her favorite chair and sighed again. A small stack of unopened presents sat under her christmas tree and she smiled at the three. Curling up in the chair, she let her eyes flutter shut to deal with everything in the morning. "Good night Rome, Sasa." Up on a shelf, an ancient dagger and a beaded cloth glinted in the firelight.

* * *

 **There's the christmas chapter and this is before the other christmas chapter. Little Luck hasn't been born yet so... Yeah.**


	55. Chapter 49

**Hey guys! Things are going a little easier, but that's christmas. I've done enough research for the next 24 years or so, but it's kinda hard because I skipped over so many years, so I basically got shoved into a French III class without knowing a lick of French. It's getting easier after so many of 'Who is this douchebag... Oh never mind. He's not a douchebag.' I also got seasons 5 and 6 of Hetalia too! Anyway!**

 **AnonChan1: I hope that gets better. If ya need any help, just ask. Ah. I don't get a few expressions... No one feels as bad about Persia as I do, trust me. Things get easier for her. I intended her to be with France during his death, but then I looked at history and China fit better. It's France, he'd do anything to get some good wine. It's about... 50 years or so, give or take another 5. Luciano is great, but yeah, no. That... I will hold off on for now. It'll be coming up shockingly soon, I'm worried! She just gets bored and 'invents' voices to yell at, she's lonely on occasion, I do the same. Cheers! He doesn't really. Prussia IS, but isn't shifting for a reason though. If there was a darker side that left you with little to no control that could screw with everything you love, would you like that side of you when you have millions to take care of? The christmas crew take shifts. It could be this group or the Baltics and northern Europe or Asia next year. I'm just going to say late 1980s - early 1990s. I loved the last part so much, but it killed me to write it**.

 **Middle Chinese**

 _Gothic_

Old English

 ** _Old Irish_**

Frankish/ Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 _ **Hunnic**_

* * *

Jun looked out the window into the garden, staring at nothing. China sat across from her, doing the same. Shouts came from a nearby construction site and the two looked over. The woman turned her attention to China and blinked. He sighed and looked at her, " **The Wild Goose Pagoda**." The auburnette nodded and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and spreading her aura out. It couldn't go too far without leaving her with an empty feeling, but she could still feel the bright auras of the other nations. Her brothers were doing fine, as was Frank and the other Asian nations. Magyar still stood high and a faint greener aura still danced in place near him and Germania was still situated in the Italian peninsula. She just hoped she could finally reunite the brothers soon, but that bitch Byzantine was still dividing them by a thread.

China sent out a pulse and she flinched, looking over to him. He smiled gently at her and Jun lifted her hand to hide a smile. " **You may want to go visit your brothers. They just lost another ruler.** "

" **I'll head off soon. I spent a lot of years before traveling by sea, so news didn't reach me well. Who died**?"

The man cocked his head in thought, " **Rothari, or something...** " Jun nodded and closed her eyes, letting herself fall into sleep. The scarf around her neck glittered in the gentle sunlight and China smiled, reaching to touch his own, but it was wrapped around one of his wrists.

* * *

Fortuna smiled lightly as Veneziano jumped into her arms, crying lightly. " _Sorellona! I-a missed you_!" She kissed his forehead and grinned as tears poured down her own face.

" _Fratello, I missed you too. You're ok..._ "

He looked up at her and began to panic, " _S-Sorellona, w-what-a happened_?" She shook her head and walked to meet with Germania. His facial features softened when he caught the look on her face. A young man stood next to the blonde and smiled encouragingly at her. Liberty had drilled enough history into her head to make her realize that this was Rothari's son, Rodoald, who was a massive flirt.

The woman frowned at him and Rodoald backed off. Veneziano broke her concentration when he lunged and wrapped his small arms around her neck, " _It will-a get better, Sorellona. It-a always does_." She smiled and nodded, wrapping her arms around him. Tears continued their descent, but Fortuna laughed.

" _Thank you, Venie_." They walked back to the house and it was mostly the child babbling on while his sister smiled and listened to him. Germania stood between her and his new king on the way back and threw in a word or two, watching the three carefully. They reached Pavia and they upon entered, Fortuna shed her cloak and pack. Rodoald took one look at her blades and swallowed nervously. Fortuna looked at him and grinned, " _I'm not going to be another girl. Don't try anything._ "

" _Of course, who said I would_?" She smiled knowingly, but said nothing. The woman left to go to bed, turning her back on the king. The young king frowned and prepared to grab her, but Germania stood in front of him. " _Thank you, Germania. The next one is better._ "

He nodded, " _Thank you, Ragin. Have a good rest_." She nodded and went into her room. Fortuna tucked her brother into his bed and took a seat by the window. Plopping down onto the cold stone floor, the auburnette toyed with the scarf as she looked up at the stars. She would fall asleep by the window, but woke up tucked into her bed, Veneziano curled at her side.

A few months later, Roloald's habit got him killed. The husband of one of his flings had found out and opted to kill the young king. A new king was elected in 653. Aripert I was a more respectable king. He was a Catholic king as opposed to the previous Arian kings. Venie took a real shine to him and Fortuna contently left in him the king's peaceful hands in 654.

* * *

She arrived in Northern Englaland in the following year. He didn't know of her arrival and hung her head as she trudged on. The woman managed to make her way to Bernica and leaned against a tree under the moon. Small footsteps made her look up and she smiled at the green eyes staring at her.

"You could have sent me notice," Englaland said as he crossed his arms. Elizabeth smiled and let her head fall back against the tree. "Who was it."

A laugh bubbled from her throat, "Everyone seems to know exactly-"

"I'm the one who had to help you pick up the pieces last time. I recognize the look," He grunted. "Get up, its late. We're going to need your help." She looked over and sighed.

"Come help me up, would you?" Englaland frowned, but did so none-the-less. Elizabeth groaned as he pulled her up. Throwing her pack over her shoulder, they walked into a busier area. The silence was nearly deafening, so Elizabeth decided to break it. "Alright. Who is it and where?"

The blonde didn't look up, but continued onto the king's home. The guards took note of the nation and let him pass. The blonde lead her into a room with a roaring fire and an aging man sat in front of it. "King Oswiu."

The king nodded and stood, " _ **Hello, Englaland. Who is this**_?" Elizabeth smiled and her brother looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

" ** _Hello, King Oswiu. Brother tells me there is going to be a battle soon. May I ask what is happening_**?" Oswiu raised an eyebrow and she smiled lightly at the identical looks the king and nation were giving her. " ** _Yes, I know Ériu's language. How is he doing_**?"

Englaland shrugged, "Anyway. There is going to be a battle soon and we wanted to know if we have your support." She nodded and put a hand out for a shake. The blonde took her hand carefully.

"Always." Oswiu nodded and returned to his place by the fire, the cool November air prickling all of their skin. Elizabeth looked to the younger nation, "We should get to bed here." He nodded in agreement and they made their way to their room. It was different than the one in Kent, but wasn't too far.

Englaland took off his green cloak and plopped onto the straw mattress, "Alright, who died. This wasn't just one of your kids."

The woman swallowed and cast off her pack, cloak and weapons before falling onto her own bedding. "Actually, there were two deaths. One of my kids, this sweet little girl. Her name was Momoko. She drowned in my care. Then..." Elizabeth took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She remembered a spell Englaland had taught her and said the necessary words. A shimmer of Persia popped up and her blinked as he looked around, his unseeing eyes landing on her and smiled. Tears pooled in her closed lids as she felt his gaze on her. "Sasanian died."

Watching as the apparition flicker and smile all the same at is sister, the blonde learned all he needed to know. "Who else knows about your feelings towards..."

"Sasa? Only you and China. We need to re..." Exhaustion took over Elizabeth as the magic took its toll. The last things she saw was Persia smiling down on her as he disappeared. Tears streamed down her eyes.

A sigh was heard on Englaland's side of the room. "You fool," He whispered coming over and tucking her in. "We can't afford to fall in love, you knew that, Bess." Wiping the tears from her face, he returned to his own bed and crawled in. "You'll get to blow off some steam here soon."

* * *

Elizabeth roared as she drove another sword away and stabbed the offender. She growled swiped at her eyes, assaulted by a barrage of rain and tears. There was a heavy storm raging on and there were many men drowning. Her brother's aura pulsed and she looked over. He through an arm over his head and she sighed, putting herself on guard as she retreated. "THE KINGS ARE DEAD," He yelled over the rain and she sighed. "I'll fight with you more later, we need to go," He said, softer. Elizabeth looked at him and saw his exhaustion and nodded.

"Let's go. It's freezing out here," She shouted and pulled her cloak out a little to cover him as they ran from the overflowing Winwaed river. The cold air nipped at their skip until they reached a better place. They leaned under the giant tree and the two started laughing. "What the hell are we doing out here?!" They were fighting king Penda of Merica in November 15th, 655.

Englaland shook his head, "That was the last pagan king. The rest of my kings are christian." The woman calmed down and ruffled his hair. "Quit it! It's already bad enough, Bess!"

"You know, you're going to call one of your queens someday Bess. 'Good Queen Bess," She teased. The blonde's face soured and he grumbled. Elizabeth sighed contently for a moment and let herself drift off into sleep. She would really regret it for the cold she got later.

Things were mostly calm in 656 and she was left to sulk. Englaland left her alone for the most part and, as whenever she was in the nation, a little pigeon landed on her head.

A small smile crept on her face as she reached up, "God damnit Pierre what does he want now?" He chirped and she took the letter from his leg and frowned at the message. "GOD DAMNIT FRANK."

 _"There's someone I want you to meet."_

* * *

Annabelle sighed as she sat on a tree stump and watched a small child play with his mother. Footsteps came up to her side and a hand met her shoulder carefully. Annabelle jumped and grabbed the wrist before relaxing. "Sorry, Frank. Just a little..." He cast her a smile and sat next to her. "So, who did you want me to meet?"

He pointed out at the woman who was smiling at her child, "That is Balthild. Be careful speaking to her. She reminds me of someone and I was wondering if you were going to pick it up." Annabelle cocked her head and stared at her with a curious look and noticed the two other children off to the far side of the play area and smiled.

"What are the children's names?" Frank let his smile falter and he leaned his head against her shoulder.

Raising an eyebrow at his antics, the auburnette placed her head on his, "Frank?"

"The oldest is Chlothar, the second is Childeric and then there's Theudric."

Annabelle's eyes widened, "No. It can't be..."

The blonde nodded with a smile, "I think it is. Their paths are similar, but their personalities are really what gets me. Balthild was sold into the mayor of the palace's household. Her husband asked to marry her. It was Clovis II and they had these three... Clotilde had been exiled and Clovis asked to marry her. They had four children." The two looked at the regent queen and smiled.

"Where is Clovis?" The dead and empty look in his eyes was enough of and answer and she clasped his hand. "I'm sorry." Frank looked at her and saw the same amber eyes as always, gentle as whenever one of his leaders died, but there was a heavier understanding.

"Belle, who was it?" She closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Someone I'm never going to forget."

Frank smiled in understanding and pulled her into a side hug, "Yes, we never forget them, do we...?" She shook her head in agreement and smiled as Chlothar charged up to her and climbed onto her lap. She smiled and wrapped her arms around the child. Balthild grabbed her other children and came over. Frank offered his seat and the queen thankfully took it. Silence took over the adults, but adorable gurgles came from the children. Annabelle smiled as Theuderic began nibbling on her finger.

"No, we don't."

* * *

Hun stared her down as she did the same. The small baby gurgled in his arms and he sighed, looking down at his ward. " **Fine. Keep an eye on her and I'll see what I can do.** " Neylan swallowed thickly and nodded, taking the child. The baby's bright green eyes glittered and wrapped a hand around the woman's finger.

" **Oh, wow, strong grip** ," She chuckled. Hun grinned and Neylan minutely flinched away, but the large, burly man took no notice.

"S **he's one of mine all right**!" Neylan nodded and watched as he left to reclaim the land taken by Samo.

The woman smiled down at the baby girl, " **Hun loves you a lot, Hungary. He's taking back land for you, but he's a little worried. Do you want me to tell you why**?" The child looked at her with big eyes and the auburnette smiled.

" **Samo's realm was cut out of a friend of mine, the Frankish Empire and Hun's 'friends' the Avars. I don't think I ever met the nation himself, but I heard enough from Frankish. The reason he's worried because not all nations last very long. Samo's Realm lasted 27 years. Some nations last for milenina, like China, but some last for centuries, some for even less. But you don't need to worry too much. As I've told one of my little brothers, there are good times and bad**."

Thankfully, the former lands were retaken and Hun pushed her out of the home when he returned in 660. Just in time too.

* * *

 **To be continued~! The first panel is in 652, the second is in 653, third is in 655, Frank was in 657 and Hun was in 658.**

 **As a christmas present, I'm going to give out 5 little drabbles in a minichapter when it's filled up. Only 1 per person, please. You can PM or review, but if you're too nervous or something like that: Hello, can I request_ for Christmas? (If it's in a PM, please say if you want your name mentioned. If you want it withheld, I won't give it out). Thanks, _.**


	56. Chapter 50

**Hey guys! So I have two request in so far, leaving three open. Not much to report so onto reviews!**

 **AnonChan1: It's been fine so far and that's good! The mourning period is never good, but I've learned (personally) that people bounce back but do get especially emotional for various reasons. The mementos are a double edged blade. They remind the two about him and what they could have done, but were a part of him none-the-less. Venie is her little ray of sunshine and Germania is awesome, but everyone knew it was that one chick's husband. Kind of, but luck and good things are kinda shifting around right now. That's my job. I have made it a personal goal that whenever Pierre shows up to say 'goddamnit pierre' or something along those lines. France is the nation of, even then, I guess, so he would know. Hungary is adorable! Alright, it'll be released when three more requests are posted. It's going to be a little short, so I'll do both of our favorite friends!**

Old English

Frankish/ Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 **Gothic**

 **Italian/ Vulgar Latin (Italian)**

 _Italics are emphasized._

* * *

Elizabeth sat at the dinner table and toyed with her stew as she listened to Englaland recount his day, "-And Sigebert II got murdered today." She looked up in confusion.

"Wait, isn't he the one who started forgiving everyone because he suddenly turned christian?" The tone of disproval made the blonde wince. Not everyone needed to be pardoned.

"Yeah. Apparently it happened at his brothers' place, which Cedd told him not to go to." Her lips twitched and took a chunk out of the stew. "What?"

She shook her head and smiled, "You'll find out, but I need to learn the recipe for this." Englaland grinned and told her the ingredients. "Hey, Arthur?" The name caught his attention as a calm swept over his face, "This is fucking great." He grinned and they dove back into the vegetable and beef stew. Nothing happened in 661, except Elizabeth maybe almost burning the food a few times, but when Englaland came home in 662 and slammed the door shut, she knew what it was.

"So, what happened today?" She grinned.

The blonde frowned at her, "You damn well know what happened! One of Sigebert's brothers just got baptized by Cedd! You knew this would happen!"

Tapping her chin with a grin, Elizabeth looked down mockingly, "Yeah, pretty much." The kid groaned and thunked his head into the table.

"I am not doing that again." Elizabeth smiled and ruffled his hair. He swatted at her hands, "Idiot, stop it!"

* * *

Englaland stood beside Oswiu of Northumbria as their men invaded southern Pictland. Scotland, of course wasn't happy, but Oswiu was determined.

"You 'ave go' te be fuckin' kiddin' me," The redhead as he swung his legs. He was seated with his little brother and Elizabeth in one of the captured subkingdoms.

England grinned at him, "You're just mad that I captured you." The woman sighed as Scotland lunged across the table and the two brothers began wrestling. She ate her bread silently, watching the brothers carefully to make sure they didn't maim the other. It seemed to end when Scotland took a seat on Englaland's back. "Get off, you jerk!"

"No' until ye leave!" Englaland huffed and puffed and Elizabeth was about to get Scotland off when Englaland turned over and knocked his brother over himself.

"Never!" Englaland jumped on top of his shocked brother and forced his head into the ground.

Elizabeth frowned and stood up, "Englaland, stop it." The brothers looked at her and the blonde relinquished his hold on Scotland's hair. "Thank you. Can we _please_ have a normal meal like the centuries old beings we are?" The brothers shared a look and shook their heads. "That was a stupid thing to say wasn't it?"

"You ha'e no idea."

"Very much so."

"Damnit."

The blonde sighed after a moment and headed towards the door, "Well, Bess, I'm going to head off here anyway. Oswiu is going to head back south." Elizabeth nodded and stood. "I want you to stay here to keep an eye on eye on Scotland for me." The redheads frowned and shared a sneer at each other.

"Ye go' te be kiddin' me," Scotland growled.

The woman sighed, "Fine."

* * *

Elizabeth rubbed the sweat off of her forehead as she thunked the ax into the stump, "Oi, Scottie, how are you doing?"

Doing the same, Scotland leaned back to crack his back, "'m fine. I still go' more woo' cut than ye." She looked in between the piles and sighed.

"Fair enough. Didn't know that this was a- there wasn't a cloud in the sky earlier," The woman said, looking at the shadows on the ground. Other than the house and a few trees a few yards away, there wasn't anything that could cast a shadow, but there wasn't a cloud in sight. She looked up and immediately looked down. "Whatever you do, don't look up."

The teen began to do so, "What do ye me-" The auburnette lunged at him and forced his head down.

"You know how you look at the sun too long, your eyesight gets damaged for a while? Well, there's a thing going on with the sun and moon that makes your eyesight even worse than that," She explained. Scotland frowned, but nodded lightly. The two stared at each other for a while until the shadow passed and Elizabeth sighed and plopped onto the ground. "Sorry about that, but I didn't want the nearest asshole for leagues to go blind."

He snorted and picked up his ax again, "C'mon we need te ge' this chopped 'fore nigh'." The woman laughed lightly.

"You couldn't have said that before I sat down?!" Scotland smirked, but set to work again. "Alright, I'll get the wood against the house."

The redhead looked over after splitting the log, "An' yer tellin' me this why?" She shrugged and the two settled into silence again. They wouldn't know it immediately, but in the south, the plague of 664 had started and was running rampant in southern Britain.

* * *

"See! Not even your own abbot wants to be consecrated in your own country!"

Engalaland growled, "Well that's not my fault!" Frank laughed and Wilfrid looked between the two with an exasperated expression. The woman between them all was shaking her head and laughing.

"Well, who's fault is it? It's more than your bosses, so it must be you, no?"

The shorter blonde frowned, "Well, at least I wasn't defeated by Elizabeth's siblings." Frank flinched and Elizabeth turned her gaze to him.

"Frank? What happened?" He took a deep breath and her breath caught in her throat, "Frank? Tell me..."

"It wasn't my choice, but Germania and Italy pretended to retreat and attacked us in the middle of the night." She growled and clenched her fists, breathing happily. "Annabelle-"

"Don't... Say anything right now. I'm not too mad at you right now, Frank, but if Venie hadn't been able to defend himself, we would be having a _very_ different conversation, right now Frank. I need to go blow off some steam, but next time I see Veneziano or Romano and either says that you hurt them, I'm not your friend at that point, France. " The tall blonde swallowed and bowed his head.

"Understood. Thank you, Annabelle," He whispered.

His heart clenched as she walked off, "Nice job, frog face." Frank growled and carefully took Wilfrid's arm.

"This way, my friend."

Annabelle shook as she silently clenched a stick as she let tears slip from her eyes. A knot caught in her throat as she tried not to make any sound, but the droplets slowly made their way down her face. Day turned to night and she slowly stood. Her cheeks stung as she walked to the church where the Consecration was happening. Frank sat on the steps outside, waiting for her, but said nothing as she sat by him.

"I'm not going to forgive you."

His head bowed as he took a shaky breath, "I underst-"

"You're going to invade him anyway, no matter what I say. Your bosses are, anyway. It's in a nation's nature to invade and expand and it's not my forgiveness you need. It's Veneziano's," Annabelle whispered. Frank looked at her with wide eyes and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for telling me, I would have kicked your ass if I had found out from Venie."

He chuckled, "You're welcome, Annabelle." She laughed lightly.

"I'm not going to get all sappy for a while, so enjoy my tired wisdom." Frank grinned and pulled away.

"Of course. Sleep while you can. I'll make sure you get home safely," He swore, holding his hand in the air in his promise. The woman giggled and let her eyes close as she leaned against him.

* * *

Annabelle waved at Wilfrid's ship took off and Frank approached the dock, "Annabelle! You were supposed to be on that ship as well!" The blonde cried. He ran past her and waved his arm to get the attention of the ship's captain. "WAIT, TURN ARO-"

"Frank, calm down. I'd rather not be on it anyway. If I'm right, he's going to be ok." According to a letter from the island nation, Wilfrid was very... frazzled upon returning to Ripon, where he would serve as abbot until 668.

In 670, a small message arrived at the table and Annabelle's eyes skimmed over it. The girl looked over to Frank and sighed, "Englaland wants me over at a burial ceremony for one of his kings. I'll come back after it's over." The blonde looked over to the standing immortal and nodded, swallowing.

"Take care and give him my condolences," Frank said. Annabelle nodded and left the table to grab her belongings.

The burial place was rather odd. "Isn't that Edwin?" Elizabeth asked, looking at the grave next to Oswiu's.

The Brit looked at her and cocked his yeah, "Yes? So?"

"Isn't he the one who caused a lot of problem for Oswy?" Englaland sighed and hung his head. The two had been uncle and nephew and caused _way_ too many problems for each other, mainly control over kingdoms.

"Yes." Elizabeth snickered and walked out of the churchyard.

* * *

Fortuna looked over the man carefully, "So, Annabelle, are you willing?" She looked back to Frank.

"If it's for Italia's best interest, always," The auburnette said as she took Perctarit's attention and guided him in the direction of the Italian Peninsula. They walked for about five minutes until the soon-to-be king broke the silence.

" **You know Frank and my kingdo-** "

She looked back at him with a frown, " **Veneziano, Romano, and Germania. Those three have been through so much, so you better not make their lives harder**." He cocked his head.

" **But you know them**?"

" **For the past... shit, how many years... almost 600 years as this point. I need to keep better track. My 600th birthday passed** ," Fortuna whispered, holding her head. " **So why are you returning again**?"

The king looked at her calmly, " **Grimoald is dead and I am retaking my birthright.** " The auburnette hummed and the two continued in silence. They made good ground and reached the Lombardic kingdom soon. Almost as soon as they stepped into Pavia, a small mass leapt at the woman. Dropping onto her back, Fortuna laughed and hugged her little brother.

" **Hey, Venie! How have you been**?" The small child grinned and looked at her. " **I heard Frank attacked and you sent him running for the hills. Are you ok?** "

The smile never faltered, " **Si! Grimoald ran them off with the help from- Germania**!" The small catch in his speech didn't go unnoticed by his sister. She narrowed her eyes.

" **Veneziano, are you sure you're ok? You can tell me anything**." The child opened his eyes and the woman sighed. " **Germania, go on without us. Venie and I are heading home here. We'll be there when you get back**."

He raised an eyebrow, " **Are you sure**?" Fortuna nodded and he accepted the answer, turning to Perctarit. The siblings darted into the city. Veneziano clung to her side and she rushed home as fast as possible. When they reached the building, Fortuna slammed the door shut and breathed as she leaned against the door, sliding to the floor.

" **Alright, what's up**?" The child clamored out of her arms and a familiar dagger was in his hand. Touching her pugio's sheath, her eyes widened at the empty cover. " **Venie, what's going on**?" Violet eyes opened as her 'brother' looked at her. " **You're not Veneziano**."

* * *

 **Cliffhanger just to screw with you guys! The years are: First: 660-662, second: 663-664, third: 665, fourth: 666 (No jokes please)-670, last: 671. Apparently, in the early 660s, Franks invaded Provence and Italy and Grimoald pretended to flee and when the Franks had spent too much time celebrating, he attacked them at midnight and defeated them. It's in the History of the Langobards, book V, chapter V.**

 **Remember, I _still_ have a poll up _and_ three spots for a request left and I'll do next to anything! See ya!**


	57. Chapter 51

**Hey guys! Still three spots open! This is going to be a weird chapter. It's still 671.**

 **AnonChan1: I'm sorry... I've lost three people in my family, two who were in the past 3-4 years. It gets easier with time. Just know, you begin to forget them very easily, so never do. But then again, I've heard the tighter you hold on, the faster those memories slip. Running gags are the greatest thing ever. Of all time. Ihave no idea, I'm a weird older sister. Those two are... I can't describe it. All I know is, is that LL understand asshole-bullshit fluently. I'm... not familiar with homestuck references, but I can recognize them. It was, it was a solar eclipse and that line was hard. I'm pretty sure miles and meters weren't invented yet, so I just settled on leagues. I can try, but, ya know, history. Luciano is amazing!**

Italian/Vulgar latin (Italian)

 **Old English**

 **Frankish/ Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)**

Old Irish

 _Thoughts_

* * *

Fortuna blinked as the evil twin of her brother stared her down with a knife in his hand. "Who are you? You're not Venie..."

"I-a don't know what you-a mean, Sorellona," The child grinned.

She clenched her fists and sighed, "Who are you? I know Veneziano is in there somewhere, but you... I can't put my finger on it..."

The boy chuckled, and twirled the pugio in his hand, "Very good! I-a don't have a name yet, but I'm a different side of your-a brother. He's-a currently bawling his eyes out currently, giving me a headache to-a be honest. But I'm-a what one could call a... self-defense adaption." The two seemed to be able to switch back and forth, but remain aware of everything around them.

Fortuna nodded slowly in understanding, "Alright, then... So you've protected Venie while I've been away?" The kid narrowed his eyes and nodded, trying to see where she was going. "Thank you. Can Venie hear me?" He nodded, growling, but she smiled and walked over slowly. The auburnette kneeled in front of him, her smile growing softer as he tensed. "Hey, Venie? Just relax for a little bit, everything'll be ok. Can he and I speak for a little bit?"

The dark-haired child closed his eyes and his face relaxed minutely, "Shut-a up. I-a won't. I-a just wanted to see-a what the big deal was." Purple eyes met amber as he frowned, "Feliciano agreed. Can-a you tell him to be quiet? He's-a still giving-a me a headache."

"Veneziano Italia, please, I'll be fine and I'm not going to hurt either one of you, I promise," She swore, staring into the kid's eyes. A lighter, familiar aura pulsed from beneath the darker one and the auburnette smiled. "Now, we need to name you. I'm not going to call you 'kid'." Said kid growled and played with the knife in his hand. ' _Italian mobster... the only one I know is. Oh shit._ ' "Luciano. I've heard stories about this one Italian man who was feared greatly, his last name was Luciano. He hasn't been born yet, but..."

Luciano nodded in understanding. Fortuna grinned and stuck out a hand, "It's nice to meet you, Luciano. You can call me anything, you've heard the stories."

He smiled devilishly as he shook her hand, "It's nice to-a meet you, too." With a quick swing, he jerked the knife in his hand towards her. She hardly blinked as she grabbed his wrist.

"You were too obvious. If you look evil and let your facial expression change, the person you're trying to backstab will notice something it up. You're also holding the blade wrong, you're going to get yourself cut," She summarized as she took his hands away and fixed the one holding the blade. "If you hold it like this, you have a better grip and a smaller chance of it slipping and cutting your hand. What else can you do with that?" Luciano shifted his wrist and swung at open air. He thought it over for a moment and nodded. "Alright then. May I ask a few questions while I make dinner?"

He shrugged and followed her inside the kitchen, "Sure, Ragazza, why the fuck not?" Fortuna laughed a little and he frowned.

The child watched her carefully as she began rushing about to make vegetable stew, "So, Luciano, when were you born?"

He blinked slowly, "I've-a always been alive, but I-a only began interacting with-a my other self in 588. I wasn't-a very strong yet, so I-a had to wait. Eventually, I-a was able to take over. I-a try not to-a do it to-a often, I-a prefer people thinking my-a other self in an idiot so if-a things go bad, they-a underestimate." Fortuna nodded in understanding.

"I've done that a few times. It's easier for women because men already assume we're weak and not trying to stab them in the back. Men can act like fools all they want, but there'll always be that one person who thinks that guy is hiding something." Luciano grinned and nodded. "So you developed... Why?" She began chopping everything to make the dish.

He sighed and tapped his temple, "Because this-a idiot was slowly crippling under so many invasions in so-a few centuries and couldn't-a put up with it, so his-a mind split to deal. We can take-a turns in control, but I have more-a power." The woman nodded in understanding again. She threw all the vegetables into the pot and grabbed a spoon to stir the meal.

"Ok, I'm down to the last two questions. The first is, do other nations have other selves?"

Luciano shrugged, "I-a don't know. This is-a the first time I've actually spoken to-a anyone. The final question?"

She paused mid-stir and the kid raised an eyebrow and she asked anyway. "I know while you are and always be a part of Veneziano, you're your own person, and I was wondering if I could add you to my family. You already are, but indirectly, but I wanted to-"

"Sure, whatever, just-a shut up!" Fortuna laughed lightly and went back to dinner. The two immortals sat in comfortable silence for maybe 30 minutes before a small mass attached itself to her leg.

"S-Sorellona! I'm-a sorry! I-I-I didn't-a mean for him to-a-"

"Venie! Calm down! It's fine! Neither of you did anything wrong!"

He whimpered and clutched her leg closer. "I-a didn't want-a you two to-a meet. I was-a scared that you would-a reject me!" He whispered. Fortuna cooed and pulled him into a hug as tightly as she safely could.

"Veneziano Italia, I will never reject you! You are my little brother, you will always be able to talk to me! You too, Luciano." A small wave of his dark aura edged out to indicate he had heard her. "Alright, ready to eat soon? I learned this recipe from Briton!"

The child cheered and Fortuna cast a look over at the pugio on the floor. ' _Just maybe..._ ' Shaking her head, she watched the stew boil with Veneziano. "Hey, Venie?" He cocked his head, looking up at her, "Why did Luciano call you Feliciano?"

"Because he said that Felici means happy!"

The woman laughed, "Nice pick, Luciano. It does fit."

651 passed into 672 and brought a knock on the door. "Hello?" She opened the door and she grinned. " **Hey, Wilfrid**!" She brought him in for a hug and pulled away.

" **Hello, Elizabeth. I came to talk to your brother. I am building a Catherdral in Ripon and was hoping to borrow a few craftsmen**." Veneziano trotted next to his sister and looked at the bishop curiously.

"Sorellona, who is this?"

The woman smiled and picked him up, "This is an old friend of mine. Apparently he's building a Cathedral and wanted some help from some of your citizens."

"For a cathedral? Ok course!" Fortuna smiled and invited Wilfrid in. "Sorellona?"

She sighed and sat down, "Venie, would it be ok if I went along? I wouldn't be gone too long, but..." He nodded and pulled her in for a hug. The woman smiled and returned it. Picking him up again, Fortuna carried him to their bedroom and she placed him on the bed, going to rustle through her bag. "Where is it..." A leather cover finally brushed her hand and pulled it out.

"Feli, Luciano, I want you two to have this. Damn thing's saved me enough. Take care of it and it'll take care of you," Fortuna said as she handed over her pugio. Half of Veneziano shifted and Luciano grabbed it carefully. "Rome gave it to me a few hundred years ago and I'm starting to worry I'm going to lose it someday."

Luciano opened his mouth, or rather his half, and managed to get an awkward garble out. Fortuna looked at the two with a nervous laugh, "Work together, you two. You're not going to get anything done unless you learn." They nodded.

"T-Thanks R-S-Sorellona," They managed. She smiled and nodded.

"There you go. The sooner you guys learn to get together, the smoother things will go. Feli, trust Luciano, and Luciano, make sure he's safe," She asked. Luciano gave up control and Veneziano smiled as he held the dagger carefully.

"Grazie, Sorellona."

She patted his hair, "Alright, but be careful with it. I have to go, but take care, ok?" He smiled and tears peeked out from the corners of his eyes as he hugged her.

"I'll-a miss you."

Fortuna cooed again and kissed the crown of his head, "I'll miss you too." She picked up her Persian and Irish blades and pack and walked out with Wilfrid. Veneziano looked down at the blade in his hands again and pulled it out to look at the nicks on it. None of them were very deep, but the two sides of the child both understood that each one was a record of battles and of life and death.

* * *

Elizabeth sighed as she rested against the railing of the ship, surrounded by glass-workers, stone-masons, and plasterers. Along the way, they stopped along the way at an abbey on the river Wear. The group settled down to rest for the night as Elizabeth claimed a small corner and watched as everyone else fell asleep. However, the loud cries of a baby woke up a few men. " **Not again** ," She whispered as she got up to go investigate. Creeping around the corner, she stared at a mother looking down on her newborn son. The mortal caught her looking and drew her over. " **He's handsome. What's his name**?"

" **Thank you. I think I'm going to name him Bede** ," She whispered.

The auburnette's eyes widened and she grinned, " **I wish him the best of luck**." The mother grinned again and a nun approached them. Taking this as a sign to leave, Elizabeth returned to her spot and slept deeply. Work proceeded on the Cathedral and it shocked her to see the clear glass windows in the church. She hadn't seen glass windows in centuries and it took her breath away to see it again. She stayed in Englaland until Wilfrid left in 676 to help with something in Austrasia (1).

Frank was waiting nervously with another man when he caught sight of them. " **Annabelle! It happened again**!" He cried with a few tears in his eyes.

She cocked her head and gripped one of her blades, " **Frank, which wife do I have to hurt this time**?"

" **The king got murdered again! Childeric and his family in a hunting trip**!"

Swallowing lightly, she breathed quietly, " **What about Daniel**?"

" **He's safe. I'm happy you remember him,** " He noted, and he really was. The woman had been on her way to Ripon for the construction when she ran into Childeric and his wife giving birth to their youngest, a child named Daniel. Thankfully, he had been placed in monastery care to keep him out of family disputes. " **But I need Wilfrid's help right now.** "

She raised an eyebrow, " **Negotiator**?" He nodded and took the bishop away to help negotiate Dagobert II's ascension as king. Annabelle sighed and began the trip to her shared home with Frank and bunked down for a long nap. 677 and 678 seemed to pass with little incident, other than some noble getting stoned to death. In Annabelle's defense, she had just woken up and Frank didn't bring it up again.

However... " **Annabelle! It happened again**!" He yelled, storming into the room. She lunged from her sleep and grabbed a sword to point at him, but relaxed.

" **Frank, how many times do I have to almost cut you in half for you not to charge in here**?" She sighed, putting the blade down and running a hand through her knotted bobbed hair. " **What happened**?"

He lunged at her and hugged her on the bed, " **Dagobert got murdered in a hunting trip**!" The woman sighed again and pat his back.

" **Frank, calm down**." He sniffled and nodded. " **Take your time** ," She whispered, rubbing his back. " **Besides, isn't Theuderic now king over all Franks**?" The blonde nodded and she sighed. " **I'm sorry, Frank. Come here...** " She sat him up and sat behind him as she ran her fingers through his hair. He relaxed easily and the sniffles coming from him calmed down. " **Let's get some sleep. You can't focus right without it and it'll mess with your mind**." The blonde nodded weakly and crawled under the covers and pulled her into a hug,

" **You know, Annabel, I'm jealous of you sometimes. You don't form the same attachments to people to the extent we do because of your travel. You only take in a new child every few...** " His breath evened out and she sighed.

" **I'm lucky on that, but I still meet people. I still get sad, France. Have a good rest** ," Annabelle whispered, wiping away some of his tears. She yawned and fell asleep herself. 'These guys need to stop going on hunting trips. Too bad for their health.'

* * *

Alma breathed as she stared at the man. Adomnán of Iona was standing outside his church, looking through a book when he saw her. His eyes widened somewhat and he smiled, "Hello, who are you?" She smiled.

"I think you know who I am. I was known as Alma last time I was here. It hasn't changed too much. It's odd not to see Columba sitting inside, writing at his desk or reading a book," The woman said with a smile. The abbot smiled.

"So it is you. I've heard over the years about a woman with red hair who was here when Columba founded the abbey. It's nice to know you exist."

The auburnette grinned, "Well, how would you like to learn about Columba? I traveled with the man for a while, my ward pretty much had a crush on him."

The abbot's smile grew and he gestured her inside, "How about we go sit down for a while while you tell me about him?" Alma nodded as she followed him inside and her eyes attached to the spot where her old friend had passed away.

"It's amazing how time seems to stand still in some places. Only the faces change..."

* * *

 **Semi-sad, semi-calm chapter ending. That's all for tonight and I'm going to busy for the next day or so.**

 **(1) France was pretty much divided into three parts at this point: Austrasia: The northern part; Neustrasia: the western part; and Burgundy: the eastern part.**


	58. Chapter 52

**Hey guys! I just saw the views chart and someone went through and read the entire thing. Good reader, I don't know who you are, but you need to be congratulated. Congratulations! I'm starting school again on the 2nd, so a heads up about that... Other than the move, nothing much.**

 **AnonChan1: Indeed. Of course! She did that to win favor. If he can at least recognize that she can teach him, he won't be as likely to hurt her and he's more likely to trust and rely on her. She does, and I had to look him up. I don't know, why. Yeah, and it's actually more like giving it back to an intended owner. I FUCKIN' KNOW, OK? HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL?! IT HAS. THINK ABOUT THIS: TWO KINGS WITHIN 4-5 WERE MURDERED ON A HUNT TRIP. STOP GOING ON HUNTING TRIPS. It's just a time skip, it wasn't that long. If I could have her fall asleep for a few years, that'd be great. Also, currently, LL is not a morning person. Those two are tired and not thinking straight. Ado... fuck, how do you spell his name... Is the man who wrote Columba's biography. It was extremely common for people to be written about 100+ years after their death. It's weird.**

Frankish/ Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 **Old English**

Gothic

Trigger warning for flashbacks

* * *

Annabelle met Frank in the hallway for dinner and smiled to him, "Hey, Frank. New court official?"

He smiled anxiously and toyed with the ends of his tunic, "How did you know?" She smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Because you always get skittish until you know you can trust them. If you're messing up your clothes it must be someone major, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say-"

"Mayor of the Palace. It's Pepin of Herstal," He whispered. The auburnette grinned. "What have you-"

"Is he coming to dinner tonight?" Frank nodded slowly, "Then you'll know like always. Come on, we're going to be late." The blonde groaned and let his head fall and offered his arm.

"Annabel, why must you be so secretive?"

She grinned again and took his arm, "Because it's fun to mess with you." He smiled and led her to the room. Theuderic the third sat at the head with Pepin of Herstal to his left. With an empty chair on either side and the wives and children closer to the door, the two immortals walked to the men. Frank watched his friend closely as she went to the spot next to Pepin. He sighed in relief as she removed the chair and simply stood next to the Mayor of the palace for her meal.

The official blinked up at her in confusion, but said nothing as he looked to the king. Theuderic shrugged and the two men looked to their country for answers. Frank smiled and looked at Annabelle, who smiled. "Hello, Frankish, lovely day isn't it?" Giggles were heard from the end of the table as a ten year old giggled. The woman smiled and made a silly face which sent him into another fit of giggles.

"Who may you be?"

The aubrunette cast her gaze over at Pepin, "The person who looks over your family for the next two hundred years, at least." Frank had been sipping at wine and choked on the drink. "Are you ok there, Frank?" He shook his head as he chuckled.

"Never better, Annabel. Never better." To say the least, dinner was interesting, but no one questioned the woman who ate her meal standing up.

* * *

The two immortals watched over the two Mayors of the Palace as they spoke together in the hall. "Sometimes I get confused why there are different Mayors of the Palace, but then I remember Neustrasia, Austrasia, and Burgundy. I still remember when that area got conquered."

A reminiscent look crossed over his face as he sighed, "Ah, Clovis and his sons. Those were the days before..." The look quickly turned sour and Annabelle hummed in agreement. 'Before all of this started.'

"Hard to believe its only been, what, 125-150 years? Time passes so fast."

The man smiled, "Then let's try not to walk with the past and let's run with the future, shall we?"

Grinning, she shook her head, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's just jog with the present." The two nodded and laughed under their breaths. The two Mayors spared a quick glance at them and shared a quick look of their own. Pepin, the Mayor of Palace of Austrasia, made peace with Waratton, Mayor of the Palace of Neustrasia and Burgundy.

* * *

"HE DID WHAT?!" Pepin sighed as he tried to pass the news lightly, the key word being 'tried'. "THAT-A DUMBASS." Frank sputtered a little bit and Annabelle's face lit up like a lantern. "S-Shut up, Frank!"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Now you know how I felt when my voice cracked." She looked down and away from him. "But thank you for telling us Pepin. We'll be in the courtyard if you need us." The man nodded and walked out, casting one more glance. "Do you want to take this outside, Annabel? I am in need of a good fight as well without chance of injury." The woman nodded and threw off her cloak and reached for a sword.

Her hand hovered over Persia's old one, but grabbed her Irish one instead. She looked up and saw the blonde standing at the door, waiting for her. "It will get easier, Annabelle." Breathing heavily, the woman followed him outside. Warm air flooded her senses as she entered the courtyard and a familiar sound of grating metal made her unsheath her sword. Frank smiled at her and lunged.

Blocking, Annabelle smiled, "So what's your opinion of Ghislemar?"

Frank shrugged as he took a step back and watched her carefully, "I was hoping you had some idea. He's coming over for dinner, so you'll get to meet him." Annabelle nodded and swung again.

One look. That's all it took. One look and the auburnette sat in her chair, fiddling with the the mid-part of her long tunic. Frank looked at her and Theuderic raised an eyebrow. She cast a gaze at her friend and he nodded. In all honesty, she knew he wouldn't last. While Ghislemar, Waratton's son, was kind for not killing his predecessor, it was the exact reason he didn't last long in the position and died. The next meal after his death, Annabelle stood next to the 'new' Mayor of the Palace, Waratton.

Frank just shook his head.

* * *

Scotland just shook his head.

"' **An' why did ye deci'e te 'elp me? I though' ye ha'e' me** ," He grunted.

Elizabeth shrugged, " **Well, I thought you hated me, but you haven't tried to kill me yet, so today is full surprises**." The red head hummed and reevaluated her figure. " **So, can I help**?"

" **Sure, why te fuck no'? Bu' why**?" He cocked his head and the woman smiled. 'He looks so much like his brother right now.'

" **Because Ecgrith is a dumbass**." The Scotsman threw back his head with a bark.

Wiping away a fake tear, " **Tha's one way' te pu' i', lass. Wh' did I ha'e ye again**?" She shrugged and stood by him. The army of Picts sat ready in between a set of two mountains and the auburnette frowned at them. " **Don'' worry. Tha' king's too stupi' te see wha's happenin** '."

" **Trapping him**?" Elizabeth asked, looking over the steepness. She huffed and pitched her bag over her shoulder, " **That seems to be a common theme**."

The teen raised an eyebrow and she sighed, " **A few years back, one of my little brothers' rulers decided to pretend to flee instead of facing the enemy head on, leaving all sorts of 'valuables** '," she snarked, " **but in the middle of the night, when the opponent had celebrated enough and were winding down, the man attacked. Easy to say he won.** " Scotland nodded and they waited in silence for a while.

As the day passed, the two resorted to sharpening their swords and mending arrows when the teen suddenly stood and began shouting orders. Elizabeth looked up in alarm, " **Scotland, what's going on**?" He looked at her before sheathing his blade.

" **They're here. Ge' ready** ," He grunted. She frowned and concentrated. A large amount of humans were headed this way, but- " **Yeah, he's no' here. Git up**." The woman stood and sheathed her blades and stumbled after him. As the Northumbrians charged into the valley, the Picts pretended to flee. Ecgfrith was an idiot and didn't see the trap. Sooner than he could think, the mountains full of Picts fell upon him. The two immortals got separated and it made Elizabeth nervous. The last times she had gotten split from a companion did not well.

Grabbing a random pict, she hissed in the man's ear, " **I'll watch your back, if you watch mine**." The man blinked in confusion and nodded lightly. The two didn't distance themselves from the other and by the time the battlefield had filled with the cries of the wounded instead of fighting, the two were bathed in blood.

Elizabeth sighed and plopped onto the ground, " **Thank you**." The man nodded in confusion and watched as the immortal looked to the sky. A scar caught his attention and he grinned.

" **What is your name**?" She looked to the blonde man in confusion and stiffened as he knelt and grabbed her jaw. She froze and stared at him in mounting horror as a different face flashed before her, sporting a brutal look. A scream erupted from her throat as she clawed at his arm to get away. " **Wait, Gun** -"

The sound of a blade flying through the air made her cower into the bloody ground and an unfamiliar voice barked a distance away. Her eyes flew back and forth frantically, but all she saw were the ruined towns of Europe, up in flames and down in ruins. A hand reached for her again and she chomped on it. The owner grunted and hit her upside the head. She flew back and crawled back until her back hit a tree. " **No, I'm not going back up there, anything but that, please**!" The auburnette stumbled to her feet and fled into the woods. " **I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I should have gone to Rome! I'm sorry**!" A weight tackled, pinning her to the mossy ground, and she screamed again. " **N-No, not again**!"

Green eyes met hers and a hand pinned her thrashing ones to the ground. " **DAMNI' LIZZIE, WAKE UP**!" The woman choked on air as her vision returned.

A bloody Scotland met her eyes and she shivered as tears poured out of her eyes. " **Wha' the fuc' was tha'?! I though' you were ge''in' murdered**!" Elizabeth shook her head as she bawled her eyes out.

" **Can't go back, can't go back, can't go bac** -"

" **You're no' goin' bac'! Wha''s going on**?!" She shook her head again and Scotland sighed, letting go of her. " **Damn i', Lizzie, wha' was tha** '?"

The woman curled up and tried to take deep breaths, hiccuping here and there, " **I t-thought I was p-past t-th-that. I-I had somethin' happen to me and I just got sent back to it-** "

" **What was it**?" He growled, placing a stick in his mouth.

" **I-I don't want to talk about it. Only two people know about it and it's already two too many. What happened to the man**?"

Scotland raised an eyebrow, " **I knocked him out. I though' he was one o' 'em bu' I saw ye fightin' wi' 'im earler. On a differen' note, you have a nice se' o' teeth**." Her eyes scanned his limbs and winced when she saw the large bitemark in his arm.

" **Sorry. I-I had a bad habit of biting when I was younger** ," She said reluctantly. He nodded, still chewing on the stick and began to walk off. The woman slowly got up and followed him back. Her fighting buddy was getting up himself and he looked over to her.

" **I'm sorry... Y-You remind me of someone**."

Elizabeth cocked her head, " **Who? You sent me into a panic because of...**?"

" **A family legend. My great-great-great-grandma had a story about her mother, this man-woman who knew nations and lived forever. I never thought...** "

A smile eased onto her face, " **Was it Gundtrud? You have her hair**." With that, the woman got up and walked away.

* * *

The two immortals sat besides the man who was the face behind the mask that was Theuderic III. Frank leaned on her shoulder as he looked at the man proudly, "You really weren't kidding about this man and his family, were you, Annabelle?" She gently shook her head and placed her own head on his shoulder.

"No I wasn't." They sat in content silence for a while until she sighed. The two men looked at her and she picked at the end of her sleeve. "Frank..."

His ears perked, but Pepin looked at them curiously, "Yes?"

She sighed shakily and closed her eyes, "I.. had a flashback two years ago about the thing." Frank nodded in understanding and he pulled her into a side hug.

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't have let you leave if I had thought-"

Annabelle shook her head, "No, it's not your fault, I just wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know in case it happens again, not for pity." The blonde hummed and nodded.

"How bad was it?" Her silence was enough. "Alright. Let's stop freaking out Pepin and switch back." She laughed this time and nodded.

"Congrates, Pepin." The king-behind-the-scenes smiled and nodded.

* * *

 **Um, another chapter? Anyway, the reason I kept calling Ecgfrith an idiot was SO MANY PEOPLE TOLD HIM NOT TO INVADE PICTLAND. He was trying to reassert Northumbrian power over the territory, but as you can tell, it didn't go over too well. The guy was killed in that battle. Also, Pepin might be able to understand some parts of what they're saying (Old Franconian/ Frankish is part of the west-germanic language family, while gothic is east-germanic).**


	59. Chapter 53-April Fools

**Hey guys! Not much to report...**

 **AnonChan1: I did get vacation a week earlier than you did so it balances. One thng about living for thousands of years is that you learn all kinds of people and it makes it easier to learn how deal with them. I...Have no idea who that is. I don't watch TV or Youtube except for music and an occasional vine. I hope this is better than learning it in school. Yeah... She is mostly silent about it because of the whole cliche 'screw everything up if I tell' thing. I... don't understand...? It is. HALMASTER AND GILBIRD. I don't know about those... YES. OK? SHE SLIPS SOMETIMES, REMEMBER? NEVER. ALWAYS. I view their relationship like this- Scotland wants to make his brother stronger by experience, and he thinks that LL is babying him too much. It doesn't help either that she was with Rome when he killed Brittania. They do... I cried reading that line, "get your skinny ass over there yesterday". Gold. She did.**

 **JinchuuikiGirl: No I didn't. You're going to think I'm weird, but I'm one of those poor people who has not seen a disney, dreamworks, pixar, etc movie in years.**

 **Also, because of my own personal 'beliefs' to the 2P universe, one remains in control while the other simply chills in the mind, completely aware of everything, including the controller's thoughts. If they want to, the back seater can try to take control. The amount of control varies. If I refer to Veneziano, it means whoever is in control or the body, but otherwise, Feliciano and Luciano are the sides.**

Gothic

* * *

Moving her hand away, Veneziano laughed, "Sorellona!" She smiled and picked him up.

"Hey, Feliciano. How have you been? Luciano?" A dazed look crossed his face and he smiled.

"Luciano says he has something to-a show you, but we've-a been good! I'm-a sad that Perctarit died," He said, fiddling with his fingers.

She smiled and moved some hair out of his eyes, "Yes, but remember them. He didn't do much."

"Spent most of his-a time running."

Veneziano covered his mouth in surprise and Fortuna smiled. "Maybe, but he was still your king. We may not like all of our bosses, but we do possess some loyalty to them. Are you going to show me the thing when we get home, Luciano?" There wasn't an answer, but she nodded. "Alright. Should we get home and have some dinner?"

"Si!" Feliciano cheered and Fortuna picked him up to help him along. The walk to the home was peaceful and they walked in relative silence.

When the got home, the child wormed out of her arms and dashed into the bedroom. The woman cocked her head and approached the room. As she poked her head in, she smiled as she looked at her darker haired little brother who focused on balancing the pugio on the tip of his finger. She watched slack-jawed as his focus never broke and a small grin crossed his face. After a few more seconds, it tumbled to the side and he caught it in a spin. "Wow, Luciano..."

The grin shifted into something else as he flipped it a few times carefully in his hands, "Grazie." The auburnette watched the dagger carefully and noticed he was catching it by the sides- the only chance of getting cut was if he closed his hand too soon or too late.

"How many times did the two of you get hurt doing that?" The focus fumbled and the pugio rattled as it hit the ground. With a wince, Luciano looked up.

"Not-a many. Feliciano kept-a screaming about being-a careful until I did, so he-a made sure I didn't get-a cut," He said, picking it up.

She nodded and held out a hand, "Alright. Do you two want to help me with dinner?" Luciano shook his head carefully and within an instant, Feliciano took back over.

"I'll-a help!" Fortuna smile and took her little brother by the hand.

"Thanks. What do you guys want? Stew or bread and jam?"

He never got to answer as another man burst in the front door and into the room. Fortuna drew a sword and took a step in front of her brother, behind her, Veneziano grabbed the pugio with a slightly shaking hand. "Italy! It's horrible! Alahis placed Cunipert under siege in Isola Comacina! He's declared himself King of the Lombards!"

The woman eased her blade and looked at the unfazed man who stared at the child. Feliciano looked down, "I-Is there anything we can do?"

The messenger shook his head, "Not until we receive word from the kin- Cunipert!" She looked at him confused.

"But the king is under siege. He can't get anything out." The man shrugged. "Where's Germania? Has he been notified?" The man nodded and walked out. "Fuck."

Veneziano grasped onto the ends of her tunic and tred carefully, "M-Maybe we'll-a think better on a full stomach-a?" She sighed deeply and nodded a few times.

"Yeah. Come on. So, stew or sandwiches?" The child thought for a second before shrugging.

"Alright, how about some bread bowls with a bit of stew inside?" A cheer from him made his sister smile and laugh. Happiness bubbled inside him as he joined in the laughter. The two learned that Cunipert escaped from the island with the help of Piedmont troops- lead by Germania. However, the civil war started by Alahis was already underway. The man was a tyrant plain and simple. The name alone made Fortuna mad, but she would glare at the offender as she hugged and attempted to soothe her brother.

In 689, Cunipert decided to end it. He had offered single combat to the duke to spare the blood of his army, but Alahis rejected. Veneziano had heard the news, tears sprang to his eyes and it took Fortuna all night to calm him down. It was belated news, but still left a mark.

"Venie! It'll be ok! I can stay here if you want! Germania will make sure Alahis gives the kingship up! Cunipert will reign again! I'll stay here and make sure you're alright, just talk to me!" The woman pleaded, bobbing the sobbing boy in her arms. Germania was with Cunipert out on the battlefield and he had asked her to stay with the smaller nation unless Veneziano told it was alright.

Babbling senselessly, he kept shaking his head. Fortuna shushed him and rubbed his back, walking back and forth in hopes of putting him to sleep. Minutes passed and his crying did not stop, but worsened. "S-Sorellona!" He bawled, coughing here or there. The woman's concerns grew and she knew nothing would calm him down. All she could do is whisper small comforts and walk him around the room, running her fingers through his hair, rubbing his back and trying to get him to sleep.

They found out next week from Germania that a priest had been concerned for Cunipert's life and took his place. Alahis had fallen for it and had cut off the false king's head without knowing. After asserting he was still alive to his troops, the army marched onto Alahis'. He said the battle was fought with the tyrant's army was back-to-back with a river and Fortuna winced. There had been great loss on both sides, but it came to end for two reasons. Alahis had been decapitated and his legs removed and his army, if they had not fallen onto a blade, they had drowned in the river.

Fortuna looked at her brother and carefully rocked him when they receive the news. "I'm sorry, Venie. I'm sorry I couldn't help." He just hummed and held onto her neck as he cried.

* * *

 **Alright, so I kinda ran into a large issue. I didn't have as much research past this point as I thought, so I'm just going to stick in the April fools bit. I'm going to have to slightly copy some of the subtitles, but not many. This is in 2007 and young Carina is staying at a friend's or something. (As I'm writing this: THIS IS LONGER THAN THE ACTUAL CHAPTER (DIES).) No language is really specific.**

Liberty sighed as she flopped over in bed and tried to fall back asleep, but the tiny bird that belonged to her boyfriend had other plans. It chirped above her head and began diving to settle in her hair before Gilbird got waved off. A quiet laugh came from the door and she glared at the albino. "Good sir, your bird is an ass."

"But if he vas an ass, he couldn't fly," Gilbert retorted as he walked in, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall next to the door. Three packages sat at his feet. "Do jou know vat today-"

"Damn it, don't you try anything. I can still dye your hair into next week," Liberty said, finally getting fed up and pulling the pillow over her head.

A weight settled itself onto the bed next to her and the man laughed again, "But zat's what makes April fools so great! Jou can prank everyone around jou and zen zey get back at jou! Like-"

"Klinge, don't you- SHIT!" Liberty flew off the bed, attempting to get the ice cube out from under her shirt. It tumbled out the back and she threw it at the dying-from-laughter Prussian. "Teutonic, damn you!"

He wiped tears from his eyes as he tried to sit up, but he struggled for breath, "Z-Zat vas beautiful! Gilbird, d-did jou get it?" The bird chirped happily as it dropped a small photo into his hand. Curiosity got the best of Liberty as she walked over to look at it and she chuckled.

"Ok, that was funny looking at that," The woman admitted. Prussia nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "But I'm still going to get you back."

She barely finished the sentence, "I know jou will, Schutz. Oh, and ve all got some packages. I need to go give Vest his." Liberty carefully took hers and looked it over and when she saw a small circle on the bottom, opened it.

All color drained from her face as she looked at the letter inside and the costume. "WHO THE FUCK SENT THIS?!"

"LIBERTY, STOP YELLING, VE DON'T KNOW EIZER!" She chuckled lightly at the tone Germany carried and she looked at the picture again.

"How did they get this?"

Gilbert came into the room again and looked over her shoulder, "Schutz, zat is so cute!"

"S-Shut up, Gil! Did you get one?" He laughed nervously and she grinned, "You saw mine, what's your's?"

He crossed his arms and pouted, "I don't want to talk about it..." Noticing the tone, Liberty eased up and looked at her picture again.

"Fuck it, I'm going to go get changed. I'll meet you in the hall?" He looked at her costume and raised an eyebrow at the main piece.

"Amalia, are you going to be ok-"

She shrugged and grabbed a few things from the underwear drawer, "I'll be fine. I have some pantyhose I can hear underneath that match. Are you changing?" Red overtook his features as he nodded. "That bad, huh? I'll see you downstairs." Gilbert nodded and left the room so she could get changed. "That means you too, Gilbird." The bird gave a disappointed chirp as it flew out the door before she closed it. Liberty winced as she looked at the outfit and began brushing out her wavy, bobbed hairstyle. It was just enough to hide the curl under, but most nations at this point knew it was there.

Once it was fluffy enough, she shed the oversized shirt and loose flannel pants and pulled on the pantyhose after. It was enough to cover her scars to the naked eye and she winced as she changed into a strapless bra and slipped on the main costume, frowning at the part on the bottom. Placing the bracelets, headpiece and shoes on, Liberty flinched lightly at the heavy clicks. Whoever got her this outfit was going to get it. Germany was in the door way and from how red his neck was, Liberty knew he was blushing at something.

She snickered at the maid outfit he was wearing and he turned around with his eyes closed in embarrassment, "Nice outfit, Germany. I bet Lutz is thrilled."

He opened his eyes and he stumbled back, "A-Amalia, how did someone get jou in zat?!" The woman's blush came back again, but Germany covered his eyes with a large hand as a laugh sputtered from his mouth.

"What? I know for a fact that you're not laughing at me, so what?"

Germany got his breathing under control and he pointed a finger, "Just look." She peeked around a corner and saw Prussia standing awkwardly by the door, wearing a 'bunny outfit' if that can even apply. Liberty's face turned an even brighter red as she stepped out.

"I don't like the implication here," She grit, cocking a hip out. Prussia looked over and within an instant, his face was brighter than the few times he got a killer sunburn.

Gilbert stumbled over his words, "F-Frau, v-vat are jou vearing?!" She looked down and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm wearing a bunny girl costume alright? This is not as funny as the person who is behind this believes." Quiet laughter came from behind them and they both sent blushing glares at the blonde nation.

"It's pretty funny. Come on, if we want to get zere early enough to find a good hiding spot, ve better leave now," He said, coughing behind his hand. Liberty nodded and he edged past her and his brother, "By ze vay, neizer of jou two are sitting in ze front." The two nodded in silence and watched as Germany walked out to start the car. Thank god they lived in the middle of no where.

"Gil, you put on sunscreen before you put your costume on, right?" He sighed and his head fell on his chest.

"Nein..." Liberty smiled and walked into the closet to go grab the large bottle they kept. "Danke, Liberty." She smiled over her shoulder and went back to him.

"Alright, hold on. I'll get your back and chest if you get your arms and legs." Gilbert nodded and she squirted some of the liquid into her hand before passing it off. Her boyfriend, while he did tower over her by 8-9 inches, kneeled so she could get his back easier. Liberty placed a kiss on his cheek before she walked behind him and began spreading it carefully along his back. Her fingers ran deftly over his muscles and he shivered at the cold sunscreen. The muscles shifted everywhere as the albino rubbed the sunscreen into his arms and shifted slightly so he could get his legs.

Grabbing the bottle again, Liberty put more on her hands before moving to his front. Gilbert spread his arms lightly so she could get his front, "This reminds me of when I first met you. I thought you were a rabbit at first, and look at you now. The bunny grew up." He smiled and one of his ears jabbed her lightly on the forehead.

"I thought you were going to kill me, the way you threw yourself at me," He laughed. She grinned and finished up.

"Threw myself at you? I was making sure you didn't get sunburned, but who never listened to me?"

Gilbert fake groaned, "Jou alvays got to be right, Frau."

Liberty smiled, "Always. Come on, we're probably scaring Ludwig." Gilbert nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"Alright, Amalia. I'll put up ze sunscreen if you go check if Vest is still here." Nodding, the two separated and did their job. Germany was tapping on the wheel impatiently, but he looked about ready to honk the horn when she popped her head out. Rolling a finger in a circle, the man frowned. She nodded and held a finger up.

"Klinge, hurry up!" Gilbert laughed as he burst through the door and jumped into the van. "Damnit!" She jumped in the van and her boyfriend laughed as she plopped next to him.

"Vat took jou two so long?!" Germany asked as he began pulling out of the driveway.

The two shared a glance, "Nothing!"

The youngest sighed, "Vy do I even try to get anyzing out of jou two anymore?" The two laughed and Germany began to drive them to their fate.

* * *

Gilbert ended up crawling out of the back first and held a hand out for Liberty to use. She grinned at him and clamored out. Germany stood tall, his face a salmon pink, as he looked side to side to look for a crowd, but thankfully, whoever did this had rented out the plaza or pulled some strings. "So, vhere vould a good place to hide be?" The albino asked as he also looked around. Liberty shrugged and did the same.

"Gilbert! Germany, Liberty, it's so nice to know you made it!" The voice made them all spin to see Spain approaching them with a similar outfit to Gilbert's. Liberty sighed and hit her head lightly against her the man's chest.

He chuckled lightly as he addressed his friend, "Ja, but ve were a little confused by the packages and ze blackmail letters."

The Spaniard blinked in confusion, "Blackmail? When I asked France to get everyone here, I thought he'd get you all here nicely!" Liberty looked at him with a frown.

"Wait, let me get this straight- You're the one behind this, made us wear this, and asked France to get us here?"

He barely blinked as he grinned, "Pretty much!"

"Damn it, Spain, you could have asked anyone else, and they wouldn't have used blackmail to get us here! I'm going to go find France," Liberty growled. She rolled up her imaginary sleeves and began to storm off when an arm slipped around her middle.

"Ve're just here to hide for a bit, do vatever ve need to and go," Prussia said from behind her.

Spain pouted, but nodded, "Alright, I'm going to go find the others and see if we can get that picture!" He bounced off and the auburnette looked over her shoulder.

"Why did you do that?!"

He grinned at her with a twinkle in his eye, "Because I'm ze sword, remember? I attack." The man nuzzled his face into her neck and smiled again when he could feel the flush against his cheek.

"Klinge, get off, you know-"

"Ja, ja," Prussia said as he released her and took her hand. "Come on, do jou want to walk around or somezing?" Germany cleared his throat to remind them of his presence, but his brother waved him off, "Ve could find jou later, Vest."

The blonde sighed and nodded reluctantly, "Fine, I'll go find a spot..." Gilbert smiled at his brother in appreciation and jogged into the park. Liberty scrambled behind him and it didn't take long to find Romano walking around, fuming. "Yo! Roma!"

He looked up in surprise and his face flushed at the two, "L-Liberty! W-What-a the hell are you wearing?!" She shrugged.

"Ask Spain, he's the-"

"One who put this-a shit together. He-a already got me with-a one of those stupid amusement-a boards. Dumbass..." The Italian said as he trotted off. Liberty smiled after him, but didn't say anything.

They walked for another minute before they returned to Germany. He was hiding behind a tall bush that was relatively close to some of the other nations, but in all honesty, no one wanted to seem them just yet. They plopped down and enjoyed the sun for a few minutes in silence when a series of pictures rained down. Liberty looked at the picture of her boyfriend and laughed. He was cuddled up to a large peach in his bed as he drooled onto it.

Prussia laughed at her's again. "You look so cute, Schutz!" Liberty was curled under a quilt of national flags and hugging a large gilbird. Germany looked between them and shook his head.

"You two..."

Later that day, Liberty got her revenge when she cooked a small quail and hid Gilbird for a while. Germany couldn't believe the amount of screaming his brother did when he found the small bird resting on Liberty's own gilbird.

* * *

 **HAPPY NEW YEARS, GUYS!**


	60. Chapter 54

**Hey guys! Happy new years and sorry about chopping yesterday's chapter off, but I had limited research at the moment, so I had to resort to other measures. I did stick a (false) implication in there, but it's mostly a joke.**

 **AnonChan1: Yay! And it's been roughly 6 months, so yay! At this rate, I'll be done with this story in 2 more years... I did and they're great. Also, I learned something a little while back. Ufufufufu is Hungary's laugh. Did you plan that? He's going to show a small balancing trick. Luciano has actually be extremely careful because of Feliciano. If he wouldn't take precautions in the early stages of learning, the worry wart would pitch a huge fit and Luciano knew it would be dangerous to attempt anything with Feli screaming in his head and breaking focus. Gradually, Feli relaxed and trusted Luciano more. But any injuries would heal a little slower if done by their own clumsiness, but it would regenerate after a long while. Something like that, yeah. Yeah, RIP. The two are not fucking like bunnies, despite what the other countries think, so I just decided to roll with that joke. Thank you, but those two actually abstain for a large part. Spain is passion, France is love, but what would Prussia be? It was. I actually drew inspiration from the Pierre #1 thing earlier in chapter 40.**

Frankish/Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 **Old Irish**

* * *

Frank let out a sigh, not one of deep sadness, but not of contentment or happiness either. Annabelle sighed and leaned next to him, her face reflecting the same resigned look as they gazed at the coffin. "He's not going to be the last, you know." He bowed his head.

"I know, but I wish that my officials could at least get along." She smiled lightly and look at the ceiling above them.

"If everyone though the same, life would be boring. Everything would be the same and time would routine," the woman whispered. A bitter smile danced across Frank's face as he let his head fall against the cold wall.

"Yes, but life would be so much better if it could be peaceful for a while."

Silence echoed over the hall as Annabelle turned her gaze back over to Theuderic the third. The man had finally passed and his two sons stood next to their father. Clovis IV held onto Childebert III's hand tightly as the two children were suddenly faced with 'running a kingdom'. Quiet tears leaked down their face as Pepin stood behind them and whispered quietly into their ears. "Those two are going to go through hell, but at least Pepin's there."

He nodded, "Yes, but if anything goes wrong, they will shoulder the blame as king. At least, Clovis will. They're not dividing the kingdom up again." The two returned to silence and the woman looked out a window. "You have that look again." Annabelle cocked her head in confusion and Frank smiled at her sadly, "Your feet are restless again, are they not?" Annabelle let her head hang.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have to leave right now," She murmured and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Annabel. We'll get you where you want to go soon." Nodding, the woman offered a smile of reassurance and Frank pulled her into a hug. "You really are short, Bel."

"Shut up."

* * *

There is something about the air near Britain and Ireland that just calmed Elizabeth's nerves. As she stepped off the boat, a familiar patch of red hair behind a stack of crates caught her attention and she walked over to it, ruffling it lightly. The absence of a response instantly sent her 'Holy shit, something's wrong' senses tingling and Scotland looked at her with a blank look. He had a well-chewed stick in his mouth and he growled.

" **Wha' are you lookin' a', lass**?" Elizabeth sighed through her nose and leaned on the boxes. " **Wha** '?"

" **Two years ago, Theuderic III died. I know that look, Scottie. Spill** ," She asked, looking at him.

The teen growled and spit his chew toy out, " **Bridei. Te one te lead tha' attack all those years ago**." His quiet tone made her pause.

" **I liked him. I'm sorry**."

He laughed and ran a hand over his eyes. A raindrop splattered on her face and Elizabeth looked up in confusion, " **You don't really care. He's jus' another king lost te time, ain'' he**?" The storm that was brewing made her nervous and she looked at the nation. He didn't move, but she stood and pulled the hood of her cloak up and pushed a side over to him. " **Get tha' offa me** ," Scotland growled as he shifted away from her, but Elizabeth grabbed his upper arm and gave him a pointed look.

" **He may be a king lost to time, but he mattered to you, so don't let others forget about him. Have the Annals written him in yet**?" He stared up at her and sighed. With a gentle nod, Elizabeth relaxed. " **Those become very important to time later, so he isn't going to be forgotten. He did help you get away from your brother's hold for a little bit**." Scotland nodded and she smiled, ruffling his hair under the cloak again. " **Alright. Can you calm down enough to get the storm to stop? I don't want us to be bitching about aching limbs**."

Scotland snorted, but the weather did let up after a while. Elizabeth smiled and ruffled his hair again. He huffed and punched her in the side roughly. " **T-That's more like it** ," She wheezed.

She left that same port 2 years later in 695.

* * *

Arriving back in France, Annabelle didn't even to see her friend to know something had happened. There was a larger buzz than normal, but as Frank strolled towards her, the frown on his face spoke volumes. "Annabel..." She pulled him into a hug and he gripped onto her shoulders. "It happened again. Clovis..."

She nodded and rubbed his back, "So Childebert-"

"-Is king, yes. Pepin has also placed some of his family as the Mayors in the other areas. Drogo is in Burgundy and Grimoald is in Neustrasia." Annabelle nodded and sighed.

"Things will get easier soon. May it be in a year, five years, or fifty, things can always be better or worse."

He smiled up at her and nodded carefully, "Thank you, my friend."

She grinned and pulled him into a side hug," Any time, Frank." The blonde sighed and pulled her into a side hug to lean on her.

* * *

" **Shit, Ériu**!" Alma shouted as the teen tackled her. " **You've gotten shorter**!" The man gasped and she rolled him over onto his back and sat on him lightly.

" **I'm no' shorter! I've jus' been spendin' too much time inside te get ou' an' taller**!"

Alma laughed and stood, offering him a hand, " **I bet I'm still taller than you. What's so important**?" The brunet brushed his long tunic down and grinned.

" **There's a mee'in' goin' on to determine Easter and I thought you'd want te join in! Adomnán asked for you specially, how does he know you**?"

The auburnette grinned and ruffled his hair lightly, " **Thanks and I met Adomnán about two decades back. I'm surprised he mentioned me**."

" **He did remember ye. Ya did spend the great'r par' o a year wi'' 'im. Ye still suck a' story tellin' though. I remember when Conall tol' me about yer banshee legend. Almost laughed it was so ba'. Bu'...** "

" **That night..."** The two shuddered and a hand smacked her on the back of the head. " **Hey, Scottie? How's the abbey of one o' my pas' citizens**?"

Scotland growled and crossed his arms as he stood in Alma's view, " **Just fine. The abbey on my land is doin' fine. Lizzie**." She grinned at the teen.

" **Hey, Scotland. Are you here with** -"

" **Hello, Elizabeth.** "

She growled and turned around, " **Can everyone stop inter- Oh, hey, Addy**." The man had aged well in the past few years of his life and he smiled lightly, adjusting the papers in his arms. " **How have you been**?"

He nodded his head lightly, " **I have been faring well. How have you been**?"

" **Decently. So** ," The auburnette said, turning her attention to the rest of the group. " **Are we going**?" Ireland smiled and Scotland huffed as they walked to the monestary where the meeting would be going on. Alma smiled lightly as she looked over at Ériu, " **You've changed, Iverni**."

The teen flushed at the old name, " **I found God and the written word.** "(1) She nodded and ruffled his hair again. He laughed lightly and slugged her lightly on the arm. Adomnán noticed this and threw a cow. Figuratively, not literally.

" **Ériu, we don't hurt women for their comments!** " He scolded. The three immortals looked at each other and laughed. The old man looked around in confusion and Alma wiped away a tear.

Scotland came to his citizen's rescue, " **Lizzie's been in too many wars te no' be able te handle a sissy punch li'e tha'**." His brother growled and launched himself at the redhead playfully.

" **You wan' sissy? You'll be te sissy**!" The woman laughed and threw herself on top of the two. They wheezed and tried to get her off. " **Alma, get off**!" Ériu begged.

She looked at him, looking very pleased, " **Give me a good reason**." Scotland tapped on his brother's shoulder and the two schemed for a moment while Alma waited. She kept a close eye on them and the redhead jabbed her in the side. She squawked and jumped an inch for a split second, but it was enough for Ériu to use his body as a wedge for Scotland to get out and push her over. Alma laughed and held a hand up. " **Alright, good enough. I think you two can work together on this**." Adomnán simply stared at the scene with exasperation when the two nations pulled the girl up.

The synod of Birr of 697 rolled smoothly and the northern part of Ireland took up the Roman version of calculating Easter. A small flash of an unknown emotion flared through Ériu's eyes, but it went unnoticed and he thought nothing of it. When Scotland and his citizen returned to his home, Alma went with him. In 698, Scotland had gained another inch or two when the kingdom of Cait joined the kingdom of the Picts. Elizabeth was not amused.

" **GODDAMNIT PIERRE, GET YOUR FEATHERY ASS BACK HERE**!" Scotland watched in vague amusement as Elizabeth was chasing the small bird around the house. She jumped over a nearby chair and lunged for the bird, but all but landed into the wall as she missed. The redhead sighed and whistled, holding up a finger. The woman watched in amazement as the pigeon landed on his finger patiently. The nation removed the message and handed it off. " **Thanks** ," She grunted, sitting up.

Opening it, a frantic scribble was scrawled and Elizabeth laughed, " **Frank is freaking out because a new king has been bor-** "

" **Take yer shi' when you leave. I'm no' keepin' i' for ye.** " The woman nodded and pushed herself up and looked at the bird.

" **I'm going to get your feathery tail eaten for breakfast** ," She growled. Pierre chirped at her as she walked off and Scotland looked at it.

" **I'll save ye some seed if ye go shi' on 'er head.** "

The bird squawked and flew off. Scotland waited patiently for a moment or two until- " **DAMNIT PIERRE, I AM GOING TO STUFF YOU INSIDE A TURDUCKEN IF YOU DON'T STOP**." The nation cocked his head.

" **Wha' te fuck is a 'turducken'**?"

Regardless, the woman headed over as soon as she could. She had barely stepped off the ship when Frank grabbed her hand and ran her towards the palace. The guards easily let them through and quickly, familiar screams were heard. Luckily, Annabelle had heard enough screams of labor to know how to tell those apart from terrified screams of an attack.

Frank clutched onto her shoulder nervously and looked at her, terrified, "Annabelle! It's happening again!" She smiled and put a a hand on his shoulder.

"Everything will be alright. Have any of the queens died in childbirth yet?" He let out a shaky breath and shook his head. "There you go. The two of them should be fine. Do you know what next year is?"

A small smile graced his face as he relaxed, "Indeed. We may leave this horrid century behind!" With a small laugh, Annabelle nodded, but quickly winced as another scream echoes through the halls.

* * *

 **Panels: 691; 693; 695; 697, 698, and then 699 with Dagobert III's death.**

 **(1): I've heard that Ireland was one of the most scholarly places in those days and many religious figures went there to study and learn. Christianity was a big deal and so were the records. Annals were a big deal too, as they recorded many official events, like the deaths of kings. One example were the Annals of the Four Masters, but there were many more.**

 **Guys, we have finally hit the eighth century! It means Chibitalia, so Romano and Venie get reunited in 751, Frank takes Venie and Charlemagne! Question- Should I split this off as a 'part one' until the 'first' episode of chibitalia, where I make part two? Read and review!**


	61. Chapter 55

**Hey guys! We have finally hit the 8th century, which means a few things: Chibitalia, Charlemagne, vikings, Japan disses China and a few new characters (A very familiar face in 800, hopefully). We have this to look forward to, so yay! I'm also going to hit 175,000 word with this chapter, so even more: YAY!**

 **AnonChan1: Only a few of my friends have ever really touched this story, so eh. Ah. The regeneration would happen over a lengthy period, the worse the injury, the longer the recovery time. I would thing that France is love because Paris is the city of Love... I don't know, but maybe, and it did. Prussia can be love. Look below and imagine how I feel. He is. He's like a big brother. A lot of people have seen the sad picture that whenever it rains in England, Arthur is crying. I'm making it so that flash storms are the countries' doing. I did some research and it was... 696 where nothing happened, maybe one religious thing, but 5 deaths. That was just in there for shits and giggles, banshee stories can be traced back to the early 8th century. True, and she was trying to see if the two could actually work together. Goddamnit Pierre.**

Frankish

 **Old Japanese**

Gothic

* * *

Annabelle and Frank waited patiently as the moon crawled towards the center of the sky and cast a large light on a sundial below. "I can't believe it..." The woman whispered as the shadow on the snowy structure inched along. "It's been little more than 600 years since I got sent back." Frank smiled and pulled the blanket around them tighter. She was curled up and sitting next to him on a cold bench, watching the sky.

"I cannot believe it either. It has been so long..." He placed his head on hers.

The auburnette sighed through her nose and relaxed, "When I'm older and raising the younger me... I want to keep her away from all of this. I want her to meet you guys the way I did or otherwise she-I-s... damnit, would be heartbroken to all of her family and not have them recognize her." The blonde cast her a small look.

"I understand a little... She would still travel with you like your children now, but we would never meet her? She would think she would be a normal girl?"

Annabelle sighed again and set her gaze on the standing podium, "That's the way we were brought up. There were a few people in my childhood that I remember as you guys, but I never talked to you, so you never stuck in my memory. I fear that sometimes that if I do something, anything different, that I might not get sent back, that I might change something that has already been set. I would instantly change if I do something to the younger me, which is who I am now, and it's so confusing..." Frank chuckled.

"You're going to make yourself sick if you think too hard about it. Relax, it's so pleasant out," He soothed. Annabelle laughed. "Besides, it's nice to have you next to me for this."

"Frank, if you're hitting on me again, we already agreed-"

He shook his head, "I wouldn't do that. I am merely commenting on your presence."

"Alright. But for future reference, you're the pretty one between us," She said as she cast him a sideways glance. Frank laughed again and his eyes were drawn to the shadow and her amber ones followed. "It's almost here, 700..." Minutes passed in silence until there was not a hint of shadow and the two friends cheered in joy. "We're still here, France! We've survived this long!" The man laughed and picked up some snow and threw the handful of loose powder at her. Annabelle gasped as the frozen water hit her and she growled. Picking up some of her own and making a snowball, she aimed it at the man and threw it. It burst on his shoulder and the two quickly escalated to a real snowball fight. Laughs carried across the courtyard and hits were made. It had been a good few decades.

The woman remained with Frank, getting news of how the lombards had a squabble over kings, but things settled very quickly. Otherwise, life was flowing smoothly and then Theudoald was born. Frank was in a meeting with Pepin and some of the other sons when a small pigeon landed on Annabelle's head. Charles blinked in confusion at the small bird before making his move on the game of chess. Annabelle looked over the new move before moving her queen two spaces over and checked the message. "Frank!"

The man peeked his head into the room a few seconds later and cocked his head. She held up the letter and smiled, "Tell Grimoald his son is being born. The mother wants us to be there soon." The family did end up going and the grandmother cooed over the small child. Charles also gained a small glint in his eye as he looked fondly over his half-nephew.

* * *

Frank's terrified scream made Annabelle shoot up in bed and grab a random blade. She dashed into the dining room where the nation was shaking as it stared down a very large, very familiar bird standing on the back of a chair. She laughed a bit and placed her persian sword against the wall as she walked over to China's messenger bird. "Hello again," the woman whispered as she approached it. Another letter and a small bundle was attached to its' leg as it waited patiently. Removing it carefully, the bird took off a second later, swooping at the blonde nation. Frank shrieked again as it neared him, but it quickly flew out the window.

"Frank, what did you do to that poor bird?" He looked at her with tears in his eyes and he wiped them quickly.

"Annabelle! How can you tease me when that beast attacked me first? It was going to kill me!"

She grinned and shook her head, "Frank, it wasn't going to kill you. I've seen a similar bird from a friend of mine in the far to the east. This was the second time I've..." Her voice trailed as she read the letter and opened the bundle. "He didn't!" The man came up and looked over her shoulder. In a decent sized jar, a bundle of dried plants were lightly crushed and Annabelle laughed in joy. "I need to go get some water!"

Frank laughed and grabbed her arms, "Annabel, slow down! What did he send you?"

"Tea! I haven't had this in 600 years! I've tried to make my own, but I couldn't! I've almost wanted it as bad as chocolate!" She laughed again and ran back to her room to grab her small pot from her bag. He blinked after her and shook his head in confusion. He found her later in the garden, sipping contently from a small glass.

"What is that?" Annabelle looked at him in confusion and smiled, sipping the warm liquid again.

"This is tea. It's a drink made from mixing certain plants to make a flavored drink. China has sent me some and told me it's becoming rather popular in the court," She said. A calm look was on her face and Frank looked into her cup. A deep amber liquid pooled in the bottom of her glass and he dipped a finger in to taste it.

The woman watched in a amusement as his face twisted, "It's so bitter! How can you drink it?"

"My mom and I used to just sit down some nights and have a drink of it and talk about our days. It brings back good memories..."

Frank nodded and took a seat next to her, "Speaking of memories, I had a weird encounter with a bishop a few days ago. He swore up and down the archangel Michel was telling him to build a church on this rocky isl-" Annabelle spit out her tea and blinked in surprise. "What? I believe him, he had a hole burnt into the center of his forehead!"

"So he's going to get it built?" He nodded and stole her cup to take another sip. "Why?"

The man scrunched his nose as he spit it out, "I really don't know." Annabelle laughed and shook her head.

Aubert of Avranches did get his church built on October 16th in 709 and Frank introduced him to Annabelle. She looked in wonder at the large hole in the back of the man's head. The name of the mountain had originally been Mont-Tombe, but afterward, it was known as Mont Saint-Michel. All Annabelle thought was 'damn. It's here...'

* * *

Jun carefully looked at the already inked pages carefully and smiled as she looked over them. Japan also looked at them, silently proud even though his face showed indifference. " **This is amazing Japan, wow...** " He nodded and looked over to the author. The man had smiled lightly at the comment, but he never looked up from his work. " **How have you been? I heard from China a few years ago that there had been a large fi-** " He looked at her and she caught the glance and hint. " **Right. You've grown a lot since I've last seen you.** " It was true, the small child was no longer small. He was now at least at her shoulder and they both knew he wasn't going to stop.

He bowed his head lightly, " **Thank you for noticing**." Jun sighed and let her own head fall. " **Are you ok**?"

She smiled lightly at him, " **Yeah, but I'm just a little tired. How are you holding up**?"

" **I am good. How long do you intend to stay**?"

" **Not long, but I mostly wanted to see how you are doing. I haven't seen you in more than 75 years. If you want, I'll be out before tomorrow night** ," Jun suggested, looking over one of the pages that described the origins of how the imperial line of Japan was founded. The nation nodded and let a careful finger run down the side of one of the Kojiki's pages. The work was written in Chinese, but it was based on sound and in all honesty, it greatly confused the woman

" **That will be fine. I wish you safe passage**."

Jun did end up with safe passage and she passed into Italy early of the next year, marking 712. She arrived in Pavia and walked into her home, deep in the night. It hadn't changed much and Germania and Veneziano were resting in their own beds. Somehow, the Germanic man didn't stir as she entered the home and placed her bag and weapons by the front door, but she smiled, leaning on the doorway into the bed room. Her tiny brother was curled into a ball and Germania was sleeping with his back pressed tightly on the back wall. His deep snores echoed through the otherwise quiet home and she took advantage of the sound to crawl into bed with her brother.

His aura twisted and a small blade was placed against her neck as Luciano took over in surprise, "Who are-a oh, sorry, Ragazza." Fortuna shook her head lightly as the child took the pugio away from her neck. "Feliciano's happy you're-a here, but he's too-a tired to deal with-a anything."

"I understand. Just go back to bed. Good job with defense, by the way." Luciano nodded and stuffed the dagger back under his pillow and curled up in the curve of her stomach for warmth as she tucked an arm under for him to rest on. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Say nothing, Ragazza."

"I won't. You were asleep and cold for all I know," She said with a grin. He huffed lightly and quickly drifted off. Germania's snores were the last thing she heard before she slipped off herself.

Both beds were empty the next morning when the birds woke her up. Crawling out, Fortuna peeking into the dining room and smiled at the two, "Morning Germania. Good morning, Venie." The blonde watched her stand by the table and eat a small slip of bread covered in peach jam.

"Good morning, Sorellona!" Feliciano cheered as he ate a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning. You didn't let me know you came in last night," Germania said as he munched on a jellied-up piece of bread as well.

She hummed and swallowed what was in her mouth, "You were pretty out of it. Someone already gave me that speech last night." The blonde sighed and nodded. "You're looking better than you have in a while, if a little tired."

"We finally have a good king," He grunted. Fortuna nodded and looked at her brother.

"So Venie, how are you holding up?"

He smiled, "I'm-a fine! I'm-a sorry about last-a night."

"Not your fault. I should have been more careful crawling into bed. Now, I'm going to shut up so we can eat," The woman said, chomping on her bread.

"Thank you," Germania said with a faint twinkle in his eye.

Fortuna coughed into her fist to try and hide her laugh and not choke to near-death, "You're an ass." The small company finished up their food and went their own ways. Venie toddled over to her when they had finished and asked to be picked up. Fortuna laughed as she did so and Germania excused himself to go meet with Liutprand. As her brother later told her, the man had gotten lucky. A friend of his in Bavaria let him stay there, as his father had been exiled and his mother and sister had had their nose and ears cut off. She growled at the news, but Venie said the king had been spared, apparently his youthful look had made him look harmless. A glint in her brother's eyes made her laugh even harder because he remembered the conversation she had held with his counterpart when the two had first met.

Even though the year was going swell so far, Frank called her back, in a relatively safe manner (Luciano might have made the bird leave with a few sliced or missing feathers), but Annabelle came back to watch over Carloman. As she entered the castle again, screams were heard. The closest guard gave her a sympathetic look, but the woman sighed and entered. Charles was pacing the hall awkwardly and Frank was saying words attempting to calm him down.

"Your wife will be fine! She is strong and you will have a healthy child! Annabelle, help me out!"

She smiled and walked next to Frank, "It's his first child, right?" He sighed and nodded, running a hand through his hair. Annabelle laughed and leaned on the wall. "Charles, your wife will be fine and you're going to be the father of a good, healthy man. Calm down. Trust me like you used to." The king sighed and continued to pace, "Charles Martel, I used to be a mother, I understand how nerve-wracking it is to see someone you care about going through something that could potentially kill them, but worrying isn't going to do you any-" A child's cry came from behind the door and a midwife popped her head out and smiled at the father.

"It's a boy." Charles smiled in relief and entered the room and Frank followed him, a smile twitching at his own mouth.

* * *

 **Anyway... That's that and I have the rest of Anon's review down here. It's how I think 2P's work and it's just my opinion. Feel free to skip.**

 **So, I'm going to attempt to explain how I see the 2Ps. People have thoughts and stuff and we know everything around us. The nation's 2P would hear everything, feel everything, _sense_ everything as if they were in control, but they aren't 'surfaced'. They merely reside in the nation's mind, existing and listening to everything. If they want to, they can 'switch out' with their 1P and they can be in control while the 'normal' country takes the dormant place. As Luciano said, he's a self-defense mechanism, based on dissociative identity disorder (previously multiple personality disorder) but with a twist** (Note if there is anyone who has dissociative identity disorder and is offended, I deeply apologize, but this is simply how I view the 2Ps. I will never understand what you have gone through to get your other, but... I can only hope that you have the best of luck in the future.) **that the country can sense with both personalities and interact with their 'other'. Thoughts are not safe between them and things can go wrong if a personality doesn't agree with its 'original'. If Feliciano wanted to date person A, but Luciano wanted to date person B, things could easily get ugly. Does this make sense? But the half-and-half thing in the earlier chapters was Luciano or Feliciano sharing the body and they can only control a certain part. They had to agree on their movements by doing that odd twin mind-reading thing twins can sometimes do.**


	62. Chapter 56

**Hey guys! So I don't have school today, so here! Also, I have to wing some appearances in here, so bear with me. I am just a stone's throw away from 5,000 views, so thanks guys!**

 **Hoppy854: In all honesty, probably not in the next 100 years. I will say that I have planned Oliver in the next 400 years, give or take another 100, and maybe Flavio in in the next 800 years, but we'll all get there.**

 **AnonChan1: Hopefully. I cannot wait for this century to reach 751, it can't get here fast enough. I would assume it rains in the area, but I would like to think if the country is under extreme distress. Scottie was morning the loss of one of his kings, so he'd have a reason to be emotionally stressed. I plan on doing the current LL's point of view and maybe go back or make a new mini-series with pre-immortal Carina on her point of view. Actually, that gleam is love, not malice. I'll bring it up around 741, probably. Well, it's a tiny-ass pigeon versus a big-ass vulture. I load the stuff with sugar and milk. Always, and she's actually getting shorter! What? He probably will, but hopefully they don't butt heads. Luciano knows she couldn't dare hurt him because she would also hurt Feliciano, so it would be a one-sided fight. They both know this.**

Frankish/Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 _Italian/Flashback_

 **Spanish**

* * *

Frank gripped her hand tightly as they looked over the fresh grave. Snow drifted down peacefully onto Pepin's grave as the cries of a baby carried over the grounds. "Who's going to take over?" She asked, uncertainly looking at the grave of the king behind the scenes.

He sighed shakily, looking around at the crisp white scenery, "Plectrude wants to see her sons as heirs. Drogo is already Mayor in Burgundy, and she's trying to place Theudoald as Mayor in Austrasia and Neustrasia. Theudoald's father..." Annabelle's gaze hardened as she looked down. "She has had Charles and his wife imprisoned so he cannot try to take the throne." The woman snorted lightly and Frank chuckled under his breath, "I know. The king isn't having any of it and he is going to attempt to smooth this over."

"How? This is a bunch of kids fighting over who gets to be king of the rock!" Frank laughed again, remembering all the times the two of them watched the young children play in the garden and claim kingship over a large rock there.

"Dagobert and the court is stepping in. They are attempting to get someone else as the Mayor in Neustrasia and the nobility in Austrasia favor Charles," The blonde cleared, speaking slowly as he tried to explain the situation.

Annabelle pinched the bridge of her nose, "This is going to be a long few years." Frank chuckled again and tugged on her hand.

"Come, we are going to get a cold if we stand out here any longer." She released his hand.

"I'm going to stay out here a little longer." Frank nodded and let her go, walking inside to get some much needed warmth. "So Drogo, Grimoald, and Pepin and dead, Plectrude is trying to secure Theudoald as mayor in Austrasia. Charles is in prison and we're about to start a fucking civil war. Great." She looked at the grave one last time and sighed, "I'll try an keep an eye on them. Charles is going to be a great ruler, but Plectrude's screwed us." The woman turned tail and wandered back inside to curl in front of the fire.

Tensions slowly rose, and Dagobert did step in, placing Ragenfrid as the mayor of the palace. The new mayor marched towards the younger mayor and he was forced to retreat to his mother in Cologne. Ragenfrid continued the march, but Annabelle sent a look at Frank. He cocked his head, confused. Growling, she whispered to him, "I'm going on ahead. There's something I have to do." Her friend sighed and shrugged. "Thanks Frank. I'll be back with something." She broke off from the main group and headed northeast. "I know this place," she whispered to herself and darted off into the woods. The trip would have normally taken at least 4 days by a slow progession, but Annabelle didn't stop for two days. She took a small nap on the third dat, but she made it to Cologne.

It wasn't hard to find the bitch's home. Annabelle looked around it and at some of the guards. She didn't know any of them and she growled. Unsheathing one of her swords, she quietly cirlced the home, looking for a way in. She couldn't burrow and she couldn't just knock on the front door. She didn't have her bow and quiver, so long distance was out of the question. A familiar face looked at her from a high window and his eyes widened in surprise. Annabelle put a finger to her lip and looked around. Seeing nothing, she was forced to grip her sword tighter.

Pulling the hood of her faded green cloak over head, she stepped out of the brush. The guards looked at her and drew their own blades. There were only two, she could handle that. One of the men attempted to hit her overhead, which she blocked. These two had a double teaming act and Annabelle's eyes widened as she drew back to avoid the hit aimed at her side. Standind with a slight tremor in her hands, she grabbed her other blade. The two mis-matching swords set off her balance, but she had practiced too long with them for her to fail this.

The two men looked at each other and began to circle her. Annabelle's eyes widened and she growled, turning tail into the woods. She had been over that scenario too many times...

 _Veneziano nodded his head as Romano whispered in his ear. Their grandpa had offered the challenge of taking down their older sister a few times. She knew about the dare and watched them carefully as they made their second attempt. Their first success caught her off guard and they were trying again. The two brothers circled her and lunged at the same time on Romano's call, "Get her, Venie!". She darted back, but they landed and tried again. They did get her in the end. An hour later, she was caught in a similar situation. They were in her peripherals when she darted out of the circle and out back to scale a tree. They lost that time._

The soldiers didn't follow her and she growled. Taking off out of the woods again quietly, she tried again. Her longsword embedded itself in one's back and the other slip between vertebrae in his neck, nearly decapitating him. China always told her that silence was necessary to survive in life. Pulling them loose, Annabelle wiped her blades off and entered the home. She killed any opposition that stood in her way and soon, Charles Martel stood in front of her. "Hello, Annabelle."

"Hey, Charles. Are you ready to get out of here?"

He cast her a look and they gathered anything he had before they walked out, "Annabelle, are-"

"Frank is on his way and I didn't kill your mother-in-law or Theudoald. Give me a moment..." She let her aura span and relaxed with relief when she saw how close they were. Letting a pulse out, Frank responded with one of his own. "They're not to far out. We'll probably meet them later today or early tomorrow. Let's get moving." Charles nodded shakily and he followed her. They traveled for several more hours until the moon was high into the sky.

"Can you keep going?"

He nodded, "Yes, but how do you know where you're going?"

Annabelle smiled and saw a slightly deeper meaning beneath it, "I have years of experience and I know where we are. I also know Frank isn't too far off and he'd always come find us. A country doesn't usually give up its people easily." The Mayor nodded in surprise and kicked up his pace a little. The woman noticed this and continued on, and it was before the sun was even peaking over the horizon when they met the other soldiers. Frank was poking at a warm stew over a fire when Annabelle and Charles plopped next to him on a log.

"You're late, Annabelle," Frank joked.

She growled and leaned against his shoulder, "Shut up and get us some food." He laughed but dished up a single bowl, for a good reason. Annabelle was already asleep.

"What's happened while I was imprisoned?"

Frank sighed and continued to jab at the stew, "Dagobert has died. We managed to find an heir to the throne, but..." Charles hummed and lowered his bowl.

"You'll do fine. Is it Daniel? They pulled him out?" Annabelle asked, her voice muffled by the hood. Frank nodded.

"Yes. He took the name Chilperic." Annabelle snorted and Frank sighed. "Fine, but be quiet..." The Frankish army continued on their way to fight the second battle of their civil war: Cologne. Frank urged his two friends North, as Chilperic and the new main Mayor of the palace were out for them.

All in all, Plectrude and Theudoald had to submit to the new king while some Frisians from the North came in and kicked Charles' ass and forced him into the mountains of Eifel. Charles managed to pull together enough supporters to attack the king's army in the third battle. Annabelle frowned as she looked at the king's army. "Charles, do you remember those times you tricked me in chess?" While it still hadn't taken off in Europe, it hadn't stopped her from making her own board and pieces.

"Which do you mean?"

She sighed and looked down at Frank, "When you dragged my king out of hiding and forced me into a checkmate?"

"That would be a good idea. Draw them out and attack when they aren't expecting it?" He asked, looked at her. The woman nodded and the two set to work training the soldiers. They would fall upon the other army and then fake a retreat. When their enemies were charging towards their retreating figures, Charles gave the signal and his army turned around and charged Chilperic's army. This move is known today was a feigned retreat and Charles is the only general known to use this move in the Dark Ages.

Within the next two years, Charles Martel would spare his step-mother and allow his half-nephew to live, one that Frank questioned because it was usually either religion or death, but Charles spared him. His step-mother accepted his sovereignty and he went on to push the Frisians back under the name of 'the rightful' king, Clotaire IV in 717. He defeated the Neustrasians and when his enemies fled, did not pursue them. Charles became the Duke of the Franks and the Mayor of the palace of Neustrasia in 718.

In 719, he decided he had had enough with the Frisians and went to get them. Annabelle had laughed and said she was not putting up with any more war. Frank had looked like a kicked puppy, but he nodded. The Frisians didn't stand a chance and they were annexed.

The next year, Frank got a letter and started laughing. It was empty, not a funny laugh, not a happy laugh, but not a sad one either. Annabelle looked at him in concern, "Frankish?"

He shook his head and excused himself. She looked at Charles and he nodded, and the woman ran after him. The auburnette found him shaking in the hall and pulled him into a hug. "Annabelle... The Visigothic kingdom is gone. They were forced back and I'm worried about my friend..." She rubbed his back, attempting to sooth him, but he clung to her figure.

"Frank, your friend is fine. If he's anything like you, he's strong and he'll fight back. What year is it, 720? That means?" Annabelle put a hand to her mouth and her body went weightless.

The man looked at her in surprise, "Annabelle?"

" **Reconquistia...** " She breathed and tears poured out of her eyes in bitter shock. "Time passes so quickly, I didn't even..." Frank chuckled and tears slipped out of his own eyes. "Frank, I know what's happened and you'll have to face their enemy's, but your friend is fine. His empire has shrunk, but he is alive."

* * *

 **This isn't one of my best chapters, I have done better, but whatever. The next few chapters are going to be a little rough, so pardon me. I have a 'language guide' on this thing's dA page: LadyLuck372. If y'all are ever curious. See ya!**


	63. Chapter 57

**Hey guys! Against my better judgement, I'm still making another chapter! School has yet again been chanced because of snow, so yeah. My bro turned 13 yesterday, so yay!**

 **AnonChan1: Same, but that's what I get for being on the east coast. That is the only thing I will every say on where I live so... True, people need to expand their use of that word. Those years, they do act like children, more like teenagers, but Charles beats them up eventually. He gets a deck in the face from the weird foreign kid, but then knocks the Frisian kid out next week, if that makes any sense. And those years aren't easy. After Pepin's death, the Frankish empire has a three year civil war with 5 main major battles: Compiégne, Cologne, Ambieve, Vincy, and Sossions. It was a battles with a few different opponents: Chilperic and his Mayor, Plectrude and her Mayor, Charles Martel and his austrasians, and the outside force of the Frisians, who live North of them, but they're a whole different war. She's getting Charles out of imprisonment from his stepmother, who kept him locked up to prevent him raising an army against her. True, and the religion or death thing was a real threat. With religion, they gave up all rights they had to the throne so long as they were in service. There is one famous case of this in the franks: Clodoald, son of Clodomer I. He barely managed to escape death and he later became known as Saint Cloud, and there are various towns named after him. One in France, and oddly, three in America. Ahhh, Spain. I am not planning on it. Maybe in brief passing in which Spain isn't going to remember long after, but those two definitely know the other is somewhere in the world. There's something I'm planning and I want it to happen, damnit!**

 **Alright, onto the story!**

Frankish/ Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

Gothic

 **Italian**

* * *

"You have too many kings."

"Imagine how Britannia feels."

Annabelle shivered as she imagined having several favorite kings and then their passing, "True..." The two stood in front of the grave of Chilperic II, formerly known as Daniel, but their feelings of loss had been numbed by the man in general. After all the trouble he gave to Frank's current favorite Mayor of Palace, he didn't like the man either. "So, as always-"

"His son, Theuderic. The boy is but a baby," Frank whispered, his loose blonde hair swaying in the breeze. Annabelle smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He has Charles backing him up. He'll be fine. Come on, it's getting cold out." He smiled and nodded following her in. "So, now that Charles can do whatever he wants, what is he planning on doing?" Frank grinned as they walked for their usual spot in front of the fire.

Plopping down gracefully, he waited for her to sit as well, "He's going to re-establish connections within the empire, but there's something going on in the south that's more than just mere lack of the king's control. I can feel it." He itched at the bottom of his leather foot-cover lightly. The woman frowned and leaned toward's the raging fire's warmth.

"Be careful, Frankish. Some things aren't meant to be picked at." Frank was right. To the south, there was the Umayyad conquest of Gaul, a spread of Islam breezing along Northern Africa and had all but destroyed what would be Spain, but without them, Europe's culture and lifestyle couldn't have emerged in the way it did without them. In the summer, a frantic man came to Charles for help. Toulouse was under siege and the Duke wanted help. However...

"I wish to see how this ends," Charles admitted when he played another round of chess with Annabelle and Frank raised his eyebrows from his place next to the board.

He swallowed, "Duke-"

The man sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I know Frankish, but I wish to see if these enemies need my attention. If Aquitaine can handle it themselves, they won't need our interference overall. If they do lose, I'll-"

"For fuck's sake, just send me down there, you two. I'll see what I can do," Annabelle said as she moved one of her pieces. "Your move."

Charles nodded and looked down at the board, "Thank you, Annabelle." She hummed and leaned back in her chair as she looked at Frank.

"Is that alright with you? I'm sure that Charles wants you to stay here, but-"

He sighed, "I want to come, Annabelle-" She nodded and went back to the game.

"I'll leave with him tomorrow. Toulouse is going to need as much help as it can get at this point," She said and placed her knight into a final move. "Checkmate." Charles nodded and knocked the pieces over. Odo couldn't have been more confused when Charles explained the situation and he looked over to the short woman. The man sighed and took it, leaving. He gathered troops and finally, on June 9th, 721, the makeshift army attacked the army besieging the city. It terrified Annabelle how confident, but ill-prepared they were. The opposing army hadn't expected the pincer move and most were caught unprepared. It was an easy victory, but a complete mess.

When Annabelle returned to the familiar company of Frank and Charles, she growled as she faced them, blood still staining her hair, "You two have a problem on your hands. They were unprepared, but they know not to be caught so recklessly next time." She turned around and walked for her bed and flopped over without removing her weapons.

As the sun peeked through the next morning, the woman's cloak and swords had been removed and Frank was sitting on his bed with a bad case of bed head. "Morning Frank," Annabelle grunted, pushing herself up on her elbows. He looked up startled and sighed.

"What did you mean last night?"

She sighed and let herself fall back onto the bed. "Frankish, my mother has taught and drilled history into my head to the point I still remember it. Many times in battles, the worst an army is caught off guard, the better they are next time. It takes just a taste of an enemy's tactics to learn how they fight. The huns taught us that, didn't they?" Annabelle asked bitterly. He stared at her nervously as she carried his gaze with a patient look.

"Why did you bring them up?"

"They were the first group to pop into my head that you knew. I still don't like to talk about it though. If it gets my point across..." She trailed and the words hung in the air. "I'm trusting you to never bring that up in public, France. Ever. You can when its just us, but my brothers can't know." He sighed again and pushed himself up.

Ruffing the hair on her forehead lightly, he smiled, "Alright. Just don't let the past hold you back. The future still has a fight to pick with you." She laughed and sat up.

"Alright, let's go, I'm hungry. After you."

Frank's eyebrow twitched as his grin shook, "Ladies first."

"All the more reason for you to go first," Annabelle jested and ran out the door as her friend charged after her.

* * *

Fortuna smiled as she pushed some of her sleeping brother's hair out of the way. Liutprand smiled at the two, "It's odd to see him resting this well. Normally, he just sits outside all day." She smiled and walked outside and the king trailed behind her. "How are things in the North?"

"Frank is fighting the same enemies you are. So what's this I've heard about Corsica?" They stood in the shade as the child in his sister's arms slept peacefully, even through when she first picked him up. It was going to be fun when he woke up.

The Lombardic king looked over the ever-so-slightly crumbling stone fence and over the water, "We had no choice but to take it, the empire to the east wasn't going to do anything against the Muslims. It's under our protection now and I reckon that the younger brother is taller than his older now." Fortuna chuckled and readjusted the snoozing Italian. "I will leave you in peace. It was nice to see the nation after-"

"Right. I'll see you soon, your highness. I wish you well on your travel back," She said, nodding to him. The king smiled again and left the yard. Fortuna sighed and looked up. " **Well, Roma, two peaches**?"

" **Damn straight, Ragazza** ," Romano said as he rubbed his eyes. " **Acting is-a tiring work.** "

" **I know. I've missed you a lot, Romano. It's nice to be back home** ," She said as she reached up to grab some of the fruit.

Her brother blushed lightly, but smiled, " **Why do you-a always come back**?"

Fortuna smiled and passed him a peach. They bumped them together and they bit into them, " **You know why**."

" **Si, but I-a just want to hear-a it again** ," He whispered, his blush looking like a light salmon pink. The woman rubbed her mouth lightly before placing a light kiss on his forehead. His blush darkened even more and he hid his head in her shoulder.

Chuckling, she wrapped her free arm around him loosely as to not get juice on him, " **Because you're my nation and I know that no matter what I do, you'll still take me back, no matter how mad I make you. I am-a Southern Italian for always and forever! But I will always come back for you, Roma. I have a pretty little ring that promises that**!" He pulled out of her shoulder and looked at her hand where she was waving it around happily. " **I've been careful with it so it doesn't break, but age does odd things to wood. Do you still have your's**?"

Romano nodded, " **Let me-a go**!" Fortuna blinked and did. He jumped out of her arms and ran into the house and came out a second later. A small, familiar box was in his hands.

" **Holy shit, you still have that**?" Air couldn't make it into her lungs as he grinned and opened it carefully and showed her the ring hidden in the secret compartment. " **Roma**..." He looked at her and smiled lightly.

" **Never forget, Carina. You're-a one of mine.** " Fortuna laughed and a few tears slipped down her face as she pulled him into a tight hug. " **S-Shit, Sorellona!** " The woman laughed and her sobs became worse as she gripped onto her nation. Romano smiled lightly and hugged her back, letting a few tears slip down his own cheeks.

* * *

Romano growled when he heard the news, "I-It's-a just an image!" The priest of his church sighed and shrugged. The small child gripped his hands and stormed out, where his sister was was waiting for him. He kicked a rock as the two walked back home. Fortuna knew he needed time to blow off some steam, so she let him be, " **Stupid Leo. Stupid laws. Liutprand better-a do something**."

" **The emperor banned icons of religious figures**?" His sister asked with a small knowing smile.

He growled, " **Yes! Who does that-a asshole think he-a is to do something so-a stupid**!"

Fortuna laughed lightly, " **Don't worry, Roma, I know that Gregory is going to step in. You know Liutprand is going to, he takes every opportunity he can to get more power between you and your brother**." He sighed again and walked closer to her. The woman caught the hint and put him onto her shoulder. He looped his right arm around the top of her head to keep steady.

" **Religion is weird...** " He whispered. " **But I know that he's keeping us safe**." The auburnette smiled.

" **Why do you think I don't have one? I just place my trust in the people around me that we can make it through**." Romano hummed in agreement. The two were right though. The Pope in Rome, Gregory II, did condemn the action, and Liutprand took control of the turmoil. He conquered a few cities and Romano would admit that he would feel a slight connection, but it was gone as soon as it came with the donation of Sutri in 728. Liutprand had captured the small area and in hopes of displaying his goodwill and religion, get the town back to the papacy. It would set the foundation of the Papal States.

Fortuna pinched the bridge of her nose when she heard the news and went outside to calm down. Romano raised an eyebrow as he munched on another peach and watched her climb the peach trees. " **What's got-a your hair in a knot**?"

" **The king is playing with fire by making deals with two opposing Popes. I am so glad I'm not Catholic right now. I have one Pope in Rome who has all but disowned the Byzantines, but on the other, I have another one from the Byzantines that is probably going to take over. What the fuck**?" Romano shrugged and sighed. "I really hate people sometimes."

" **It helps if you think about the next 70 years** ," The child mumbled.

Fortuna took his advice and began counting them on her fingers, " **Let's see, the Vikings, Aistulf, Frank, beer, Charlemagne, and Holy- Fuck. I was really hoping I could skip him for a while...** "

Romano growled, " **Who? I've seen you-a react better to losing to me at morra**!" Fortuna clenched her hand.

" **He's the german who got me in this mess with time. If I hadn't found him... But then again, I wouldn't have met you guys..**." She trailed, letting her hands fall into her lap. "I am so done with today."

" **Ragazza, it's almost sundown, you're-a fine,** " Romano grunted and threw his finished peach pit at her. " **Come-a on, I'm-a hungry**."

" **I am too. What do you want for dinner? I think we still have a little meat left to cook** ," She said, hopping down and taking her brother's hand. He hummed and let his stomach growl.

* * *

 **I'm going to cut off there. I should be able to introduce a new character soon. Also... Sorry about the middle, I'm letting some of my own moving nervousness and anxiety leak in. I'm not having school tomorrow and I need to see my friends' faces because I'm nearing the 'moving in two weeks' thing because I call some of my band friends my children. I really don't know what I would do without them. If anyone is moving and reading this, I'm open to talk if you want, but spend as much time with your friends as you can. You don't know if you'll ever see them again.**

 **The first part is 721-724. The second is 725-726, and the last is 727- roughly 730. The last years... It's weird. I can't even describe it. I'm hoping to introduce a new character here soon. Also, I still have three openings for requests left and I'm opening for second requests at this point.**


	64. Chapter 58

**Hey guys! I'm under a lot of stress because of exams right now, so I really shouldn't be posting this. I'm getting so made at the mid to late 8th century right now because of the Catholic church. I'm also heading straight into 732 because reasons. I had another problem with this chapter and more than half of it got deleted. Fun. I WILL MOST LIKELY NOT BE UPDATING FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. SOME OTHERS ARE DOING THE FULL CHALLENGE. KUDOS, READERS.**

 **AnonChan1: I need to see my friends though. I think you need to spend a little time away from me for a while... True. IF I decide to put him in. It's an odd situation right now. True, and there's a fanfiction floating around on dA about that, it's pretty sad. True, but she mostly doesn't want her family to worry and tiptoe around her. It's her worst dream for them to treat her like glass when they have enough to worry about. Romano is awesome. That was my own anxiety seeming in. She moves around so much and while Frank is her friend, she doesn't have any other allegiance with her constant moving about, but with Romano, she'll know she'll always be welcomed back. It's more than anyone who's ever moved can ask for. I gave up on that a while ago. We really can't.**

Frankish/ Gaulish/ Vulgar Latin (French)

 **Old English**

 _ **German**_

Old Norse

 **Italian**

* * *

Annabelle growled as she stood in front of the two Franks, "Tell me again why I had to come here, away from my home and brother?" Frank sighed and drummed his fingers on the table. Charles looked at a familiar man further down the dinner table.

Odo cleared his throat lightly, "The Muslims have invaded further into our territory and Frank asked for help for extra lu-" The blonde slammed his fist on the table, but the remaining word hung in the air. 'Luck'. The auburnette's throat closed a tiny degree and she took a seat, playing with the sword at her waist.

"Alright, Frankish, I'm here. What do you need me for?" She hissed, looking at him. The nation stared her with a heartbroken expression.

"Annabel-"

The woman pursed her lips at him, "Frankish, I'm here, so give me a damn good reason to not go back home right now." A young man crept around the corner and he stared at them. "Hello...?"

The young official looked at her with a high look, "I am Pepin, who are you?" Annabelle sent Charles a blank look.

"You named him after your father? Good call," She said. The Mayor bowed his head lightly and Frank looked between the three. "Frankish, I'll stay for three years. After that, I'm taking off for a while. What do you need?" The blonde's mood lifted a little and he smiled.

"That's more than enough time. We have an army set up and we were waiting for you," Frank said with a softer tone. Annabelle nodded and stood, walking away from the table. She walked past Pepin, but he grabbed her arm before she could get too far.

"Who are you?" He asked, gripping her arm.

The woman toyed with her sword and tried to pull her arm out of his hold, "I'm the one who has to deal with the aftermath of a divided family that you tear up. Let me go." Annabelle stared him down and Pepin was taken aback.

"Pepin," His father said, standing. "Let Annabelle go." The young heir bowed his head and did so. "Annabelle, are you going to be alright?"

She breathed and nodded, "I should be. I need to go for a walk for a little bit. I'll be back." The Mayor accepted this answer and she left. She wasn't too far out of earshot when she heard Frank growl at the duke of Aquitaine. Annabelle smirked and walked out into the fresh October air. "I fucking hate this decade."

It was barely ten days later when the two armies had had enough of a standoff between the two armies. Charles has the Umayyads completely surrounded and their own army hidden by dense were several different charges by the Umayyads, but the cavalry had failed to break the infantry's line completely, something unheard of. There was another factor that the group would later find- rumors. Rumors spread that the Franks were going to steal the loot the opposing army had taken from the previous villages they had pillaged. Some of their warriors retreated and Charles sent out scouts to plunder and set chaos upon the camps. There had also been an attempt of Charles' life, but his men had been willing to die for him, saving his life. After that battle, the Frank went to sleep, figuring to wake and continue fighting in the morning.

When morning arrived and past, fear began to seep into the Frankish army's mind and Frank paced nervously while Annabelle leaned against a tree, attempting to rest. The blonde fiddled with some of the cloth on his tunic and sighed nervously, "Annabelle, why aren't you worried? The Umayyads could attack any moment!" She sighed as her eyes fluttered open, leaning her head back.

"Would I be resting if I were worried? There's nothing to worry about because the Umayyads are back at the peninsula. I was up all night watching them leave," Annabelle groaned as she shifted against the tree, trying to get more comfortable. Frank blinked at her in surprise before grinning and picking her up into a large hug.

"Annabelle-!"

The auburnette yawned, "Frank, put me down, I want to sleep." He chuckled as she buried her face in his shoulder, attempting to fall asleep. Readjusting her, he left to give Charles the good news. The rest of the year passed semi-uneventfully, but there is always that one kick in the back. Odo had finally retired to a monastery, leaving his sons Aquitaine and the job of making Charles's life harder.

The man groaned as he flopped onto his bed, "Annabelle, why do they have to be so meeeeaaaaan?" Annabelle didn't look up from her book of Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, or the Ecclesiastical history of the english peoples, written by Bede two years before in 731.

"Do you really things Charles Martel is going to let them continue?"

Frank peeked at her, hearing her sour tone, "When are you going to be able to trust me again?" She looked up in surprise, but sighed again and carefully put the book down. Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, her elbows resting on her knees and her fingertips pressed together, she looked him dead in the eye.

"Frank, I'm not going to lie. It hurt when Odo said that last year, it really did, because he had to hear it from somewhere. I accepted the fact that I would be used simply for my personification, but I would like to at least know what you're calling me over for. Whether it be company, a battle, or you do just want to borrow me, I want to know what for so if it leaks again, I won't get hurt. That's all I want, is to know what for," She said, watching him carefully, ready to leave at a second's notice.

The man had been friends with her long enough to know when she was skittish, "Annabel, you will always be a face to me, not just some tool. You're always going to be a friend of mine, so I can respect that. Thank you for letting me know." The conformation made her nod and fall back onto her bed. Silence reigned the room and a small laugh kicked it out the window. Frank joined in after a moment and very quickly, chuckles and gasps filled the room.

"Why can't life be like this? We live, we fight, we tiptoe, we make up, but why can't things ever be simple?" The blonde shook his head and grabbed his sword. Annabelle noticed it and grabbed her own, "It's been a while." He nodded, waiting for her by the door and the two walked outside, side by side, swords in hand.

* * *

Elizabeth sighed as England looked over the man with a large frown, " **He did good work**."

He nodded lightly and cast his gaze downward, " **He did**."

" **I'll be outside the door if you need me** ," She said, leaving him to his peace. Bede had finally passed away after some illness struck him, but his work didn't die with him. It influenced the world from his use of Anno Domini, or AD. He had written a history of the English and a few other documents, but none as famous as this one.

England came out after a few minutes and stood next to her silently, " **Come on, Al, let's go home**." He nodded and the two walked back quietly. The large blob that was Flying Mint bunny rested itself on top of his head, and Elizabeth noticed the small smile on her brother's face. She pat his shoulder lightly in sympathy. The kid relaxed and continued on. He sent her away in 737 to leave him in peace for a while. The woman nodded her head and respected his wishes.

She arrived just north of Frisia and began heading west to try and avoid them, despite being under Frank's control and somehow went North. A small crack caught her attention and she drew her blade carefully. A preteen emerged from the woods, carrying a large log in his arms and the two stared at each other. The aura surrounding the kid put her off, but she lowered her blade, " _ **Hello**_?"

"What?"

The woman blinked in realization, "Oh, sorry. I get a little confused sometimes. Who are you? Don't give me some bullshit name either."

The blonde smirked, "Oh, you know? I'm Danmark! Who are you?"

"Depends. I have almost too many names, but who's your neighbors?"

He cocked his head and put the wood down, "Well, there is Germania, Sweden, and a few others, but I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Sweden and Germania call me Ragin-"

"OH! YOU'RE THAT GIRL! IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU!" He yelled. Lunging at her, she attempted to flinch away, but the younger man managed to wrap her in a hug, lifting her an inch or two in the air.

"HOLY SHIT PUT ME DOWN!" Danmark laughed and put her down. "Don't do that!"

The Dane chuckled and went back to his log, heaving it up, "Do you want to come with me for a little bit? My king's fixing this really cool wall!"

Ragin looked down, "Fuck it, I don't have anything better to do, why not?"

"Cool! It's the Danevirke! It's just a precaution!" The woman nodded and followed him to the wall. "How old are you?"

"Probably older than you. Aren't you just a new kingdom?" Danmark grinned.

"A little bit, but my dad went missing a little bit ago..." The grin relaxed to a calm smile, "I might not know where he is, he kinda just disappeared, but I know he's alive, somewhere, somehow."

Ragin looked at him in surprise, "Some nations just disappear?"

He looked at her with bright blue eyes, "Apparently. I was just staring at him and suddenly, he just wasn't there! I know for a fact that he isn't dead though! I just have this feeling about it!" She smiled at him.

"If you believe so. I'm just going to stay for a few months, but it was nice to meet you, Denmark."

He shook his head, "No, that's not how you say it. It's Danmark."

"Trust me, it's going to be Denmark someday." The preteen laughed and shook his head. "You laugh now, but just wait."

* * *

" **You're kidding me** ," Fortuna chuckled as Veneziano looked at the picture of the new Doge, or duke, of Venice.

The toddler shook his head happily, " **No, that's-a his name! It's like-a mine**!"

" **Felice Cornicola. What in hell...** " Feliciano chuckled and wiggled in her arms. " **Feli, what's going on**?"

" **I'm just-a happy to see you**!" She laughed and twirled him around for a split second. Her brother cried in joy, " **Sorellona**!" The two laughed and soon they retired to the bedroom for an evening nap. Life was good.

* * *

 **AGAIN I WILL MOST LIKELY NOT BE POSTING ANYTHING FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. The next chapter will be weird. But we did get to see Danmark.**

 **The panels are 732, 733 and 734 with Frank, 735 and 736 with England, 737 with Denmark with reinforcing the Danevirke, and 738 with Feliciano.**


	65. Chapter 59

**Hey guys, I know I said two weeks, but my fingers are getting a little itchy. I have only a few days to write this, and after that, I'm going dark for another week because of the move. The movers are coming to tomorrow (On the 22nd: It was absolute hell and I have a few scrapes here and there) and I'm stressing. I also want to thank anyone who tried to read this on my break. I'm also going to rush the near end to get to this one part I DESPERATELY want to do.**

 **AnonChan: Thanks! Yeah. It's fun, but at least those who move know how to deal with all kinds of people. If you haven't noticed, Odo/Eudes is a dumbass. Pepin was also weird, but she and him are not going to get along, but she made a promise to his grandfather. True. There's going to be a massive showdown between Venie, Frank and LL soon, and I am just so done with the church. FMB is pretty great and s/he's stuck with Al for a lot of shit. Norway... (I had to look in one of my research journals) not for a _while_. Hmmm... Can I use that at some point**?

Frankish/Gaulish/Vulgar Latin (French)

Latin

 **Lombardic/ Vulgar Latin (Italian)**

 **Modern Italian**

 _Mental_

* * *

Venie curled into her neck as she watched over the sunset. The ocean by the city glittered and she turned her head south to Rome. Liutprand was preparing to set war on the city and Fortuna let a few tears slip out. " **Damnit**..." She whispered. A small hand wiped away the tears and her brother smiled at her.

" **It'll-a be ok, Sorellona** ," He said sleepily. Fortuna smiled and place a small kiss on his forehead.

" **Of course it will. I'll make sure this turns out ok...** " Letting herself trail, the siblings looked out over the water. Little did Veneziano know that Gregory had sent a letter pleading for help against Liutprand. Charles had received it and had called up an ambassador.

Days passed and a light indigo aura flashed, catching her attention. Fortuna sighed and pet the hair of Veneziano before walking out to meet her friend. She frowned as she faced Frank. "You are really lucky that Charles is sick and he hasn't sent an army, Frank."

He nodded and sighed, "Yes, I know. Gregory was hoping for an army."

"I know. I assume you're going to want to talk to Liutprand in the morning?" Frank nodded and Fortuna sighed. "Alright. I left Venie without waking him up and I want to be back before he wakes up. I feel really guilty when I scare him and I'm not going to abandon him."

The nation nodded and smiled, "I understand. I don't wish to be left out in the cold night, but I do not wish to separate a woman from her family. I shall await under the stars." Fortuna smiled at his antics.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning, Frankish. Sleep well," The auburnette whispered and disappeared back into the home. She entered the home quietly and Luciano waited other bed.

" **He was-a tired, so he's-a in a dormant state right-a now** ," He explained quietly. " **I-a heard you-a leave**."

" **Frankish wanted to talk. He's here.** "

The child frowned and toyed with the knife and suddenly the knife jerked away from his fingers. Fortuna quickly took it out of his grasp before he hurt himself. A small whine passed through his lips as he gripped his head, " **Shut-a up, Felice, I-a knew what I was-a doing**." Luciano paused and relaxed. " **Fine. But I-a get to practice more**." He paused again and opened his eyes. " **Feliciano noticed the-a knife. We-a want to know why-a Frankish is-a here**."

Fortuna swallowed and sat at the foot of the bed, " **Gregory sent a plea to Charles looking for help against Liutprand, but he didn't sent an army, only a few ambassadors**." Luciano nodded and placed the pugio back in its sheath as he listened. **"He's going to wait until morning to request an audience, but I don't think it would be** -"

" **We'll-a talk to-a him. It would-a be stupid not-a to,** " Luciano grunted, curling up to sleep. Fortuna nodded and climbed back up to the pillow. Just like the Byzantine empire, the Frankish empire was another massive power of the time you did not screw with, especially with Charles 'The Hammer' in charge.

" **Good night, Luciano. Good night, Feliciano** ," She whispered and Luciano's hair lightened as his counterpart crawled up to her. She smiled and pulled him up to her right side as he hummed. The next morning, Frank was let in and Feliciano and Fortuna welcomed him and the embassy in the doorway. The two Italians lead them in and Liutprand looked up from his breakfast, confused. The ensuing confusion would last for three years until.. well...

Fortuna shook her head as she sat in front of the fireplace. Veneziano was sitting calmly on Frank's lap as the man combed through the child's hair with his fingers. "So, how is Charles doing otherwise? I've heard he was sick, but how bad is it?"

The blonde paused in his work and Feli whined. The younger nation smiled and went back to his work and turned to his friend, "It is the illness that older people get..."

"Their health just begins to fail?" Frank nodded and sighed. Veneziano looked up at him and smiled.

"Everything will-a be ok! We-a may stay, but mortals are-a happy. Right, Sorellona?" The woman smiled sadly over at her brother. She pushed his hair up and kissed his forehead.

"Of course, Venie. They may leave behind a legacy, but we never forget who we stem from. You remember your citizens and others, si?"

The child smiled and nodded solmenly, "I-a held your promise. I-a never forgot them." Fortuna nodded and yawned.

"Come on, let's go get some sleep. Frank, you can come with us." The man smiled and picked up the smaller nation and began to follow her out. Veneziano squirmed in his arms and managed to lunge at his sister. She caught him with a smile and he happily curled in her arms.

"Aww! Italy, what happened to us? I thought we had something special!" Frank joked with a dramatic smile.

The small Italian peeked over Fortuna's shoulder, "It's-a over. I found someone else." The two adults stared at him and his sister cracked up. Veneziano grinned at her as she had to stop and stop shaking.

"Holy, Veneziano Italia, I never thought I would something like that come out of your mouth!" He cocked his head, trying to understand if what he did was good or not. Frank let one of his own chuckles slip out and he ruffled the smaller's hair.

"Italy, that was beautiful. Be careful who you tell those jokes to, but with us, let it out," He smiled. Veneziano smiled and nodded. A small mix of colors came from the child and Fortuna sobered up.

"Let's wait until later. Feli, stay out, please Luciano," She whispered. Frank raised an eyebrow at the odd behavior, but he hadn't noticed the new aura. Feliciano took charge again as he rubbed his temples lightly, frowning. " **Come on, let's get you to bed.** " He nodded lightly and whined as his sister picked him up.

Frank looked over at Veneziano, "What's wrong?"

Fortuna looked at him and shook her head, "He just needs some fresh air and sleep. Can I leave you at the room so Venie and I can get some air?" Frank nodded and the two quickly parted. As soon as the siblings were outside, Luciano immediately took over and growled.

" **Idiota! You could have-a ruined any chance with that-a bastard! He-a tried to force-a me forward**!"

She sighed and sat down, Luciano still glowering in her arms, " **Calm down. Feliciano, I understand that what Frank said makes it seem like you can reveal anything about yourself, but remember we're not mortals. Nations can take you over and place you under their will. I'm not trying to scare you, but there are some things you need to keeps to yourself. Luciano**?" The child glared at her before letting Feliciano take over. Tears poured from his eyes as he rubbed them fiercely.

"I **-I'm-a sorry, Sorellona! I-a didn't k-know**!"

The auburnette shook her head and pet his hair, " **You didn't know. I'm just worried about you, Luciano, and your brother. I know you're smarter than everyone may think you are, so if you play the fool, everyone will expect the fool. I know you're brilliant, don't even try to hide it from me, but you need to protect yourself, ok**?" He nodded.

" **Are-a you asking me to-a play stupid**?"

Fortuna closed her eyes and placed her forehead on his, " **No. Just make people think you're not a threat**." Felicaino nodded and she relaxed. " **Thank you. I know you're smart, you're amazing at painting, and a people person, but think outside the box on occasion. You'll be fine**."

He smiled, " **I'll-a talk to Liutprand about returning to Pavia**." Daze clouded her head and she smiled.

" **There you go. Talk to him in the morning, we need to meet up with Frank. He's waiting in his room** ," Fortuna said and she began to walk them up. In august of 739, Liutprand did return to the Lombard capital, partially because of fever running rampant, but peace negotiations were still underway with Charles and Gregory, but not for long. She went with Frank when he left back for his homeland, but Fortuna promised to return soon.

In 741, another great man died. Frank gripped her tightly as he cried his eyes out again, as Charles had died earlier that morning. The kingdom was divided between his two sons, Carloman and Pepin. Another son, Grifo demanded land as he too was a son of the king, but... As the mercy of their father passed to them, they simply forced him to a monastery. The new rulers were now Carloman in the east, the religious brother, and Pepin in the west, the man who would formally bring the Carolingians to kingship. Well, fuck.

Charles wasn't the only man to die that year. Annabelle heaved a heavy sigh of relief when word came that Gregory had died. Of what, it didn't matter to her as he needed to step aside for the next Pope. Pope Zachary, in her mind, brought a small amount of peace and hope. But something even better happened in April of the next year.

Cries from Pepin's wife tore through the castle and Annabelle instantly ran with Frank to the room. Bertrada screamed as another contraction hit and Frank winced, walking into the room. Annabelle hung back for a moment before following him in. A baby was born that day, named after his grandfather. Charles, also known as Charles I, Charles the great, but most importantly, Charlemagne, first Holy Roman Emperor. Zarchary signed a 20-year peace treaty with Liutprand and the rebellious southern duchies of Spoleto and Benevento became part of the kingdom once again.

In 743, complications between the Mayors of the Palace and the people had risen too high and the ruling brothers decided to place Childeric 'back on the throne'. He was really just placed on the throne one day a year and today what to say. Frank and Annabelle laughed quietly behind a corner and mimed with their hands whenever he spoke. However, next year, Veneziano sent over a letter, asking her to come over for the funeral for Liutprand. She, of course, came by and quickly took note of her dislike towards the new king. Hildebrand, as they learned, was an incapable leader and his death was arranged quickly. Ratchis took over after him and he reestablished the peace treaty with Zachary. Feliciano seemed content for the time being.

Fortuna turned over in bed as a sharp squawk woke her and her ill-tempered brother from their sleep. The pugio missed the bird by inches and hit the wall uselessly as Pierre cried in fear, flying to cower behind the woman. "Goddamnit Pierre, what does Frank want.. Oh..." A small bottle hit the bird's leg awkwardly and she carefully took it off with a letter. Luciano looked at her and the bird in tired anger and raised an eyebrow. " **Frank sent some drink some of his monks brewed and he wants me to try it... Whatever** ," Fortuna said as she sipped lightly. A familiar and bitter taste hit her mouth and she laughed. " **Ah, beer, I remember you...** " The auburnette said affectionately. She winced at the hangovers she had the following mornings, but her mother had been more than willing to help out with those.

" **What-a the hell**?" Her brother asked as he crossed his arms.

She smiled, " **It's an alcoholic drink that gains popularity, but right now, it's not too common**." The woman passed over the bottle and Luciano took it carefully, sniffing it.

His nose wrinkled, but he took a sip none-the-less and as soon as it entered his mouth, he spit it out, " **What the-a hell was that**?" Fortuna laughed and wiped her face.

" **The wonders of beer. Little kids can't handle its power**." Luciano shook his head and jumped off the bed, going to pick up the knife. " **You need more work with that. I'll help you when we have some spare time, but I think Ratchis needs some help with the codes for a while. Let's get some breakfast and we'll work for a while. We don't have much time though, Frank wants me to visit next year. Something's happening**." Luciano nodded and relinquished control to Feliciano and the two began to make breakfast.

In the following year, in 747, Frank welcomed her with open arms and filled her in. Carloman was giving up his control to his brother to go stay in a monastery. Pepin the Short took over complete control. Annabelle gave her congratulations, but she frowned at the man. He may do a lot of goood for France, but for her brothers, it was a horrifying situation. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to deal with that for a while. Next year, Frank sighed as he looked over a request from Englaland. "He wants two well trained goshawks from Boniface! Again!" Annabelle smiled and sighed.

"Are you going to give them to him?" Frank shrugged and put the letter down.

"I could send one to you instead, so you wouldn't have to rely on others for messages. I'm sure you can train one to work as a messenger bird like your friend had. Why don't you leave tomorrow?" I'll let Boniface know you're coming!"

She sighed again and leaned against the wall, "Fine. But don't expect much." The bird she would end up being given, however, was a relative of the goshawk, but it was a certain species that made her laugh to the point of tears. It was a bird that would later be known as an eastern imperial eagle. It would mostly spend its time out and about, but would always return when she needed him. She named the damn thing Henry.

* * *

Fortuna looked nervously at the man before her. He stood with a similar stance to his brother, but his legacy would leave a boldermark than his brother. " **Hello, Aistulf. Can you do this**?"

He looked over at her and narrowed his eyes as his gaze settled on the smaller nation in her arms, " **I believe I am...?** "

Feliciano smiled, " **This is-a my Sorellona! Fortuna**!" Aistulf's eyes closed as he nodded and Fortuna relaxed.

" **It's nice to meet you, young king. May luck be on your side** ," She said. Veneziano shifted and his sister smiled down on him, winking a confirmation. This was the man who was going to bring her brothers back together. The warm June sun spread over the home in 749 and the two immortals agreed to help this man any way they could, which would be sooner that either would care to admit.

In 751, two envoys of Pepin reached Rome and approached the Pope with a very important question- Was it proper for one man to be called king while another actually ruled? Pope Zachary was a brilliant man and he took this opportunity as quickly as he could and simply said, "it was better for the man who had power to be called king than one who remained without royal power." He was also in dire need of an ally, for one main reason. Aistulf had removed when was left of the Byzantine column and once again, Northern Italy touched South under a single kingdom. It had been a weird meeting.

Fortuna carried Feliciano toward a home with two large trees growing in the back. He cocked his head lightly as he looked around the home as his sister entered. " **Roma? Are you here? There's someone I want you to meet!** " However this 'Roma' was, he seemed to be very important to her as she looked around nervously. Luciano was on high alert in the back of his mind and was very quiet. " **Romano**!"

" **Hold-a your horses, Ragazza! I'm-a-** " A toddler came into view and the air in the room seemed to freeze. The two children stared each other down as Veneziano opened his eyes. " **Fortuna, who is-a this**?" His sister lowered herself slowly.

" **Romano, I want you to meet Veneziano. I've told you two stories about each other**?" Romano glared at him as his fists clenched and the younger brother shrank back.

" **Ragazza, why do you two look** -"

She frowned, " **I don't know Romano, but you know I'm always going to be one of yours. Nothing is ever going to change that**." Veneziano's heart broke a little, but his lookalike relaxed minutely and looked over him again. **"This is your younger brother, Roma**."

" **I-a know. I can-a tell. I don't know-a what exactly, but...** " Veneziano nodded in agreement as he felt the connection between him and his brother. " **So, you're my brother? That-a means I'm the-a boss of you, right**?"

Luciano seethed in his mind, but calmed down, " _Don't say anything but play along_." Feliciano cowered and Romano took that as a good sign.

" **Roma, don't be mean. How have you been? Have you been eating enough**?"

The southerner's face flushed, " **Si. I've-a been better, but it could-a be worse. The-a black sickness appeared in Sicily again, but it-a didn't get-a me**." Fortuna nodded and put Veneziano down.

" **God this is awkward**..."

The brother frowned, " **Don't use the-a lord's name in vain**." The synchronized acted made Romano growl and Venie cock his head in confusion, but their sister's laughs made them pause. Romano toddled up to her and put a hand on her shoulder as Fortuna began to laugh harder and harder, but it wasn't until she fell on her back that either brother knew she was crying.

" **Sorellona**?" Venie asked as he crept up to her right side and plopped himself onto her side. Romano kneeled next to her shoulder and set his head down on her chest. Her heartbeat thundered in his ear and the brothers smiled as the woman calmed down to the point of falling asleep. Veneziano raised his head to look at his newfound brother and Romano shrugged. After a moment, they crawled onto their respective sides and fell asleep. Even though the Byzantine presence and the newly crowned Pepin were a threat hanging over the small family, they just enjoyed the temporary peace as they fell into a deeper sleep than they had had since before their grandfather died.

It was peaceful.

* * *

 **MAY I INTRODUCE, THE VERY BEGINNING OF CHIBITALIA. Seriously, I am so done right now. I'm going to go dark for another week. I'm going to miss all the weirdos at my old school. I don't own anything from this point on. We're going to be seeing another character soon if you guys haven't picked that up! He's mentioned twice in different ways!**

 **Years:**

 **739- Frank sends Liutprand back to Pavia**

 **740- Luitprand attempts to counter growing independence in the southern duchies.**

 **741- Charles Martel and Gregory III die. Zachary takes over for Gregory.**

 **742- Charlemagne is born. Liutprand and Zachary sign a 20 year peace treaty.**

 **743\. Childeric III is 'put back on the throne'.**

 **744- Liutprand dies and is succeeded by his nephew, who is replaced by Ratchis.**

 **745-**

 **(Roughly) 746- Benedictine monastery begin the brew their own beer in bavaria.**

 **747- Carloman gives up kingship to Pepin.**

 **748- Æthelbert II of kent requests 2 well-trained goshawks (goose-hawks) from Boniface. The king has already recieved 2 falcons and another goshawk from the man.**

 **749- Ratchis besieges Perugia and is convinced to lift it by Zachary, before being forced to retire to a monastery with his family. His brother Aistulf takes over.**

 **750-**

 **751- Pepin is declared king of the Franks and Aistulf makes a series of conquests that places the majority of Italy under Lombardic control. After this, things start to go to hell. Fun.**


	66. Chapter 60

**Hey guys, I am pooped. I'm still settling in and I'm going to see if I can get a new chapter out. I have to get used to Central time zone again and it'll be fun. But I'll see what I can do. Also, I still have three requests still open. Also, to further embarrass my mom (Love you!), she got into my years journal and wrote down random stuff in the years. I'll tell you what they were at the end.**

 **AnonChan1: I'm sorry, and I'm sorry about your dad. Yeah. Fortuna's going to be pissed. And remember all the times in the anime that France declared himself big brother? If you count the Frankish Empire, he really did kinda raise the areas a lot of the current nations are in! What? Me either, but I'm having to rely on either royalty or certain key events to place these guys. No, but Charles could have been healthy and sent an army, so the peninsula got lucky. Of course. No he doesn't and she still needs to teach him how to throw it properly. NEVER! Luciano's just mad at Feliciano, but yeah, they're fortunate so far. YES. THAT LITTLE SHIT'S CARETAKER... It's a tiny bottle, so she won't get far. I wanted soooo badly to put in awesome but... They are and it's a massive joke. Yes! And of course there are and she's going to have to find that spot where Romano doesn't doubt her, but she doesn't abandon Feli either. It'll work out, somehow. I hope...**

 **Anyway!**

 **Italian/Lombardic**

Frankish/Gaulish/Vulgar Latin (French)

Old English

 _Italics are emphasized or thoughts_

* * *

Fortuna sighed as she held her two brothers as the morning's rays came into the room. The hard floor hadn't been very welcoming, but the small family kept each other warm. Settling her eyes on the ceiling and attempting to take a deep breath, she let her thoughts wander about what has been happening. ' _Pepin took over the Frankish throne, his sons have been born, Aistulf connected a majority of the peninsula, and beer has been made. Wonderful_.' A small cry from outside a window caught her attention and she smiled as she looked at her messenger bird.

" **Good morning, Henry. Anything from Frank**?" The woman asked, shifting Feliciano and Romano so she could sit up. The bird blinked in confusion, " **Of course you don't understand. Oh well...** " Romano whined and shifted his head further into Fortuna's shoulder and she smiled, placing a kiss on his forehead. " **Morning, Romano. How did you sleep**?" He whined again and blearily opened one eye, settling it on his brother's form.

" **It's-a true then? He's-a in my life now...** " Romano trailed, fisting a handful of his sister's tunic.

She smiled lightly, " **Yes, but I hate to say it, but not for long. An asshole is going to come storming in to help-** "

" **The-a Pope. It's-a _always_ him. I-a can't get a fucking break, can-a I?** " Feli chuckled and Romano growled, " **What-a are you laughing at**?"

The younger shrank back and Fortuna sighed, " **Roma** -"

" **Don't ' _Roma_ ' me! He-a laughed at me**!" He said, looking up at her with small tears in his eyes. The woman looked between the two and noticed that Veneziano had tears in his eyes as well.

She sighed and let her head sag, " **Calm down, you two. Venie, did you mean any offense? Romano, calm down. I know Veneziano might have offended you, but some things are not always laughing at you, but things you say. Do you understand**?"

He growled, " **I understand you're siding with Fra** -" Fortuna looked at him in surprise as Romano slapped a hand over his mouth in surprise. The woman smiled and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

" **I may not always take your side, Romano Italia, but you two are brothers and I love you two equally. Even after years apart, you seem to still care for your brother. Let's go get some breakfast, the old way,** " She said and stood. The angry toddler pouted, but a small smile slowly made itself onto his face as the three walked into the garden. Feliciano looked in wonder at the two ancient peach trees and smiled. Fortuna carefully put him down and walked up to one of them, placing Romano's feet onto her shoulders.

" **Pronto**!" Romano called as he plucked a peach and it fell to the ground harmlessly, well, it Feli hadn't caught it. His brother stared with wide eyes and reached for another one. " **Pronto**!" Another one fell to gravity and the grounded brother caught it easily. " **Pronto**!" Fortuna carefully took him off her shoulders and smiled.

"You two are getting there. Let's eat and we can take a nap, yes?" The two nodded and sat at the foot of the trees to dig in. Their sister sat across from them and smiled as the heart of Italy was exposed. 'Just as old times'. The three munched happily on their breakfast and soon, things went back to 'normal'.

* * *

Word reached them that Zachary had died on March 22nd, 752, but there was a problem. The new Pope, Stephen, had died four days later, but as he had not consecrated, many did not see him as legitimate. The new Pope that would lead was brought in later that day. Pope Stephen II came into the role on March 26th and Fortuna held her breath. As June came and passed, the three siblings learned that Stephen had re-recognized Pepin as King and he had started north himself. In fall 753, he arrived in Pavia to try to ask for Ravenna to be returned. Aistulf had declined and the Pope was forced over the Alps. He could have met up with Grifo, the half-brother of Pepin and Carloman, if he had not been killed earlier that year on the mountains. " **Do you have _any_ idea of what you have just done**?"

Aistulf looked over at her and the nations looked over in surprise. Fortuna was seething in rage and she clenched her fists under the table. Romano let his gaze harden and he took his place next to her silently. Veneziano looked puzzled and looked up at her, clutching her stolla. " **Fortuna, what do you mean**?"

She growled, " **I mean, you just turned down a Pope who has the power to excommunicate you, turn your people against you and set a powerful kingdom on you. Pepin and Frank will come down and these two will be ripped apart again. I repeat, do you have any idea what you have done**?" Romano put a hand on one of her shaking hands and she promptly stood and rushed out the door. The three men left stared after her and the brothers looked down.

" **Fratello**?" Romano hummed as he looked over to his brother. " **Will Sorellona be-a alright**?" He sighed and looked back at the door.

" **I-a think so. Leave-a her be**." Feliciano nodded and wrung his hands. " **Stay out of the-a backyard.** " The brothers walked out and left Aistulf to stew in his plans of attack.

In the following summer, Stephen reached Paris and reconsecrated Pepin as king of the Franks and declared his dynasty holy. The Frankish kingdom now holds the position as protector of the Catholic church, and with that, they must march on the Lombards to protect he holy city of Rome. The first battle in 755, Fortuna tried to stand on the side of her brothers, but there was an issue.

She breathed heavily as she cut down another Frankish soldier, and looked around. Germania had returned from nowhere and stood off to the distance, keeping an eye on her brothers as she wandered further to guard them minutely. Some soldiers did end up getting past her, and two different hands grabbed at her wrists. Fortuna flinched and tried to tug away, but one of the two men's free hands grabbed at her hair and forced her to the ground. "LET ME-" A thick bag was forced over her head as her wrists were tied. She tried to get the attention of Germania by pulsing her aura, but the enemy tugged her away quickly.

Oh did Fortuna try to fight back, and she quickly gathered that her captors were under orders not to hurt her. She tried to use what was left of her other senses, but her sight and hearing were blocked out. The woman was left to the mercy of these two. Hours seemed to pass as the sounds of fighting were drowned out and any light from outside the bag seemed to fade away. Finally, she was forced on her knees again as the bag was pulled away and she wasn't surprised.

"God damn you, Frankish," Fortuna growled. The blonde looked at her with a blank look, but his eyes were sad as he stood next to his king. Pepin frowned and stood.

"Annabelle. I came to protect God, not be damned by him. And if Frankish tells me right, you aren't religious in any form, so how do you have any right to say if he damns us or not?" Annabelle seethed silently as she stared him down. The king frowned and didn't break her gaze. "Why do you fight us?"

She clenched her fists and began attempting to undo her ties, "I fight for my family. I told you years ago that you were going to break them up and I was going to try my hardest to prevent that. I never lik-" Frank bowed his head as his king grabbed the woman's jaw, forcing it shut.

"Be quiet. You are going to help us reclaim Rome whether you like it or not," Pepin said. Annabelle growled, but her head was forced down. The man released her and walked away and the second he was out the door, Frank was by her side.

"Annabelle, I am so-"

She inched away from him and let some tears fall, "I'm sorry, but talk to me later. I need to get over this. Pepin is a good ruler for you, but to me, he's the thing between me and something I've wanted for years." He stared at her in confusion and she sighed, lifting her head. The blonde winced when he saw all the tears in her eyes, "I _just_ got my brothers back together, France. 500 years apart and I just got them back together. Damn everything. Just hurry and get out of here." The man bowed his head at her double words and soon left her to silence, which was only broken by her cries.

All in all, Pepin came into the kingdom of the Lombards, seized the land and made Aistulf give the land back. If the latter had actually given it up, that is, and Pepin soon returned the next year and waited until the land had been fully returned. Instead of possibly taking it for himself, Pepin gave it to the Pope as part of a large donation to the Papal States. Fortuna cried as she felt the brothers' auras travel to their respective lands. Frank hadn't been to their shared room since she had been kidnapped the year before.

Her only company was Henry and her only way to the outside world, and she often sent letters to the brothers. Romano informed her that he hadn't panicked when he noticed her missing, " **I knew you were fine**!", even if the tear marks on the paper said otherwise. Feliciano told her that Aistulf had died on a hunting trip and someone had taken his place. She also had to learn from Germania that Bavaria had submitted to Frank and the Ancient admitted he wasn't feeling like his old strength. She made sure to burn that letter. Thank her luck that Henry had been extremely patient with her and her constant letters and it was a massive relief to have someone to rant to. He was the only reason she wasn't sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, muttering things aimlessly.

In 759 and 760, the palace went quiet as Pepin left to retake many lands that had been stolen or gone independent. Frank still hadn't come to see her, other than to look in the doorway, but he hadn't spoken a word to her.

Three years. It took Frank three years after Pepin had retaken land to even speak to her. He did more than that, flying into the room and throwing her over his shoulder. "Annabelle! I have good news! We're going-" She growled and kneed him in the face. The blonde squawked and fell to the ground to clutch his cheek, "Annab-"

"What the _fuck_ do you think is going on? You don't speak to me for _years_ before you storm in and tell me we're going somewhere. The last person who did that to me died 112 years ago and I would go through anything to get him back, so don't you _fucking_ do the same, Frankish!" She turned and ran down the hall as tears poured down her face. Ignoring her friend's hurt and bloodied face, she burst out the front doors, Annabelle just ran. She ran and ran, hiding her aura and making her way home. ' _No matter what happens_.' She arrived in southern Italy and arrived home a week later. Romano came in the door and she smiled shakily before black met her vision and she fell.

* * *

It turned out that Pepin was heading their way anyway as the Papal states were being invaded by the Byzantine Empire and the Lombards under king Desiderius. Germania took the place of the brothers at the negotiations and he took note of Ragin's nervousness. One look at Frank's bruised cheek and he took careful direction to hide her from his view as much as he could, as often as he could. The Lombardic king was smarter than his predecessor, and agreed to end hositilities, on one condition: if Pepin's hostages were released back to his kingdom. The kings agreed and Pepin's donation was reasserted. Frank looked over to the woman with a sad look and hung back as Pepin left, and Germania looked at her and flicked his eyes. She nodded and stood, walking over to a far corner to talk. The ancient nation hung back to keep an eye on things, and Ragin's look showed her appreciation.

Nothing was said at first, but Frank gestured to a chair as they neared the small nook. Annabelle shook her head quietly and Frank smiled. "I'm sorry for what I did," The auburnette whispered.

Frank shook his head, "I left you alone when I shouldn't have." Annabelle nodded and sighed.

"I meant what I did to your face. It must make it hard to find a woman to bed."

The blonde cracked a smile, "Oh no, the women around court are finding me very tough because of this!"

"If you want, I can give you another black eye later," She said with a laugh. Frank put a hand to his chest in false-horror.

"Annabel! Please, not the face! Anything but the face!" The two laughed and soon faded to silence. A serious note seemed to drop in the room, "Why were you so mad then?"

She looked down and toyed with a loose lock of hair, "Because you didn't help. Pepin may be a hero for you, but he tore my family apart. I was forced down and friends are supposed to pick each other up."

He raised an eyebrow, "Like that time you fell down the stairs?"

"Shut up!" Annabelle laughed, "It was just those four times!"

"I started putting hay at the bottom of the stairs for you," Frank continued, a smug smirk creeping up his face. The other blonde in the room turned his back for a moment, but neither noticed his slightly shaking shoulders.

"Frankish, I swear on my stuff- Shit, where is my shit?!"

The nation laughed, "Don't worry about it, I brought it. The stitching gave out and I replaced it with a similar design with double layering and pockets inside." He went to pick up the light green bag and weapons and Annabelle was all over it. Leafing through it, her celtic jewelry were in a inside pocket, her food cloth and waterskin were in a compartment on the outsideside and her clothes and other trinkets were in the main pocket. "So?"

"Frank, this is amazing... Did you make this?"

A large grin covered his face, "Only I could make something this amazing!" Annabelle smiled and shook her head and threw it carefully over her shoulder. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Don't ever leave me down like that again and we'll be fine. But I'm still sorry how mad I got, but I was lonely." Frank nodded in understanding and the two friends parted.

* * *

Englaland sighed as she walked up to him, "Your bloodly bird almost took out my eye." Elizabeth chuckled and held up an arm as the said bird swooped down.

"Awww, but Henry is a little sweetheart. What's happened while I was gone?" She asked as she rubbed Henry's chin lightly.

The child hummed sarcastically, "I dunno, a lot of my kings died, a dyke was built to keep away another brother of mine away, same as always." Her eyes settled back on him.

"Which one? Northern Ireland isn't around yet, or I don't think so, so Wales?"

His giant eyebrows met, "What the hell are you talking about, of course! Anyway, Offa is going to war, so could you stick around for a while?" She smiled and ruffled his hair with her free arm.

"Of course, Al."

Englaland waved her arms off, "Get offa me!" She snickered and pushed Henry back into the air as her brother caught onto the bad pun and began to race after her. Offa did place Mercian supremacy over Kent in 764, so all was well. Life was good and the two continued to practice magic behind closed doors. Elizabeth still wasn't able to reach the same level as her half-brother, but he assured her it would come when she needed it the most, but not to use it in public because it was still frowned upon. Life was good, and in 767, Elizabeth took a risk.

"I'll see you later, Brother," She said with a frown.

The child looked up at her, "I'll be seeing you, Sister. Give that man hell." Elizabeth snorted and travelled South.

Frank welcomed her inside carefully and stood between her and Pepin, "Hello, my king. How has the campaigns been going?" The king sighed.

"I had to resort to more... deplorable solutions, but it's working. More areas are asking for peace instead of war," He said, looking at the woman behind Frank. "Welcome back, Annabelle. I was wondering when you were going to come back."

She crossed her arms, "It's not by choice. I just thought I owed it to Frank." The nation looked over to her with a raised eyebrow and she nodded. "I'll be in the garden. Bring a blade." Frank smiled and nodded his head. Charles later came to see the match and he eventually joined in. The alliances were short-lived, but it was still a rather fun match. The sun lowered into the horizon and they eventually made their way inside. "Hey, Charles, has anyone ever told you stories of your grandfather and great-grandfather?" The red-headed man shook his head and the two immortals shared a grin.

"Come sit by the fireplace with us. We may be old fools, but you can always learn," Frankish said as they walked towards the stone structure. The prince took a chair while the other two curled at the foot of another one. "Annabelle, where should we start? Pepin the middle?"

The woman nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Want to start the first time I met him? That was eventful."

Frank laughed, "That's one way to put it. You confused that poor man!" Charles chuckled lightly at the two and they looked over. "Oh, right! Anyway, so Theuderic III is sitting at the head of the table with two chairs next to him. One is for me and the other is for Pepin of Herstal. Annabelle-"

"This guys walks me in and I go and stand next to your great-grandfather and he is very confused. You grew up with me, but he didn't. Imagine this woman-"

"Showing out of nowhere and just standing there, staring at you! The poor Mayor got so confused and Annabelle simply acts like everything is normal! Theuderic had seen her growing up, but he didn't connect it until later. But-"

"-They both look over to Frank and he just waits. I ask about the weather and it just sets off your... Oh, Frank, what's his connection? Great-great uncle?"

Frankish's finger danced in the air as he traced the family line back and sighed, "I think it's just great-uncle. But he was just ten years old and began giggling at the weird woman who confused his poor papa!"

Charles chuckled with the others, "Annabelle, why do you eat standing up?" The blonde in the room groaned.

Annabelle laughed, "Oh, come one, it's not that bad." She turned to the other redhead in the room, "I travel a lot and over the years, I've found myself to be more on guard sitting down because my food is less likely to be wasted when I put it down, versus when I stand and have to throw it and possibly ruin it. All in all, it comes down to food."

"You Italians and your food!" Frank whined and Annabelle laughed.

"Frank, I've seen you tear into a boar leg so fast that I thought I fell asleep standing up!"

He shook his head, "It wouldn't be the first time."

"For fuck's sake! It was only two-"

"Three, don't forget that time 300 years ago," He said.

"I barely knew you 300 years ago!"

Charles looked between the two, "Are you two going to always be like this?"

The woman cocked her head, "I hope so. If we can banter like this, it means we're not at war."

Frank nodded, "And that we're both alive. It would be less fun arguing with rock." Annabelle snorted and sighed. "Alright, off to bed with you, young man. You aren't going to be getting as much sleep as you wish soon, so appreciate it while you can." The prince nodded and went off to his own room. Frankish smiled and looked down at his sleeping companion, "Alright, here is fine. Good night."

Annabelle had been right. In 768, Pepin the Younger died and Charles took the western part of the empire while his younger brother Carloman took the eastern. Let the games begin.

* * *

 **That was WAAAAAY longer than I thought it was going to be. Anyway, mom, I love you, but don't write in my notebooks. Here are the notes she wrote in. Any bold are original things before the notes.**

 **757** \- You could save 15% by switching to Geico.

 **764** \- And it all started with a big bang.

 **772** \- Charlemagne knocks up some serving girl (I later looked this up, but it wasn't a serving girl, but he did have a child that year)

 **773** \- Charlemagne splits Paris

2017- (My name) freaks out cause I wrote in her notebook

 **802** \- Winter is coming

 **823** \- Cats and dogs living together

 **828** \- Uhtred son of Uhtred

 **854** \- Oh my God Look at her butt

 **872- Norway** has lefse

 **882** -SHAZAAM!

 **901** \- Who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

 **MOM I LOVE YOU BUT DON'T TOUCH MY STUFF. If you guys want the years for this chapter, I'll edit this and put them up.**


	67. Chapter 61

**Hey guys! I'm going to try to write up at least two more chapters before Wednesday, because that's when I go to school in my state for the first time. I may have lived here before, but that was when I was a little thing. Anyway, we're going to head straight into 769. I just found out what was wrong with my plan and Norway, so we're going to be seeing him very soon.**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks, I'll need it. That's good, and he kinda did... He did, but they all just got lucky, I guess. With 750+ years of drinking, I'd hope she'd get some tolerance. I am completely winging this except for a few things set in stone, such as a lot of the stuff in the Paint it White chapter. He kind of is, but the asshole was Pepin. You go Romano. I'm trying soooo hard to make her treat them equally, but that will always be a little hard with these two. It was, but it was fun learning the difference between appointed Stephen and Stephen II, sometimes known as the III. She's wanted them to be together since Rome separated them, so this was a dream come true. Pepin was an amazing leader in France, he did manage to settle a lot of inner-country issues and he brought his family to the kingship they deserved, he threw a large rock into Italy's history. SHHHH! *Smothers* It really wasn't and at least it wasn't his nose. Let's just say, LL is not a coordinated person without sleep or when she sleeps in too much. Awww! You remembered that! Those two will always make up, they've been through too much shit. He's pretty much shifted into her 'big brother'. Pretty much. She and whatever Pierre is alive at the time have varying relationships. If a Pierre is nice, they get on fine. If he's a little shit... well, it's more like that neighbor kid you argue with, but don't have a vendetta against. He'll live longer than he's supposed to, but EIE are now her messenger bird of choice, as well at the name. BE QUIEEEEEEET! But yeah. I've heard they specialize in certain areas, but yeah. She kinda laughed at me and told me she does the same with my dad's calendars.**

Frankish/Gaulish/Vulgar Latin (French)

 _Latin_

 **Old Norse**

Vulgar Latin (Italian)/Lombardic

 **Italian**

* * *

Annabelle sighed happily as the sun began to shine through the window and landed on the blonde on the bed across from her. She watched silently as he whined and attempted to burrow further into the sheets, but the sun was right on him. Frank whined again and turned over and the woman silently stood. Creeping towards him carefully, she took her mark. "Annabel, if you value your hair, I recommend you don't," The man growled. She snorted and straightened.

"Frankish, I have no idea what you're talking about." Frank turned over and glared at her lightly. "Come on, we need to brush out your hair."

He huffed, "My mane is beautiful. Your's is the one that looks like a rat's nest." Annabelle laughed and pushed the top hairs down.

"I know, but since you're the woman here, I thought you'd want to get it tamed. Sit up," She said and grabbed the comb off the table. Frankish sighed and sat up so he hunched over. The auburnette plopped behind him and began to brush through the bottom of it, working her way up. "Is it true? Charles is going to war and Carloman isn't having any of it?" The blonde nodded lightly and began to ease into the motions. For Frank, the early morning grooming session ended too early and he took over.

She smiled as the comb tugged lightly on her scalp and eased her into a state similar to sleep, "Are you ready for the day, Annabel?"

"Not really. I need some food and I'll be able to deal with that bitch in the sky." Frank chuckled and soon they were back downstairs, eating food at the table. Charles looked at the two with a raised eyebrow and they nodded at the unasked question. They'd be willing to go to and Gascony soon fell under the new king.

* * *

" **DAMNIT DANMARK, PUT ME DOWN! I DID NOT COME HERE JUST TO ME SWUNG AROUND LIKE A DOLL**!" Danmark laughed as he continued to swung her in circles.

" **YOU'RE SO SMALL**!"

" **YOU ARE THE SAME HEIGHT AS ME. DANMARK I SWEAR I WILL CUT YOUR HAIR INTO SOME UGLY FASHION IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN NOW**." He continued to ignore her and Ragin threw a fist into his stomach. He coughed and let her go.

" **Wow, Rag, that's some punch**!" The blonde grunted, pitching over onto the ground. " **Want to see a really cool city**?" Ragin sighed and plopped next to him.

" **I will when your brain catches up with your mouth, dumbass** ," She said, ruffling his hair. Danmark chuckled and grabbed her hand, throwing her into the dirt next to him. " **Do you want to wake up with more than just your hair gone**?"

He flat out laughed into the air and they relaxed, soaking up some sun, " **I'm good, Rag. I'm already pushing it, aren't I**?"

She let a smile cross her face, " **Yeah a little bit, but still, I know where you sleep at night**." Danmark sighed and rolled away. " **Don't you have a city to show me? Where is it?** "

" **It's this way**!" The blonde sprang back up and left Ragin's head spinning.

" **I have no idea how young people do it nowadays...** " She muttered as Danmark pulled her up and she ended up getting dragged behind him to Hedeby, a river-side trade town, still in the processes of being built. She couldn't stay long though. She had a wedding to attend.

Before the year was over, she began the trek down to Northern Italy and did manage to make it in time. Veneziano met her at the door and Frank smiled when he saw the two entering the large room. Charles stood next to one of the Lombardic princesses, the unmarried one, and Fortuna sighed in relief that she made it.

" _Sorry it took so long. Danmark is a little._.."

Frankish laughed lightly, " _Sounds like him_."

Fortuna nodded and pick up her brother, " _I'm happy I could make it. It's nice that Charles is making an effort for peace_."

" _It's nice to someone important to us supports it. Stephen III doesn't want anything to do with this little guy_ ," The blonde said, wiggling a finger at her younger brother. " _He's an idiot._ "

Veneziano growled, " _Don't insult the-a Pope! You-a insult God_!" Frankish smiled

" _My apologizes_." The child pouted, but quickly smiled again. He reached his arms out and Frankish took him, ready to watch the wedding. So, against the Pope's wishes, Charles married a Lombard like his brother and improved relations. However...

"Charles, what are you doing?!" The king sighed as Annabelle stared him down.

The man pinched the bridge of his nose, "Don't worry about that. But I'm going to marry someone else, that's all that matters." Annabelle laughed and headed out the doors. Frank waited for her outside and looked at her.

"He wouldn't tell me. I think he knows that something is coming. I'm sorry about Carloman, though," The woman said, walking outside. The blonde nodded and followed her out. "You up for a match?"

Frankish nodded, "Always, Annabelle. I've heard the new girl is about 13 and from Carloman's land." He grabbed his blade and the two took their stances.

"I know it's normal for you, but in the future, it's disgusting to marry a girl that young. When I was thirteen.. What was I doing? I was over in some other land early in the year, and then I came here and to an area nearby for a large government meeting for my mom. I can't believe-" She was forced to take a step back as her friend cast what could have been a damaging blow.

He looked at her in surprise, "Annabelle, what happened, you need to pay attention!" She nodded and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I-I know. It's just catching up to me that I have to take over that position and I remember how calm Liberty was about that, and I get freaked out..."

"Your mother- You took the name Liberty?" She shrugged, sheathing her blade and going to rest against a tree.

"I guess so. I think that it's more of the concept that it gets in about a thousand and something years, but liberty gets to be a big deal. You get caught in it as well. It's not going to be pretty, but I'll be there to put your head back on your shoulders if I need to. Shit, Mom, your bad jokes are rubbing off on me!" She whined, flopping back onto the grass.

Frankish chuckled, "What were you like when you were younger? You seem to be the same, if a little angrier, but I can imagine you used to be a little different."

Annabelle groaned, "Oh, don't remind me! I was never in one place for probably more than six months at a time, so my self-esteem and social habits were everywhere. I couldn't make a coherent sentence, when I was three, I spoke in some odd mixture of English, Italian and something else, but I was a shy mess. Nonno and Italia helped be get over that." The blonde nodded and chuckled lightly.

"I am having trouble imagining you be shy and hiding behind something. I'll respect your decision and try to keep my distance if it is what you wish," He said, looking at her seriously. Annabelle looked at him and nodded in thanks. "It's been a while since you've adopted anyone. Over a century."

"I'm taking a break. It still aches every once in a while, but... Someday. I promise you that. Let's just wait for now." Later that year, December 4th to be exact, Annabelle got a message from Henry that Carloman had died and it appeared to be of a bad nosebleed. Charles was now, possibly, the sole ruler of the Franks. They just had to worry about Carloman's kids. His widowed wife and kids fled to her home kingdom and it did leave Charles in charge of the Franks. Her Father wasn't happy for two reasons at this point: Charles repudiated one of his daughters and didn't support the claim of Carloman's children to the throne. Desiderius declared the boys heirs to the throne, but the Pope refused to crown them as such and the Lombard attacked the Papal stated and marched on Rome. Pope Adrian, of course, turned to the Franks for help.

Even though Charles had just had an expedition against the Saxons in the north, he marched over the Alps to aid Adrian. Annabelle reluctantly came along, but mostly to keep an eye on Frank. He and Charles would often assert that they would only make the moves necessary to put the Lombardic king down. She hesitantly accepted it and the king's forces did run the Lombards back to a poorly-stocked Pavia. The siege of Pavia proved to be a key action and Annabelle lowered her head when she saw purple eyes looking at her out of a crowd.

Charlemagne would be crowned King of the Lombards, the first of any invading king to take on the title of the land he had just invaded. Desiderius and his family were forced into the monastery life, and Annabelle heard that Carloman's family was as well. Dinner that night was quiet. Veneziano picked at his food silently and Annabelle sat just as quietly, not a crumb in front of her. The Franks did eat, the nation with a little less gusto than his king, but he did eat his fill. The blonde was the first to leave the table and he jerked his head in the direction of the bed room. Annabelle nodded to show her understanding and she looked to Veneziano.

" **Fratello, may I have a word with Charles? I'll meet with you in a moment** ," She asked quietly. Veneziano cocked his head, but nodded. She sighed and the two watched him leave. Letting her head sag, she breathed heavily. "Charles. You know that I hate that you invaded Northern Italy, but in all honesty... I have to thank you. The Lombardic assholes were going to keep invading Rome and Frank was going to keep having to drag his ass out here to help the Pope. You and your father have been kinder than previous kings may have, simply doing the actions you need to with my little brothers and Germania. I've seen what your father did to the land to the south and I never got to thank him for going so easy on Venie. Frank had the chance to do a lot to him and I absolutely kills me to say this, but thank you for what you're doing and keep Veneziano safe for me." Charles looked at her surprised and was even more shocked to see a few tears dripping onto her arms.

"Annabelle, you had a hand in raising me and you always spoke so fondly of your brothers. As king of the Lombards, I'll do everything in my power to take care of them. Go rest, I think you need it," He said with a sad smile, standing to reach out a hand. She took it and the king carefully walked her to the door.

Veneziano sat quietly, toying with the edge of his nightgown when he looked up, " **Sorellona? Why-a are you crying? The-a king didn't make you-a cry, did he**?" Fortuna laughed lightly at her brother's light threat and shook her head.

" **He didn't, Veneziano. Let's go take a walk in the garden before we head to bed. Is that ok**?" The toddler paused for a moment before he nodded. Fortuna picked him up easily and quickly parted ways with the king. The second they did, Luciani emerged.

" **Fortuna, why did you-a not do anything?! We're-a going to be stuck under him and-** "

She growled, " **Luciano, please**." He snarled back at her, but the woman was very glad he had left behind the pugio. " **Imagine if Charles hadn't come and Desi continued to invade like every other fucking king we've had, but eventually, Charles gets sick of it and decided 'I've had enough going easy on these guys'. He burns villages, slaughters thousands, hurts you and Feli beyond compare. Feliciano, I know you can hear me, and you need to hear this too, but Charles did the best he could. He took a position that gave him a reason to give a shit and a half about you and he did the least painful situation for fighting against you. I am sorry I couldn't help more, but Charles did you both, all of us, a favor**." Luciano growled again, but relatively calmed down.

" **I'm still-a pissed. You could have-a helped more** ," He whispered. Fortuna smiled sadly and took a risk, placing her forehead on his. The alternate personality was shocked and he stared into her eyes.

" **There wasn't much I could do. I told them and I told them and I _told_ them to be careful with you and Frankish did. He's offering protection now, use it while you can. Compared to many other kings, Charles is actually very nice** ," She said carefully. Luciano nodded and pulled away. " **Alright, let's get you to bed. Has Germania left for the north for good this time**?" The toddler began to shift and Feliciano nodded blearily as he yawned. Fortuna sighed and walked them to the room. Crawling into the bed across from Frank's, she pulled him and the covers over and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Well, that's that for now. That was 774 and Northern Italy was just taken over by the Frankish empire. I realized a few things. One, I missed a volcano eruption or two with Romano, but they weren't some of the major ones, but there is another coming up very soon. Another thing, as I already mentioned, Norway is coming up a lot sooner than I thought. Should be in 793 or something like that. Lastly, I still have three requests left, and I'm willing to do almost anything for them. Even if you've already filled one, feel free to make another at this point.**


	68. Chapter 62

**Hey guys! I have no idea about anything anymore, I'm too tired right now. This chapter is weird.**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks! I don't really either, but that's what the internet and Drunk History are for. Same. Right. This is even present in the United States of America, we learn a greater deal about the state we live in. If there was a battle in Texas or something, instead of glossing over it like in California, they would learn in detail, for any reader not in the US, for example, I used to live in Louisiana until halfway through my eighth grade, and we learned in detail about Andrew Jackson's victory in the Battle of New Orleans and for a while I thought he was pretty cool... Until I learned what he did as president and now I think he's a horrible human being who barely deserves that title. It's a long story, not everyone would. Yeah, pretty much. I will, at least until email. ...My years notebook is a basic study guide. I've posted a few years by the type I post this to show you an example, but it is my overall review unless I change my mind. They've used it to calm each other down or to let the one on the receiving end cry with support, but not letting the brusher see their tears and weakness. I hope it wasn't too bad! Yay! It was his hair and she did end up chopping it later that night. It could go either way and I hinted at it with Frank, which I'm going to hate doing later (Sorry for the spoiler). Compared to Danmark's roughly 250 years, she's old. The Italian Peninsula is very invested in the Catholic church, being one of the cities that helped popularize it. Venie is adorable, but she does know that he sleeps right next to her when she's in her weakest state. True. Is it that much of a joke?!**

Italian

Frankish/Gaulish/Vulgar Latin (French)/Old High German (It was becoming popular. Apparently Charlemagne spoke a varient of it or something.)

 **Latin**

 **Greek**

 **Italics are emphasis.**

* * *

For a good moment, Fortuna could have sworn she had forgotten to breath. Veneziano was also silent as they looked over the sky. The colors danced across it, swishing and swirling in a beautiful array. "Hol-"

"Sorellona," The child whispered, his eyes opening, but never looking away from the aurora borealis as he corrected her.

"Fine, Fratellino. Do you want to be closer to the stars?"

He gasped and looked up at her and her heart trembled at the beautiful sight, "Really?" She grinned as she looked into the similar eyes that had the stars in them and the woman placed him so his feet stood on top of her head. "It's-a gorgeous, Sorellona!" Fortuna laughed.

"Not as much as you guys, Venie. Luciano, are you seeing this?" A small wave of aura pulsed and she chuckled at his unwillingness to come out. "Alright, we'll watch this for a while longer, but we need to go to bed." He hummed and reached his hands up. The solar storm that had emerged in roughly 774 or 775 resulted in a large aurora borealis and is continued to dance across the sky. One of Charles's daughters was also born around this time, but neither knew Frank was watching from a nearby window. He didn't want to disturb the moment after all. Charles ended up staying in Italy, but after Easter, he was forced to return home to deal with the Saxons in 776. Frank let her remain with her brother, but the two promised to exchange letters often. She heard that in the next year that he had been largely successful and the Saxons had been able to submit formally.

Then, Fortuna heard he hand invaded what would be known as Spain and she sighed. Luciano looked up as he balanced the knife in his hand, "Damnit, Fortuna! Can't we-a finish the-a lesson first?!" She smiled.

"Alright, but right after, I'm heading over to help Frank. He made an alliance with some of the people over there, they prefer a different empire or something right now. Ready?" The child lifted the pugio by his face and his sister took a knife she had borrowed from the kitchen. Fortuna aimed for the apple on a decaying log they had found one day on a walk and they were using it for target practice. "Throw!" Two blades went flying and one missed the apple by less than an inch. She smiled. "You're getting better. Let's go again. Leave the knife I have." Lucinao looked over at it in curiosity and nodded.

The woman walked out to collect the projecticles and quickly returned. They continued a few more times, and each time his aim was slowly improving, "Good, now I want to switch blades quickly." The child looked over at her in confusion, but did so anyway, and they prepared to throw it. "Each knife is different and it's ok to have a favorite, but try to carry an extra on you. You never know if-" Fortuna's breath caught as she shifted to move in front of her brother as a large bang echoed through the forest. Luciano looked at her carefully as she hovered protectively over his body. "Luciano. I really hate to ask this, but..."

"Fortuna?" She closed her eyes and let out a pained sigh.

"I need you to take the knife out of my back, you traitor," The woman sighed.

He laughed lightly, trying not to believe it, "Ragazza, cut the crap. I know I'm bad but-"

"Damn it, Luci, do you think I'd joke about this?!" The kid growled at his nickname, but Fortuna growled back and collapsed to the ground next to him. Sure enough, the dinner knife was stuck near her shoulder blade and didn't go too deep, but there was a growing red stain around it. "Fuck."

"You-a couldn't move?"

"I'ma just glad I was quick enough. You'll have to patch it up at the house, I can't reach it..."

Luciano sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "What do-a I do?" Fortuna sighed and pushed her face into the cool dirt.

"You have to take it out. I can't get up at this point or it could fall out and cause more damage." The child's face twisted as he approached her and reached for the blade. Luciano's breath hitched as he grabbed it quickly and yanked upward. His sister muffled a scream in her throat and arched up in pain, using it to push herself up.

"Shit, shitshitshit, ok. We have to get inside," Fortuna said and Luciano took her hand, leading her in. The woman sighed as she took a seat in the large foyer. "Get me that alcohol I got from China, a spare cloth and my bag. Depending on how bad it is, you may have to stitch it up." The child frowned and nodded, darting off. Fortuna saw him dash in and out of various doors, but he quickly got the supplies together. "Alright. I have no idea if Germania or anyone else has ever shown either of you to patch up a wound, but here's your chance. First, we need to get the cloth away from the area..." The auburnette took one of her smaller eating knives from her bag and sliced open the shoulder of her tunic, wincing at the sound. Luciano flinched and looked away. "Luci, don't worry, you're not going to see anything, but you need to be able to do this, I can't reach it. What if you get caught in a situation where you're alone and you're hurt?" The child frowned and turned back to her.

Laying on her stomach, she opened the bottle and dabbed some onto a cloth, "Can you put this on the area? It's going to st-" The woman hissed in surprise as Luciano pulled away the shoulder of her shirt and dabbed it over the cut.

"Fortuna, what are-a these?" His fingers traced over her white infinity sign and scars and Fortuna edged away from him.

"Let's focus on the current problem. How deep is the-"

"Ragazza, what are-a they?" Luciano growled, digging his fingers into her wound.

Fortuna growled and just barely managed to keep the flashbacks at bay as she grabbed his wrist and pulled it away, staring at him in the eye, "I wouldn't recommend doing that again, _Luci_. Respect my need for privacy and I will respect your pride." He froze, but nodded. " I'm sorry if I scared you, but there are some things you shouldn't push Luciano." He nodded and grabbed the needle and thread she had. "You're going to need to dig a little under the wound to get it. This is where things get really nasty. I'll be fine, but I trust you right now, Luciano."

He pursed his lips and looked at the needle, "Are-a you sure we-a can't just put a bandage on-a it?" She sighed and rested her chin on the smooth floor.

"We could, but I want to make sure you know how to do this. I want to be able to know you can do this someday. It _will_ come in handy, Venie." Veneziano sighed and lowered the needle.

* * *

When Frank heard what had happened, he stated he didn't need her to come by, so she had paused. The wound was healing rather well, but the two immortals learned that _neither_ of the small boys couldn't be trusted to keep a steady hand under pressure... Anyway, according to the blonde a while later, he said that the campaign had been something of a mistake as the Saxons hadn't fully submitted, they had rebelled in 778, destroying many churches in their wake. It was terror. Charles also suffered a defeat in a retreat, so he instead turned his interests to internal issues. He charged back into the North and was soon putting down any rebelling Saxons if they refused to be baptized. Feliciano and crinkled his nose and Fortuna couldn't help but agree.

In 781, the Franks came back down to Italy and Charles had one of his sons placed in charge of Lombardy. Veneziano took to the eight year old rather well and they played a good part of the day. The nation and king also met an English missionary and the priest was invited back to the kingdom. Frank this time had her return with him and it was nice to see Charles's daughter again. In the next year, a Greek man arrived with a small child.

" **Greece**?" The boy looked over to her with calm, mossy green eyes.

" **Yes? Who are you**?"

Fortuna let tears slip out of her eyes as she quickly sat down. Frank looked over to her in concern, but she waved him off as she held her arms out, " **Can I hold you again, like I used to**?" Greece cocked his head at the word choice and the language change, but didn't question the later.

" **You... knew me**?"

She smiled, " **I did, a long time ago.** "

The child cocked his head the other way, " **Then you still know me. A person never forgets. I do not remember your face, so you are...** "

" **Not mortal. I am human, but not a nation. Do you know Turkey**?" Greece winced and Annabelle sighed. " **Looks like he hasn't changed, but how is Cyprus doing**?"

" **Still peeing the bed... How do you know us**?"

Annabelle's smile faltered, " **You were lent to someone you used to know and I used to take care of you**."

Greece nodded and seemed to accept this, " **I almost forgot... What is your name? It might help me remember..**."

" **Neylan. You were so small, Persia was sometimes worried about letting Turkey run around with you, but as far as _I_ know, he never dropped you on your head** ," The woman said with a grin and pulled him into a deep embrace, letting her aura wash over him. The child paused for a moment and slowly sagged into it.

" **Sister**." Annabelle laughed and rocked back and forth.

" **It was so nice to see you again, Greece. It's been almost 500 years since I've seen you.** " Frank squawked and Annabelle chuckled. " **Get over here, Frank. I'm assuming you know Greece**?"

The blonde approached slowly and held out a hand, " **I know his mother. She and I were hoping to marry Rotrude to his child emperor..**."

Annabelle raised an eyebrow, " **So they sent a monk to teach her Greek**?" Greece nodded and Frank chuckled. " **Oh, the joys of common languages**."

" **Indeed**!" Frank laughed. Greece let out a puff of air that seemed to resemble a laugh and the lot burst into deeper laughs. All had not been calm for a while and it was a decent break before going back into the fray. After defeating a large Frankish army, one that left the country with a slight limp, the Saxon's leader retreated to hide amongst the Danes for a while. Annabelle only shook her head as Henry brought back a letter from the man boasting about it. It was then that Charles began to lose his patience. He had shone patience when he had invaded Italy, but he was done. He had 4,500 Saxons massacred for a few reasons. The Saxons had sworn allegiance to Charles, but they had turned back on it. They also supported paganism, and Charles was a Christian man. Regardless, Annabelle had a near heart attack when she heard and it took nearly a full day of meditation to calm her down.

* * *

Hildegard's screams echoed through the castle and Annabelle instantly covered her ears, but something was different. She didn't know what, but something was different. She stood and walked out of the room and down the stairs and caught Frank's eye. A familiar glint told her he noticed it too and she swallowed. "I'm going to be outside." The man nodded and padded softly to help the woman.

Annabelle walked outside to take a brief nap under a tree and soon feel into one. It did not last long though and a large weight collapsed next to her. The woman opened her eyes and met the teary blues of Frank's. One look, "No." He shook his head and Annabelle leapt into his arms, "I am so sorry, Frankish. I..." She breathed out and Frank simply cried to her shoulder. Hildegard, second wife Charles and mother to nine of his children, died from her latest childbirth. The baby, named after its mother, did not live long either. The baby girl died mere days before Charles's mother died and was buried next to her husband. Charles waited until October to remarry, an 18-year-old from Eastern France, mere months after his wife's death.

The small family unit was done. Saxons were still rebelling and Frank charged. For the next three years, Charles ravaged the north and in 785, he finally had Saxon leaders baptized on Christmas day. All was good.

In 787, Pope Adrian I begged for help. "Damnit, not again, what does he want?" Annabelle groaned.

Frank looked over the letter carefully, "He said he wants help to get the Byzantines out of southern It-" The woman jumped out of the comfort of her bed and began collecting her things. "-aly. Are you going?"

"Damn straight. Romano protected me when I needed it, I'm not going to back out. I'm heading down. Talk to Charles-"

"Do not worry, Annabelle, I plan on it," Charles said blearily.

She smiled at him carefully, "Still having problems sleeping?"

"Always. You may head down. Frank and a general of mine will catch up with you for breakfast," The aging king said with a joking glint in his eye. Annabelle laughed and walked around him.

"I'll keep the fire going. I'll see you soon, you two." With that, Annabelle rushed home.

* * *

"Roma!" She yelled as she entered the home. Her sword was drawn and the woman edged around the home carefully, peeking in and clearing doorways and she eventually made it outside. "Romano?" A small hiss came from the tree and Fortuna peered into the leaves carefully. Her brother was clinging to a tree branch and staring at her.

"Ragazza, they're-a here!" He whispered, clearly terrified.

Fortuna snarled, "Not on my watch. Charles is coming, he's bringing help. I'll do what I can do here, but come on, I won't let you fall," she said, holding her arms under him. Romano looked down at her and snorted, pitching over and into her arms. The moment he fell, though, Fortuna nearby dropped him. "Holy shit, Roma!"

He smiled weakly, "Don't-a worry, Ragazza, it-a will pass." The woman sighed and nodded, clutching the hot boy carefully. He was going through another volcano eruption.

"Damn Vesuvius," Fortuna muttered, earning a chuckle from her brother. "This is perfect _fucking_ timing, isn't it? " It wasn't too bad, but the after effects were still basically the same, the room was covered in ashes and spilled water and she had bubbled skin and singed hair. The Franks ended up charging in with Benevento forced and the Byzantines were forced out. Romano recovered like always and he begrudgingly thanked Frankish.

The blonde had smiled and bowed, " **Anything for Annabelle's Nation...** " Romano snorted and leaned on his sister's leg.

" **Alright, now get out**." Annabelle chuckled and picked Romano up into her embrace.

" **Can things get sorted out here first? Benevento doesn't have a ruler** ," She said, shifting Romano so he could be in the conversation easily.

Frankish waved his hand, " **I'll talk to the younger Charles about letting Grimoald rule. It shouldn't be a problem**." Romano nodded and nuzzled into his sister's shoulder, making the other man chuckle. " **I'll leave you two be for now, but-** "

" **There's some shit going on in the North right now if I remember. I'm going to be needed up there soon** ," Fortuna said reluctantly. The child nodded and passed her a peach, which she took and chomped into immediately. "Thanks, Roma. I can try to stay a little longer..." Romano nodded and seemed to accept the answer and Frank left soon after. Holding to his promise, Grimoald III was restored to his proper place as a king under overlordship in 788. She remained in Italy, hearing of Pepin of Italy's adventures rvaging the nearby areas to the east. She and Romano listened to the tales of how the Avars settled right next to the Frankish Empire and how Charlemagne and his son, also named Charles, demolished the area.

On one of the return passages, Henry brought back a gift of two things from Frank. One was a large egg, apparently the same breed as Henry for when the bird passed. Romano, Frankish and Fortuna had all noticed the bird was getting older, but Frank had decided to do something and sent her a 'replacement'. Luckily the egg was still viable and it was set to hatch in a few days. The other thing was a gold ring with a flat top from Charles, to be used for signing letters. He told her to get the top engraved with a symbol and it could be dipped in ink then to the paper to make a seal. Fortuna had chuckled and set to carving a small infinity sign surrounded by a circle. Romano had managed to look at it and just shook his head, but stared it it worryingly until she put it away in her bag. The woman placed a kiss on his temple, "Your ring is the only one that matters to me right now. I'm never going to cast it aside, Roma." He smiled and leaned against her.

A small frown crossed his face and he looked out over the sea, "You-a need to-a go soon." Fortuna looked over the water as well and she could feel a storm brewing in her bones.

"Yeah. I'll see you soon?"

"Always."

It was 792. One year before the first recorded viking raid on the British, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish islands.

* * *

 **Sorry for the huge rush on this chapter, but I've had a rough week. It's more shit from my dad than it is from school, but I'm slowly settling in.**


	69. Chapter 62- I'm Sorry

**Hey guys! I have been _WAITING_ to do this chapter for _MONTHS_! This is the chapter that made me rush the past two, so I hope it's worth it!**

 **AnonChan1: I have no idea, and what do you mean? Remember when I used to update two or three times in a day? Right, US and Japan have really different views. Reminds me of elementary school, people used to use my legs to stand up, but that stopped in middle school. Yeah, I don't really want to do it, but at the same time I feel like I have to for reasons. Being old is not fun. Fuck. I would kill to see that aurora though, I heard it was HUGE. True and if she hadn't moved... She was only able to do that because he was tiny. True, but it all calms down after a while, but the Saxons need to calm the fuck down. I saw a chance and I took it~! It has been, I missed him. Yeah, but she's also, if I remember correctly, the first recorded queen to die of childbirth in the Frankish empire. What joke? He's coming up very soon, and there you go~!**

 **Proto-Norse**

 **Old** **English**

Frankish/Gaulish/Vulgar latin(French)

Old High German

 _ **Latin**_

 _Emphasis_

* * *

Ragin growled as she faced down the Dane, " **Danmark, what the fuck are you doing**?" The man grinned and looked over the odd looking longship.

" **I'm heading west**!"

Her expression didn't change as she grabbed his collar, " **I have family over there. Don't you _fucking_ do this**!"

The blonde huffed, " **I'm gonna do it, no matter what you say**!" She sighed and pushed him away. Another man caught her and she cocked her head at him. The pale haired man returned the gesture and Ragin walked over.

" **Who are you**?" He asked before the auburnette could say much. She blinked and stared him in the eye.

" **I'm Ragin, who are you**?"

A snort came out of his nose, " **There are so many kingdoms, but I think I prefer Vestfold.** " (1)

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, " **I'm going to call you Norge**."

" **Please don't**."

" **Norge**."

" **No**."

" **Norge**.

" **Please stop**."

" _ **Nor**_ -"

" **Norge, get your ass over here!** " Danmark yelled, waving them towards the ship. Norge sent her a blank stare that seemed more like a glare, but she shook it off. " **I see you've met the short one**."

The two immortals growled at him, " **Dan, be careful who you pick. Who's the short one**?"

He chuckled and grabbed their shoulders, " **You both are short.** " The opposing immortals cast a look at each other and if the insult had been any less, Ragin would have laughed at the understanding running through her and Norway. " **Why are you two looking at each other like that? Norge? Rag**?" The two strolled towards the choppy haired man slowly and soon had him cornered. " **Rag, you wouldn't do anything to hurt me, would you? Buddy ol' pal**?" A grin slipped over her face as the two pushed him over the ship deck and into the water. The two watched him flail for a minute before turning back to each other.

" **It's nice to meet you, Vestfold. I'm still going to call you Norge though.** "

He shrugged, " **May I ask why**?"

Ragin grinned, " **Give it 75 years, you'll see**."

" **I was right. You're not...**?" The woman shook her head.

" **Nope. I'm... 734 years old...** " They sat in silence for a second or two before the woman peered over the edge. " **He can swim, righ-** "

" ** _BOO_**!"

" ** _HOLY SHIT_**!" Ragin turned around and swiftly punched her attacker in the face. Danmark whined in pain and Norge let out a sigh. " ** _Damnit_ , Danmark, you _know_ not to sneak up on me**!" With a sigh and careful directions, Vestfold managed to get to get the bickering children onto the ship and it took even longer to convince her to stay on the boat. " **I'm not doing any raiding though. My brother would kill me and his brothers would bring me back just to kill me again**." Danmark laughed and slapped her on the back.

" **Don't worry Ragin! You can stay on the boat and help us raid other parts of the island**!" Norge sighed and sent her a semi-apologetic glance. Ragin waved him off.

* * *

" **YOU BLOODY SCOUNDREL!S GET YOUR ASSES BACK HERE NOW**!" Englaland yelled as he chased after the vikings. They laughed and threw another torch into a home. Ragin winced as she looked overboard and tears filled her eyes. She had hidden her aura and was waiting for those two to return.

The moment they did, their arms full of their plunder, she leapt out, " **Send me back. _NOW_**." Danmark looked at her and was ready to laugh when Norge pulled is ear.

" **When we head back, you're free to go. Just be back soon** ," He said with a frown. Ragin nodded and bowed her head.

" **Thanks, Vestfold. I owe ya one**." He shrugged and headed to put his stuff away.

Danmark let his stolen goods fall at his feet, " **Rag, you ok**?"

She growled and faced him, punching him in the breastbone, " **Don't ever make me attack my brothers again, or so help me, I will beat your ass with... _I don't know_**!"

" **That ax**?" The young adult said, pointing at her feet. She waved her arms out.

" **Yes, fine. That ax. It's not even mine and I'll use it to cut your hair off in your sleep** ," The auburnette declared.

Danmark shrugged, " **It's yours now. I'll see you off**."

Ragin sighed and shook her head, " **You're weird, Dan. Don't ever change**."

* * *

The first message that Henry #2 brought back from Frank was a wedding invitation. It was for Charemagne's son Louis and his wife. Frank didn't put the wife's name, but Annabelle took out her new stamp ring and mushed a leaf to make a makeshift ink. A circle surrounding an infinity sign appeared in green on the back and the woman sent it back. When she arrived, she was swept into Frank's arms and he laughed, "You really took a lot of thought into that, didn't you?"

She shook her head and pulled away, "Frankish, put me down. I don't think I said this earlier, but thank you for the egg. Henry's been a little sweet heart."

The blonde chuckled again, "Sticking with the name?"

The woman gasped and put a hand to her heart, "Frankish, I'm offended! Says the man who has named _every single one_ of his pigeons Pierre!" The two shared another laugh before heading inside. "So, what's the bride's name?"

"Ermengarde-"

"What the fuck?" Annabelle screeched as she fell into the castle. "What's her name?"

The blonde cocked his head, "Ermengarde..."

"Ermahgerd!(2)" Frank looked at her and shook his head. "I came to wish the happy couple luck."

"Good or bad?"

Annabelle smiled, "Are you going to turn me away either way? But good." The blonde shook his head and they continued walking. It was a happy ceremony in 794.

Happiness didn't last long when she sent out Henry to go check on Scotland in 795 and the return letter made her want to go send her new ax into Denmark where the sun didn't shine. Iona had been ransacked. 'GODDAMNIT. MOTHERFUCKER!" Frank peeked into the room nervously as she ran outside. A few more curses left her mouth and some of the various court members watched her storm outside, but she could have cared less. It was the next thousand years she should worry about.

Regardless, when she got into the open air, the woman dropped and bawled her eyes out. Iona was her special corner of the world, away from everything with nothing but good memories, and to have it decimated like that... Denmark better watch his back.

In 796, Frankish and his king and one of the man's sons charged back into the Avar Khaganate. They destroyed the area again and once again came back with so much treasure, it first made Annabelle wonder what the hell made the Franks get fifteen wagon-fulls, but heavy to the point of getting dragged by for oxen each. Frank wouldn't shut up about the whole thing for a year. In the next year, Charles wanted to take a new approach to the Saxons. He declared them equal to everyone else in the kingdom, well all but the North Saxons. They got pissed and rebelled, as always. Of course, as always, Charles put the rebellion down and got the submission of the Saxons _again_.

"What is this, the third time they've submitted?"

Frank shrugged, "I lost count after the first two times." Charles chuckled and shook his head.

In 798, his junior went and took over Corsica and Sardinia and Annabelle growled. "They're a part of Italy..." Frank noticed the touchy subject, and wisely said nothing. She actually hated to admit this a little bit, but she was a little relieved that they died before their father so Louis took the kingdom.

Next year in late April, a beat and batter Pope Leo III showed up at the doorstep and Charles took him into the home. It turned out that several assholes under a nephew of a previous pope had tried to have him maimed, maybe not death, but it was enough to send Leo running to his protectors. After helping the Pope out, Charles sent his back with a guard to return him back to the Papal throne. Finally, 799 came.

As Christmas approached, the family got ready to go to Rome for Mass. Well, the Franks were, Annabelle was heading down to see her brothers. Charles had headed down early and the two immortals got sidetracked by someone. It was December 24th when they came across Germania. Annabelle had learned from her mother, and time, that the Frankish Empire had slowly been taking germanic tribes and lands into their own since their creation. Hell, the Franks were Germanic in origin as well, but as time passed over the past half-century, Germania began to lose his land and tribes to the Franks. And thus it lead to this.

The old blonde man stood in front of them, holding a sword shakily in his hand. France started at the older nation, Annabelle being off to the side, "Are you ready to submit yet, Germania?" The taller blonde stood his ground wearily and Annabelle's heart shook lightly at the tired look in his eyes.

"So long as I still have energy, I will never submit," He growled at the Frenchman. Frank frowned and drew his sword.

"Aren't you tired of the same thing everyday, constantly fighting everyone? Wouldn't it be better just to close your eyes and rest?" Frank soothed. Germania remained still, albeit glaring at the teen.

A small mass came out of no-where and stood next to Germania, "No, I won't let you hurt Vati!"

Germania growled at the smaller nation, "Holy Rome, get out of here!" Annabella stared in shock at the younger version of Germania and she remembered the last time she had seen him.

"Henry..." Frank cast a small glance at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled sadly, sheathing his blade. Holy Rome bared his teeth lightly as the man came up to him and kneeled.

Smiling, the Frank gently spoke to him, "So you're Holy Rome, no? I am Frank, a friend of your Vati's. He's getting a little tired, so I'll take care of you until you can take care of yourself, alright?" He glanced at Germania as he said that, lightly basking in the grateful glint in the ancient's eye.

Holy Rome shook his head fiercely, "No, it cannot be true! Vati, you can't di-" Germania shook his head.

"Holy Rome, its time for me to rest now. I have taught you all I can and the states will listen to you. Big brother Frank will take care of you, but be sure to kick his butt for me when you can, ok?" Holy Rome shook his head again, tears streaming down his face as he lunged out to grasp his father.

Annabelle looked down in respect as she felt Germania's aura disappear. Holy Rome bawled his eyes out as he landed roughly on the ground, where his father nation's body had previously been, but currently, gone. Annabelle let a tear fall, barely noticing the pale blue aura that draped over his land like a thin layer of snow. He was here, but not. A ghost to the past and the small lost child he left, crying for his lost father.

* * *

Later the next day, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, Christmas day, 800 AD. Frank stood off to the side proudly, but the other two immortals stood in the back, just off the back wall, in mourning. Annabelle clutched onto the tiny blonde's hand in comfort as they stared at the ongoings in front of them. It was a great comfort to have a remaining legacy of Germania there, but the man next to her wouldn't stop snickering for some reason.

At first, she tried to ignore it, thinking it was a small joke a neighbor had told him. Then he continued to giggle like a little school-girl. Then, the final straw, "T ** _his is the brat he named after me? He's got to be joking_**!"

She angrily turned to him, " ** _Sir, is this some kind of- Oh my god_**."

Grandpa Rome grinned brightly as he looked over. Holy Rome was too far off in his own world to notice Annabelle reaching over to hug the older man with her free arm. " ** _What are you doing here, I thought you were-"_**

" ** _Shhh! God can't know I'm here! I just came to see my legacy, and in all honesty, I am not liking it. I thought there would be more... me_** ," He joked. Annabelle laughed lightly and pulled him into another one-armed hug.

" ** _Well, it was nice seeing you, but-_** "

He shushed her again, " ** _That's not the only reason I'm here. Hold still_**." The woman froze as he reach around an arm and lightly touched the very base of her skull. She felt a hint of magic and a sudden chill go down her spine as whatever the man did took effect.

" _ **What did you do**_?" She hissed, reaching to touch the back of her neck, but Rome stopped her.

" ** _I wouldn't do that, not here. Now you're officially part of the family_**!" He cheered lightly. Annabelle sucked in another breath to yell at him, crowning be damned, but within the blink of an eye, he was gone. Her arm fell back to her side uselessly as she stared at where he used to stand and let her face fall.

" _ **I missed you..**_." She completely forgot about what the man had just done as a cheer went up around the church and the other two immortals were none-the-wiser about what just happened.

She wouldn't discover what Rome had done until 400 years later.

* * *

 **I AM SO DONE. Let me go die...**

 **(1) Vestfold was the name of the petty kingdom that the king that united Norway originated from.**

 **(2) ...Just look this up if you don't know...**


	70. Chapter 63

**I am so sorry about that last chapter, I know I introduced two new characters, but I killed off Germania. I'll give ya one guess as to what Rome did. Also, a lot of nations are going to be introduced in this and the next century, yay... Also, I do not own any part of hetalia. There are parts of Season 1, Episode 16 in here! I'll put an explanation at the bottom!**

 **AnonChan1: Why?! I'm not, I just have nothing better to do with my time! I've seen. True. Same though. I do miss them, but now she has one to deal with and they have a very weird relationship as everyone has seen in the VERY FIRST FEW CHAPTERS. Spoilers, but kiddie Carina's interactions with HRE is how they usually are. TRUE. And who do you mean? And Norge is actually one of the Norwegian ways of saying Norway. He's not quite taller than them yet, but he's got maybe an inch over them. She's about 5 feet and 2 and a half inches. Ha! Denmark is amazing, he does not give any shits. Unless you hurt the rest of Scandinavia. Undead Pierres... True! STOOOOOOP... I have been stressing this for the past few chapters! I HAD TO TAKE A WALK WHEN I PUT IT IN. IT WAS THIRTY SOMETHING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD! AND I KNOW, BUT I NEEDED TO. Rome isn't mad, but as (one moment to look it up)... Voltaire once said, "The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire." I think Leo III named him that just to piss off Empress Irene in the Byzantine empire, the 'True Roman Empire'. Bullshit.**

Old High German

Early Middle Japanese/Middle Chinese (The group can switch back and forth or speak normally, but they all understand the dialogue.)

* * *

A mass landed on a previously sleeping woman made her grunt and she opened one eye at the pissed empire. "Amalia," Holy Rome grunted as he settled on her stomach.

"Holy Rome," The auburnette sighed, turning over and made him tip over as well.

"How long are you going to sleep?" Amalia chuckled and ducked from under her covers to grab the child. "Let me go!"

"You stubborn child-" A punch to the underside of her jaw made her sigh, but not mover.

Holy Rome growled, "Get up. You were going to miss breakfast. Charles asked me to get you up."

Amalia grunted again as she sat up, "And where was Frank?" The child shrugged and wiggled out of her grasp. "I'll be down in a few." The child nodded and exited the room swiftly. Sighing again, the woman slid into her shoes and threw on her long tunic. As the years had changed, unless she was in Italy, she no longer wore stolas and traded all but her green one in for two pairs of breeches, two long-sleeved tunics, one long and the other dangling over her knees, and a nightgown. Throwing on the long blue tunic over her head, the 'pants' she wore to bed kept her legs warm. Finally throwing her green cloak over and placing her ax and swords to her sides,, Amalia stepped out into the hall. Holy Rome was waiting patiently and quietly took her side.

The woman held a hand down, the blonde silently took it in comfort. The loss of Germania still hung over the two and they constantly argued with each other for various reasons, but there were moments of peace and truce. Breakfast was mostly quiet and Henry came soaring in through an open window. Frank watched his newest ward with a smile because Holy Rome looked at the bird in wonder. Amalia took the note and moved the bird to her shoulder. The avian had grown used to gripping onto her shoulder carefully, thank goodness as she opened the letter. "China wants me to visit Japan. He's hoping to see my face at something... I have no idea what though. Frank?"

He shrugged and popped a piece of meat into his mouth, "Do whatever you think is best." Amalia nodded and looked over the letter.

Holy Rome looked at her nervously, "Are you leaving?"

Annabelle looked down at him and smiled, "Not for good, but I'll be gone a while. Do you see this bird, Holy Rome?" He nodded and reached for it carefully. Taking the bird from her shoulder, the woman let him stroke the imperial eagle for a moment. "Henry is my messenger bird, he takes letters back and forth all over the world. It may take a few days, but we can send letters back and forth. See? He's already taking a liking to you!" Holy Rome giggled as Henry began rubbing his head into the child's hand for more pets.

"Alright. I'll see you soon?"

Amalia smiled and ruffled the boy's hair, "It might be a few years to a few decades, but I'll always be back, you little pest." The child frowned and chomped onto her hand. She shrieked and Henry let out a cry of his own and leapt onto the table, facing the new empire. Frank and Charlemagne watched this in dismay and Annabelle held a hand towards her bird to try to calm him down. It took a while, but he did fly back onto her arm and Holy Rome returned to his seat. "Alright. I'll head out tonight. Charles, any thoughts?" The king shook his head and she bowed before pushing Henry into the air and walking outside.

Holy Rome would later find her in the garden and toying with her hair. "What are you doing?" She looked behind her and grabbed one of her smaller blades.

"Not much. I'm thinking I need a haircut." He nodded and the woman sighed, grabbing her hair midback and beginning to hack at it. The child waited patiently and when she finished, Holy Rome looked at the final result. He cocked his head for a moment.

"You're missing something." Amalia blinked in confusion as he reached up to the side of her head. Grabbing a few strands, he began weaving them in and out of each other and soon finished. "Do you have some string?" Her eyebrows met in confusion and she reached into her bag to get a length of thread. Passing it over carefully, the blonde wrapped it around the twisted mess and tied it. "I think Vati would like it." Amalia looked at it and smiled.

"So you're the one who did that. I noticed it the last few times I saw him that he had a random braid. Did you get bored or something?" The child coughed into his hand and she smiled, poking his cheek, "Oh, that is precious!"

"Stop it!" He yelled, lunging at her. The two wrestled for a while, but ran out of energy. "See you in a while, Amalia."

She looked at him, "Why did you name me that?"

He looked into the sky, "Vati always called you a piece of work, so..." Amalia chuckled.

"That ass. I'm going to get him the next time I see him!"

Holy Rome looked at her in confusion, "You.. You can't. He's-"

"-Not quite dead. You've heard of your father's... I think cousin, Scandinavia? I heard from one of his kids that he's disappeared, but not dead. The guy's an idiot on occasion, but I trust his gut more than anything else about him," The woman supplied. Her friend next to her let out a choked sound and curled into a ball. "I know it's hard and I probably should have told you earlier, but he's there, but not. I don't know how though." The ball just shook and Amalia sighed, simply sitting there.

* * *

The long voyage around to Japan was not short and took a while to find varying ships to take her to the next dock and to go around Africa. Arriving in early 802, she looked around in confusion, trying to sense an aura, but nothing. "Damnit, Japan don't do this to me..." Jun began to skim the crowd, ignoring the varying looks she got for her own appearance. The woman looked for about five minutes before pulsing out an aura in fear. She didn't know the town and the people wandering around seemed to be speaking in a different form of Japanese than since she had last been.

A hand on her shoulder made Jun whirl around and face someone she different recognize, "Hello? Who are you?" The man stared at her blankly and suddenly, she understood who he was when his aura was revealed, "Holy- Japan?! You've gotten really tall! I didn't recognize you!" A sigh of relief escaped her and she slumped.

"I can tell. We need to update your form of speech. China wants us to come over soon, if that is alright with you," He asked, cocking his head.

Jun nodded, "Of course. How have you been otherwise?" The man shrugged and she smiled. "Alright. Is China here?" Nodding, they continued in relative silence.

When they did arrive, Jun smiled at the mother and child panda pair sitting outside and China was petting the smaller one very carefully. "Still got it, huh, China?" The man looked up and grinned.

"Jun Fu! It is so nice to see you again!" The woman growled, being careful of the bear.

"It would have been nice if Japan hadn't pulled a prank on me. I was terrified!"

China looked between the two, "Japan, how could you? I expected more from you! Some better prank, at least!" The woman gawked at him then his ward.

"I will try."

"I am so fucking done. So what's been going on?"

The oldest nation waved his hand, "We can tell you later! Food first!" Jun shook her head and laughed. "Japan?"

"I would like some as well," The younger confirmed, leading the way into the home. The tow followed and the auburnette smiled painfully at the familiar home. China caught the look and bumped her shoulder supportively. "What would you two like to eat? There is tea and sugar."

"I'll take whatever is easiest, Japan. I don't want you to stress yourself over me." He nodded and turned to his older 'brother' and got a similar response. Nodding, Japan wandered deeper into the home. After a quick lunch of rice, they all sat down for some relaxation time and Japan began drawing. (1)

China noticed this and turned to Jun, "He draws, but he doesn't write characters." Looking down in realization, the old nation muttered aloud, "Could it be that he doesn't know characters?" Jun was about to speak up, but Japan sent her a sharp glance and she kept her mouth shut. The elder reached into a random satchel he had, (Years later, Jun would swear it wasn't there) and pulled out a pre-printed sheet of Chinese characters that she couldn't see. Passing them over to his ward, China smiled, "Japan, use these. They are Chinese characters. They're convenient. By using these, you'll be able to write letters." Japan stared at him blankly and slowly took the paper. A low rumble came from the older's gut and Jun snorted.

"Go take care of that, China," She joked. China's face turned a faint red as he sputtered and left the room to go relieve himself. She laughed and Japan looked at the characters. "I'm so sorry, I really shouldn't be laughing this hard." Japan shrugged and pulled out a long scroll, laying it on the table. "What are you doing?" He looked at her and jerked his head over to gesture her over. Peeking over his shoulder, she watched the asian man begin drawing five symbols and he hung it up just as China was coming back.

"Oh, you're already using them? How admirable," He said, but paused once he saw the characters. "Don't come up with kanji characters on your own (2)!" After China managed to calm down, they all went for a walk and the two explained how the North of Japan hadn't been united with the rest of the 'nation', Yamato Japan, and they had tried to subjugate the north. Early in the year, the leader of the rebellion had died and most of the Emishi rebellion was put down to add their land to Yamato Japan, allowing Japan to grow.

China grinned as he walked between the two, "I'm glad that you're growing fast, Japan. I'm proud!" He said with an ego.

Jun snorted, "Of course you're proud. It means you're a good older... something." China laughed in approval of his friend's statement and the passive nation looked at her with a look that all but begged her to shut up. They passed the mother panda from earlier and China paused.

"Ah, Panda!" The bear paused and cocked its' head in curiosity. "Good timing! I'll introduce you to this man. This is Japan!" The mentioned nation bowed with a simple 'hello' and looked like he wanted to do nothing more than hide in his room.

The woman blinked as she swore she heard the bear speak, "Is he your family?"

"That's right! He's my younger brother, and I'm proud of him. Right?!"

A large silence echoed over the garden and Jun chuckled into her fist as Japan finally answered, "Oh... Yeah." China freaked out over the delay and the woman laughed into her hand.

"Good god you two. You remind me of a friend of mine when I was younger. He used to swear up and down I was his little sister and the whole time, I just said nothing and hid behind him from whoever he was talking to," Jun spouted. China chuckled and Japan nodded in understanding. The rest of the day passed peacefully.

They all curled on the back porch as a smooth breeze passed over the three. "What a beautiful moon..." China noted.

"Yes," Japan agreed and Jun hummed, lying completely on a step.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" China asked as he looked to his brother. The woman looked up at the unfinished question. 'Now that you've conquered the rest of your island'.

The man looked at his older sibling, "What am I going to do now? Well..." Jun and China held their breath as Japan looked into the woods. "I want to become stronger. Soon, the western powers will reach Asia as well." Jun sat up in concern and the asian nations looked at her. She had occasionally told them of what happened over there and the majesty of her siblings and friends, but she never knew it left this much of an impact. "When that happens, I'm going to fight them at any cost."

She opened her mouth in concern, "Japan, I haven't seen you fight, but I'd worried. Their land mass is more than three times your size, including the north." Japan looked at her and opened his mouth, but she held up a hand, "I'm not asking you to not fight them, trust me, you will, but I want you to be careful." The man bowed his head and the woman sighed. "Thank you."

China let out a puff of air, "I don't understand such complicated stuff. You should make your stories shorter!"

Jun growled, "Says the man who never shuts up about the past! Sorry if I can't make my rants as short as your patience!" He huffed and turned his attention to the moon and tried to change the subject before they got into an argument.

"Whoa! Look, Japan. Rabbits are pounding medicine on the moon!" The woman sighed and lied back down on her stair, listening to the fight coming in.

"No, they're pounding steamed rice into mochi cake," Japan argued.

"Ok, you two. Let's put culture aside for the rest of the night and go to sleep," The auburnette said as she stepped in. The men agreed and soon, they were all curled up in a room, listening to each other's breathing as they drifted off. China tried to ignore the child's aura in the far corner of the room. They stayed happily together until two years later when China returned returned to Chang'an with a few notable people. Kūkai took place in a government sponsored mission to learn more about a scripture he had been searching for for years. They wouldn't see him for another two years, but at least they had tea seeds now.

Over the years, Jun tried to send out as many letters as possible. Holy Rome received the most, but she tried to send out letters to other after every few to the blonde. Eriu told her of Vikings that had attacked Iona again and they sought refuge with him at Kells, bringing a beautiful book with them in 806. In the same year, Frank wrote back and told her that Charles had divided his kingdom for his sons upon his death. Veneziano told her of some merchants who opened a bank in 808.

When she got a letter in 810, Jun knew she had to leave. "Japan. The west needs me right now." The nation looked at her and nodded. He stood and Jun watched patiently as they shared bows. "I'll see you soon."

"I will see you soon as well. Have a safe trip," He returned and they stood. Turning tail, Jun set off to get ready. Pepin of Italy had just died.

* * *

 **I'm cutting it off there. I've been looking at my views and stuff, and I noticed, just for a little bit, the UK had more views than the US. It didn't last. I also want to say kudos to the few readers how are going through and (re)reading this. I still have three requests left.**

 **(1) I'm pretty sure this is a reference to the Heian Period in Japanese culture. To everyone who's seen 'History of Japan', they know that various arts erupted during this time.**

 **(2) Various Kana also emerged during this period, such as Katakana and Hiragana. They're Kanji and while there are differences. I'm pretty sure I ordered this wrong, but to the 'History of Japan' reference from earlier, it's said that** **Kūkai did re-invent the alphabet to use Kana. Just know that.**

 **I learned a lot about this episode and it's a lot of fun to learn the history behind it!**


	71. Chapter 64

**Hey guys! Two updates in one day! It's been a while! And I have good news! This story is now over 200,000 words and it's now my most read story, even more than one of my old FMA fanfics that I haven't touched it years. Please DON'T go read it, those are trash.**

 **AnonChan1: I'm ok, I've hit my head twice in the past week or three ,but otherwise fine. I'm really not sorry and I really do have too much time on my hands right now. Alright! And simply to fit in with Hetalia, Belarus is gonna be with them. Hmmm, probably Hungary. Same and I may be the oldest of my siblings, but I'm already the shortest. He is great. I need to do that at some point, may I? Roma will still get her in the morning, but there's a reason behind his. HRE is just doing it because he has a weird relationship with LL. I'll have something be there soon, but it's going to be sad for a few years until they get over Germania. LL and Frank make sure from an early age that Henry is trained not to attack Pierre. He would cry, flip his shit at Henry and then LL before getting a new bird. Which part are you laughing at? His profile says 5'6", but right now, about 5'4". Pretty much! Allen is an ass when he wants to be, but he can also be a sweetheart when he wants to be. That was just the Carolingian/ Frankish Empire. Not quite...**

Old High German 

**Frankish/Gaulish/Old French/ Vulgar Latin(French) (Facebook: relationship status: It's complicated)**

Proto-Norse/Old Norse

* * *

Annabelle arrived in the Holy Roman Empire about halfway into 811 and she had a sigh of aggravation when she saw Charles the Younger in the hall before anyone else. The prince blinked in confusion, "Hello, Annabelle. Is something the matter?" She shook her head and dropped her hood.

"Don't worry about it. Have you seen Frank?"

Charles Jr. looked around and shook his head, but looked behind her, "No, but I do see-"

A battle cry cut him off and Annabelle side-stepped the angry child, "Holy Rome! What are you doing?!"

"Defending my home from invaders!" He yelled, raising the wooden sword again. Charles chuckled as Annabelle sidestepped the little terror again.

" **Frank, where the fuck are you and why haven't you checked your house for pests, one is attacking me**!" She yelled. A few nobles popped their head out and the older ones noticed it was just those two, they shook their heads, leaving the younger ones confused.

A familiar face came out and he chuckled, " **Annabel, he is not a pest! He is a part of our empire**!" Frank came to stand by the paused Holy Rome and ruffled the child's hair. The child growled and smacked Frank's leg.

"Get offa me!"

Annabelle chuckled, "Alright you two, let's calm down. How has Charles been holding up?" The man's son looked at them, but said nothing as he noticed they were speaking about his dad. Frank shrugged and looked down.

"He does not speak of it. I am worried, but he has other matter to worry about. We shall be heading North soon to meet with..." The man sighed and Annabelle snorted, knowing who he was talking about.

"Has Henry met him yet?" Frank cocked an eyebrow and she did the same.

He sighed, "Your little bird will have to sit this one out. I am worried about him attacking Danmark." (1)

Holy Rome looked between the two confused, " **I thought Henry already met him..**." Annabelle smiled and waved a hand.

" **He hasn't, don't worry about it. Holy Rome, Frank, we have some catching up to do.** " The blondes shared a look and the taller one laughed.

"Indeed we do. I'll meet you in a while, I have to wrap something things up."

The woman nodded and took Holy Rome by the hand to lead him outside. Various weapons were dropped and in an instant, the child had attached himself to her legs, trying to knock her over. She chuckled and let herself fall back so she could wrap him up in a tight 'embrace'. The blonde sputtered and tried to get out of her hold, and managed to succeed. They continued to wrestle until a large weight landed on them and Annabelle was faintly reminded of a situtaion she had put Scotland and Eriu in.

Frank grinned down at the two as he somehow managed to put more weight on them, "Hello, Holy Rome, Annabelle? Lovely day outside, isn't it?"

The child growled, but Annabelle chuckled darkly, "I don't know, my vision is blocked by some ugly thing. It's so grotesque, I can't even tell what it is!" The man gasped and rolled off in false hurt.

"Annabelle, how could you say such a thing! That hurts!" Holy Rome rolled off of Annabelle as well, but she didn't see where he went as she sat up to face Frank.

"Frank, I'm joking, we both know you're the pretty one!" They laughed and soon, two blades landed by them. They picked them and grinned at Holy Rome, holding his own blade. "We're heading in when the sun is on the horizon, agreed?"

* * *

"RAG!"

"DAMNIT DAN PUT ME DOWN!" Frank watching in dismay as his friend swung a fist and the Scandinavian dropped her on her ass in return. "Why do you always fucking do that if you know I'm just going to hit you?"

Danmark grinned, "But Ragin, it's fun! Then you go and hit me!"

The other European cleared his throat as Charlemagne stared at them, "I believe we have some business to get to?" The woman nodded and pushed herself up.

"Alright, Frank, but Danmark, you better run when this is fucking over. You've been going to Iona and it's my second favorite place on earth," She growled. The man sobered up and nodded. He gestured for Charles and Frank to come inside and Annabelle followed after. The Treaty of Heiligen was arranged and the border between the Danes and the Franks was set, as well as a peace treaty.

811 ended on a sour note though, when Charles the Younger suffered a stroke and passed away with no children. This left Louis as the only other son of Charlemagne, but Pepin of Italy's son was king of the Lombards. 812 was a little more peaceful within the Empire, but so was 813. Charles finally dealt with the issue of his heir and on September 13, 813, the three immortals watched the seventy-year old crown his son with his own hands. It brought tears to Annabelle's eyes to see the motion and wiped her eyes carefully. Charlemagne sent him back to Aquitaine and set off to go hunting. When he returned, the poor man wasn't in the best shape. He took to his bed and after a month of painful breathing, slipped away January 28th, 814. He was buried later that day. There was one request of his that made Frank retreat to his room for the rest of the week.

Charlemagne was known to wear a blue cloak and he wrote a small note by his bed to let his country have the blue, almost indigo, cloak.

When it was presented to Frank, he thought it was a bad joke and pushed it back, his eyes full of tears. The poor court official showed the blonde the note and draped the cloth around his shoulders. Annabelle looked at him and her eyes widened with tears. They shared a look and they quietly exited to their room to cry. Their room now had a third bed made specifically for Holy Rome, but it didn't matter as Frank leapt onto his bed and turned the fabric to bury his nose in it.

"Frank..." Annabelle whispered, sitting beside him. "He really loved you, he wanted the best." He nodded and she brought him into her arms. The blonde curled in her arms weakly and bawled his eyes out. The woman shushed him and rubbed his back gently. Charlemagne was truly a great man. He put forward education reforms, religious reforms, a new writing form blossomed under his care, even if he couldn't read or write himself, but the man was a genius. Other than a few mishaps, he was a great king, the most famous in his country's history. Frank's tears wouldn't subside for a while, but they all knew that he would never get over it.

Holy Rome crawled into bed with her later, after Frank was asleep, his own eyes full of tears. Annabelle rocked him gently and her eyes caught the sword lying by his bed. It was Joyeuse, his personal blade. It was a similar story to Frank's cloak and it was to be used for another thousand years. But right now, all that mattered was the weeping child in her arms and she placed a kiss on his forehead in support. Time would get him through.

Other than the Byzantine Emperor getting into a fight with their Pope and getting excommunicated, nothing much happened in 814. In 815, Norway called her back for a favor. She set out after and soon arrived on the sand, but just as quickly pushed onto another ship. Norge explained that one of his citizens was sailing Northwest and he wanted her to come with them to see the land. They met with the man and his family and Henry sat on her arm, just as three ravens sat on his.

The blonde man looked at the ravened-down man, "This is Flóki, but he's getting called-"

"Raven-Flóki. Are you coming with...?"

Ragin smiled, "Just call me Ragin. Nice birds"

He grinned, "I can say the same." They boarded with three other men, and set sail. They passed the Shetland islands first, where one of Raven's daughters drowned. The man was forced to keep it together as they continued west and landed on the Faroe islands. There, another of Raven's daughters had to stay, but rather for her wedding. During her ceremony, Ragin noticed a small dog running around happily and yapping at everything. It was also a very smart creature, faintly reminding her of Flavio, her horse from... Her head bowed at the though and her heart clenched as a grinning man flashed through her mind. Norge nudged her shoudler to snap her out of her thoughts and the woman nodded her thanks.

They continued on and it was then that the ravens came in handy. Raven-Flóki released the first and it returned right to the direction they had come from and they knew it was no good. He released the second and after a moment, it settled back on deck. Ragin crossed her fingers as the third was released. It flew around for a moment, but flew into a new direction and she threw Henry into the air to follow it. The crew followed the birds and soon, a large bay came into view. An excited cry came over the ship and Norway's eyes sparkled in excitement. A new aura came into range and the woman sucked in a breath. The immortal next to her put a hand on her shoulder and he smiled lightly.

"You can feel it too?"

She grinned, "Of course. Let's go find Iceland."

"Good. But there's something you're missing. There's another aura. I haven't felt it since I was a child," Norge said, looking over the sea back to his homeland as a tear trickled down his face.

Ragin's eyes widened, "You don't mean-"

"Dad's over there right now, looking after my little brother." As soon as they landed, Raven-Flóki gave them the go ahead to look around and they followed the auras to a man covered in thick furs and wild blonde hair, bobbing a boy that looked like a tiny Norge up and down. The older version wasted no time in running up and burying his face into his father's cloak and the man's laugh made Ragin smile. It was one of relief and love after time had passed. They shared a few words and the man known as Scandinavia looked over at her and smiled warmly.

Coming out slowly, she smiled herself, "I've heard about you from Germania and Danmark." He grinned and laughed deeply.

"How's that stick in the mud and the little king doing?" Norge snorted and stuck as close to his father's side as he could. While they all knew he wasn't normally like that, he hadn't known where his father had gone and it was nice to see him again after not knowing if her were dead or alive.

The auburnette's smile faltered, "Your brother... He pulled the same disappearing act as you did, leaving behind a son that hadn't been alive for long immediately after. Danmark is... lively to say the least." The smirk had slipped from Scandinavia's face as he looked over to the east.

"That sounds like them. Have my boys been giving you trouble, Luck?" Her eyes widened and she sputtered. "Don't give me that, Britannia told us about you and of course if I hadn't heard from her, I woulda heard from Rome, the guy couldn't-"

"-Can't anymore. Germania killed him," She whispered.

The wild-haired man nodded, "Again, sounds like my brother. But Rome couldn't keep his mouth shut. Again, don't look at he like that, he's been down to earth recently, I can feel it and he did something, I don't know what, but he left a legacy somewhere," he said, sending her a knowing look. Ragin looked down sheepishly and he chuckled again, "Don't worry about that. He's with a different god, I'm going somewhere else later. I just need to drop off this little fella and one other person soon and I can rest." Panic flared in Norge's eyes and Scandinavia smiled at his son, "Don't worry, you'll do just fine. Dan will set you straight if you need help."

The teen nodded and he reached out to the child. His father smiled and passed him over, pointing at Norge, "This is your big brother, can you say big brother?"

The child looked up nervously and smiled sweetly, "Big brother!" Smiles crossed everyone's faces and Ragin looked over the scene, but one person was missing. Scandinavia was gone, again.

* * *

Upon their return from the harsh winter, the various men on the trip were asked what Iceland was like. Flóki didn't like the island, another man thought it had its ups and downs, but the last man... Thorolf claimed there was butter on every straw on the land and it made tears come to Ragin's eyes as she tried not to laugh. Norge was also hiding a smile behind his mask and Iceland continued to pitch a fit, but not as bad as when he was without his older brother. They had brought him with them, but he continued to put up a fuss. Norge sent her back to lower Europe, but he promised that someone would go to take care of Iceland.

On the way down to France, Carina sighed in frustration and felt the braid on the side of her hair, "Mom, I'm trying to keep up, but I think history's going to run me over." Her mother's words came to mind in a small flash and she smiled.

"Time waits for no one. Keep up or hitch a ride with some poor asshole for the ride. It only gets worst while getting better. Get used to it." She had been ten and was crying about leaving behind a friend for the millionth time and wished time would stand still. Her mother had laughed and cried at the same time. "Oh, I wish the same every single day." It couldn't be truer.

* * *

 **One new, modern country down, I have no idea who many more to go for this century. Either way, there's Scandinavia, I had to wing his personality from pictures. If he ever becomes canon, I'll fix that.**

 **(1) If you can't tell, they're talking about Holy Rome. Annabelle has told Frankish her story so many times, it's practically a bedtime story, so he knows the name well and why she named her bird Henry.**


	72. Chapter 65

**Hey, guys! I've recently checked the reviews and there have been some busy bees and I can't thank you guys enough! I do want to know if some of this stuff is coming in handy during class!**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks! And if I wouldn't have anything if I didn't have a hard head, so I don't think so! Yeah. LL remembers how Hun wanted her raised and will respect ... They kinda just figured after they saw Henry take down a pheasant, which is about four times the size of Pierre, they worked it out of Henry. Yeah. ...what... I don't know, I haven't seen disney movies in years, except maybe Anastasia. They are though, sadly, dead. She is, unless something's wrong. Fun fact- I think the reason Frank has his hair long is because of his early history, only kings were allowed to have the 'royal long hair'. Breaks my heart. ALWAYS. *Looks at feels. Bats at them and laughs* Ok, I'm done.**

Old High German

 **Frankish/Gaulish/Old French/Vulgar Latin(French)**

 _Flashback_

* * *

When Holy Rome woke up on an early October morning, he was surprised to see two figures in the bedroom rather than one. He opened his mouth to wake Amalia, but his older brother held a finger to his lips. "Annabelle got here late last night. I don't want to wake her up." The small nation nodded in understanding and walked out the door. Everyone have had those nights where they work far too late and end up collapsing onto their bed as soon as they could.

Frank stuck behind and smiled down at her, "Welcome back, Annabelle." She hummed and rolled over and went to hide into the crease between the bed and the wall. He chuckled and left the room to head down for breakfast. The meal was mostly silent, but then Annabelle came down and yawned, taking a seat and burying her face in her arms, " **Good morning, Annabelle, have a nice rest**?"

She growled, " **Frankish. Do you see that wall**?" The blonde looked over to the far wall and hummed, " **If you give me any shit this morning, you're going to meet that wall**." He chuckled and waved to the stone structure. Louis watched them in interest and hid a laugh in a cough.

"Hello, wall."

The auburnette stood and grabbed his collar, being careful of his new favorite cloak, and pushed him into the wall, "Frankish, I am not ready for today. Unless something important is happening today, I'm going back to the room to meditate."

Holy Rome at this point stood, "The Pope has something planned." Frank pulled Annabelle's wrists away from him as he looked at his ward.

"Holy Rome, do you mean Stephen?"

He nodded, "I'm assuming that's where you went, Amalia?"

She sighed and returned to her seat, "Eh. I needed to visit Romano for a while. I needed a break."

 _Romano curled into her stomach as they watched the stars, and Fortuna smiled, petting his hair, "We need to go to be here, Roma."_

 _He hummed and buried his face in her midsection, "Alright. Are-a you going to-"_

 _"I should be fine. I know you'll wake me up regardless," The woman said with a smile. He snorted and let himself be picked up. They went inside and went to bed. As Romano had predicted, she had a nightmare that night, but just in turn, he also woke her up before it got too bad. They ended up staying awake and telling each other random news and jokes from over the years._

 _It was peaceful, but as always, the woman had to part, but Romano was never mad about it. After all, she had nothing to gain from lying to him. Sure, she would hide stuff from here, but he trusted her. She was family and one of his citizens. Fortuna would always be Italian whether she liked it or not._

Annabelle sat calmly in the back of the church as she watched Louis be crowned Holy Roman Emperor and sighed. Frank and Holy Rome stood up thee proudly, but she refused to go closer to the front. Stepping out of the church quietly, she waited outside and stared at the moon. "Germania, does he hate me?"

"A little."

She looked over to the man and cracked a smile, "I wasn't exactly expecting an answer." Germania snorted and stretched. "Mind explaining what you did a few years ago?"

"Went back into the land. Usually it's a nation's choice, but if we feels we could sprout up again, we can simply rest. Rome didn't have that option. He was too overrun. Frank did a horrible job making Germans Frankish," He lowly explained, leaning against the cool stone. Annabelle laughed.

"Oh, and if you haven't heard, Holy Rome named me Amalia. I wonder he thought of that," She asked, rubbing her chin mockingly.

Germania cocked his head, "I wonder as well. I miss him."

"You called me a piece of work, you ass. He beats himself up over not being able to help you, you know."

He sighed and took a step forward, "I'll see you."

"Wait-" Her voice stopped as suddenly he had disappeared, the only evidence of his visit were a few crushed blades of grass. "-You ass."

The doors opened and Louis and the nations stepped out. The latter looked at her with raised eyebrows and Annabelle smiled lightly. She fingered the side-braid Holy Rome had given her earlier and the child's eyes dropped. "He misses you." Nodding, Holy Rome took a seat on the cold ground, lying down after a moment. Louis cocked his head, but Frank gestured him forward. Words weren't needed as they left the woman and child behind. Amalia was quiet as she took a seat on the ground and slipped her cloak off. She draped it over Holy Rome so he could cry in peace. Passerby cast them odd looks, but luckily, no one said anything.

* * *

The three immortals sat in their room and shook their heads. "He is really taking his father's death to heart, isn't he?"

"Yeah..." Frank sighed at Annabelle's remark.

Holy Rome fell on his back and rolled around a few times in frustration, much to the amusement of the other two, "Why does he have to take things so seriously?"

"Because Charles died a few months after Louis was declared co-emperor. I don't think he wants to risk anything," Annabelle replied, rolling over on her bed. Frankish chuckled.

"Holy Rome, I think you are rubbing off on Annabelle. She's been acting funny lately," The man joked. Two pillows met his face and pushed him onto his back, causing him to chortle louder.

The woman giggled a second later, "Are you sure it's not the reverse? I've always been a little odd." Frank pushed the pillows away.

"I'm positive. From what I've seen you usually act this way with..." He trailed with a grin and her eyes widened.

"NO. NO WAY HELL. FRANKISH, SHUT UP," She yelled, leaping from her bed to land next to him.

Holy Rome looked over in confusion between the two, "What is going on?"

Frankish grinned largely and tried to pry his friend away from him, "I'm trying to imply that Annabelle is acting like your-"

"Frankish, you finish that sentence, I will sic Henry on you to shit in your hair every morning. You know how I've taught him to aim," The woman growled, pushing his face into the bedding. A yelp gave her confirmation and the auburnette relaxed her grip. "Good." Getting off, Annabelle walked back to her bed and dove under the covers for a nap.

Frankish laughed as he sat up, fixing his hair, "Already Annabel? Isn't it early for a nap?"

"Never!" In 817, Louis I had made outlines for his son's successions, giving them subkingdoms in the present day, even though it was years before his death. This would lead to problems, mostly when he tried to give land to the son from from his second wife.

* * *

"YOU'RE GOING TO DO WHAT?" Veneziano flinched in his sister's arms as she bellowed at the king. Louis stared at her with distaste.

"Bernard was threatening to set up an in independent kingdom. I cannot allow that to happen," He replied smoothly. "If you cannot respect that, please leave the room."

She growled and rubbed her brother's hair in an attempt to calm down, who she didn't know, "If it includes my brothers, I refuse to back away." The blonde in the far corner caught her attention as he nervously fiddled with his cloak, frozen in place like last time.

Louis stood, "Do you wish to suffer with them?" A dark wave overthrew a suddenly still Venie and she rubbed his head lightly. Frank came forward with a charming smile, but the two immortals could see it was fake from a mile away.

"My king, wouldn't it be more reputable to show mercy? Do not leave them dead, but not going to forget?" The king's pause made Luciano back down and her brother began shaking again.

"That would be a wise decision. I believe blinding would work," Louis said.

Fortuna placed a kiss on her brother's forehead, asking a quiet question, "Do you want me to back down?" He nodded and whimpered quietly.

"It's-a better than death. I do not want-a you hurt," Feliciano whispered. She nodded and looked up.

"It's better than death. Thank you for your gracious mercy," The woman stated. The king took another seat and waved them out. Frank nodded and placed a hand on Fortuna's back as he escorted her out. As soon they were out, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Frank smiled at her and ruffled Veneziano's hair, "I try not to break promises too often." The child giggled and leaned into the touch.

"Grazie for-a helping Sorellona," He chirped.

The man chuckled, "I've put too much time into keeping her alive, it would be pointless to let her suffer that." Pulling his hand away, the three began a walk through the garden. Bernard and his coconspirators were latter stuck in the eye with a red hot stiletto. It is not the shoe, but a blade that looked like a t in all honesty. The king of Italy agonized in pain for two days before it became too much. Northern Italy was once again under the direct control of the Frankish Empire, but he had the lucky opportunity to stay on the peninsula. Venie jumped at the chance and did remain at home.

* * *

Annabelle crinkled her nose at the king as he looked over the woman presented before him, "It's disturbing." Frank shrugged and leaned on the wall.

"It may be, but it's the only way to find a woman royal enough for him," He said with a sigh. The woman responded with one as well and left the room. Louis's first wife had died in the later half of 818 and he was looking for a new one in 819. As always, by use of a bride show, the king looked over various noble women or Europe. Annabelle usually hid in her room, so that's where she went and found Holy Rome looking out the window sadly.

"Hey, Holy Rome. Still waiting?" The blonde looked over and nodded before turning his gaze over the night sky. She smiled and picked him up. He opened his mouth to protest before she sat down and placed him on her lap and wrapping him in a hug, "I wouldn't be surprised if he could hear us. This did used to be his land."

He smiled at the invitation, "It would be stupid." Amalia shook her head.

"I sometimes talk to open air to pass the time, but I know that sometimes, someone is listening. I try to speak to my mother who left me alone, or to my grandpa, who left against his choice. Germania probably told you about that. Then, there's your Vati. I swear sometimes, I can hear him grunt at something I say. It's usually something weird though," She admitted. A pale blue aura opened behind her and the woman ignored it. "If you had one thing to say to him, right now, what would it be?"

The blonde looked down and fiddled with his grey cloak, "I... I would want to ask him 'how'. I've been alive for almost twenty years and I want to know how he managed for centuries."

Silence echoed in the room and Amalia smiled, placing a kiss awkwardly on the crown of his head, "I may not of have been old as him, nor be him in general, but Frankish and any other nation will agree with me, we struggle along, but we can't let life's woes get us down. If I let every battle I've ever been in, willing or not, get to me, I would be a tired and shriveled mess. Enjoy yourself. Make friends, don't hold too many grudges, fall in-" She cut herself off, but continued before it was too much, "-love." Holy Rome nodded and leaned back into her hold, quiet.

After a few moments, he broke the ice, "I blamed you."

Amalia let her head fall and sighed, "I know. I blamed myself a little bit."

"You could have stopped him."

Germania's aura shifted a little and she smiled. "But it was his decision and we have to respect that. You're probably going to see him at some point."

Holy Rome shifted and looked up at her, "Do you think?"

"I know. Right?"

The man stepped out of the shadows and Holy Rome's face dropped, "Vati?"

"Happy early 20th birthday, Home Rome," He said, approaching them. His son leapt out of Amalia's arms and into his father's. The pair chuckled and Germania placed a kiss on his child's head. "Stay strong."

"Always, Vati."

Germania nodded and rocked him back and forth, "Trust Ragin." Holy Rome nodded and snuggled into his father's embrace. "I have to go soon."

Amalia smiled, "At least stay until he's asleep, Germania." He did and Frank ended up seeing Annabelle sitting with the chair facing Holy Rome's bed, the both of them asleep.

* * *

 **This was an awkward chapter. NOTHING HAPPENS FOR A WHILE SO I'M PROBABLY GOING TO JUMP A FEW YEARS HERE SOON. I'VE ALSO KINDA WANT TO SEE THIS HAPPEN. Now you guys know why HRE hated Amalia. I've also posted a rough floor plan of the three's room. It's not much, but... Yeah.**


	73. Chapter 66- Valentine's Day

**Hey guys! So... yeah, that was a weird chapter. I'm probably going to have to get a job here soon, so yay. If not in the next month, then I'm thinking of doing Hetaoni soon for my birthday. It would probably have to go on a side story of its own or something, but I want your thoughts on whether to do it or not. Anyway...**

 **AnonChan1: EAT. YOU NEED TO EAT. I've been hit in the head so many times it's not even funny, so I'm fine! Pretty much. Alright, it was pretty funny! Aw, you know me so well! He IS. Thanks. Of course. He does it if she begins to sleep in too late for two reasons: she occasionally gets micro-nightmares the later she sleeps in, but the siblings don't like to take any chances, so he just wakes her up that way regardless. For once, I'm not actually planning anything, except maybe one thing, but it's not for the later part of the second millennia, but nothing too bad. He can be, but he knows when to step out. Hahaha, secrets can never be revealed, but she acts like that with her children, if that gives you any idea, but she doesn't want to potentially ruin her relationship with HRE. Only if she didn't back down. Actually, I take back what I said earlier, you don't know me. That was a legit moment and nothing bad was going to happen to them. I'm joking, though. On to Louis being a two-faced bitch...**

 **YOU GUYS NEED TO KNOW THIS. LOUIS THE PIOUS WAS THE FATHER AND HIS YOUNGEST SON BY HIS FIRST WIFE WAS LOUIS THE GERMAN.**

Italian

 **Frankish/Gaulish/Old French/Vulgar Latin(French)**

Old High German/Old East Norse

 **Common Brittonic**

 _Emphasized_

* * *

Fortuna clenched her fist tightly as Louis publicly begged for forgiveness for killing Bernard. It was 822 and he was hoping to return harmony to the area and re-establish his power. While she knew that he did it to secure his kingdom and he was guilty, the woman still didn't like him. Feliciano held her free hand lightly, squeezing it in support. "I'm sorry, Fe-Venie."

He shook his head, "It's-a fine, Bernard shouldn't have-a tried."

She kneeled next to him and grabbed his face, "Feliciano, look at me." He opened his eye reluctantly and blinked at the bright light. "You are always going to be worth it. You might not be independent for years, but never let anyone make you think you aren't worth it. This goes for you too, Luciano. I'll always come by if I can. You're mia fratellino, si?"

"Si!" The child smiled and lunged at her, pulling her into a hug. Fortuna chuckled and picked him up and looked back over the king on his knees before the Pope. She couldn't wait until the Church stopped having control over the majority of Europe. Until then, she'd have to lay low.

Easter of the next year, the siblings watched the Pope crown the king's oldest son, Lothair, co-emperor again in Rome and she sighed. Venie looked at her and Luciano took over as there weren't any other nations there; Frank and Holy Rome were back on their home land. "What is-a it this time?"

"Lothair isn't the actual king right now, he has not say in what happens. You've heard about Louis's new wife, Judith, right?" Luciao nodded slowly, "Alright, well she's pregnant right now and like any mother, she's going to want the best for her child, which, as the son of an emperor would be...?"

"Land."

She nodded and leaned on the wall. "Now, all the land is already distributed between Louis's sons right now, right? So what would Louis have to do and what effect would that have?"

He growled, "He'd-a have to take land from the-a current sons and they-a won't like that. As-a rulers of their own areas, that will-a lead to a rebellion that we're going to get thrown right-a _fucking_ into."

Fortuna nodded, looking at the king of Italy, "Exactly. I will tell you to watch your language right now, though."

"Why the fu-"

She shot him a sharp look, "We're in public." Luciano smirked at the implication and rested his head on her shoulder. "I don't want family getting hurt if I could help it." The child hummed as the three immortals watched the procession.

* * *

Fortuna grinned when she saw the small green plant growing in her brother's garden. "Romano, do you know what this is?" He cocked his head and frowned.

"No? Some of the muslims in the south brought them over and told me they're good. I got a few to plant, so..."

She smiled and picked him up to twirl him, "Great! I haven't had spinach in ages!"

He growled, "Ragazza, put-a me down, you're going to-a make me sick!" The woman laughed and apologized they had some of the plant later that night. Fortuna carefully sautéd the dish and they had it with a little bit of meat. It was one of the better meals they had had in a while, but that might have because of each other's company. It was 827.

* * *

" **Louis, what are you doing**?" Annabelle cocked her head as she entered the castle.

" **Frankish, Lothair will understand. He still has control of Italy** ," The king explained.

She sighed and poked her head around the corner, " **Oh, he understands alright.** " Louis nodded with a smile, but she didn't stop. " **He's pissed because you took a huge chunk out of his land to a child you had with your new wife when he and his brothers came first**."

The blonde in the room sighed, " **Hello, Annabelle. Just on time as always. Is there any news**?"

The auburnette pursed her lips, " **I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're going to have bruises and aches for a while, Frankish.** " He bowed his head.

" **Thank you, Annabelle. How is-** "

" **Getting the help of his brothers. They're going to be coming over soon. They're _the_ sons all over again right now against their father** ," She sighed.

Frank raised his eyebrow at the usage of the old language, but he looked at the king and understood- Louis couldn't know. They were referencing Clovis's sons, who were together against an outside enemy, but divided on inside issues. "Alright, thanks for the heads up. On a different note, the king of Sweden is requesting a mission in his-"

" **If you want me there. I'd be back within the year unless Sweden does something.** " Frank nodded and they parted ways again. They trip actually didn't take very long and soon, she and the Scandinavian were staring each other down. "Sweden."

He nodded politely, "Ragin."

She smiled, "It's been a while."

"It has."

They continued to look at each other but a dash of understanding went through them after a moment. In a contest of who could be faster, they drew their blades and took their positions. "It's been a while."

Laughter echoed in Sweden's eyes as he responded stoically, "It has."

In the past, the main interactions they have had were with a blade in hand. A small spar ensued that left the missionary's head spinning, but it was nice not being on Sweden's opposing side for once. True to her promise, she was back in Frank's hands within the year, and it stuck true to being the soap opera that it was. Lothair accused Judith of cheating on Louis with a member of his counsel, and that Charles was their child. The immortals had been so lucky that they were in their room that if they had been in public, the poor woman probably would have been put to death over laughing over such a thing so hard. The two blondes had also laughed, but that was the extent of the merry-making.

War was coming.

Lothair had gotten the help of his brothers and their father received a nasty surprise when he returned from a campaign in Brittany. The middle brother captured him and placed him under house arrest while his wife was held in a city a third of the nation away. Unfortunately, Louis knew how to manipulate his sons and as emperor, he still had power.

"Who let him speak to his sons?"

Holy Rome shrugged, "I don't know, but he is their father."

She grit her teeth, pinching the bridge of her nose, " _Yes_ , but he is also their captive. Because of him, Pepin and Louis shifted in his favor!" He lowered his head and nodded. "I'm not mad at you, I will never be too mad at you unless you do something mind-shatteringly stupid. This was close, but..." The woman sighed again and lowered her hands. "Do you know what I'm ranting about?"

"Because the brothers turned on their older brother?"

"Yes. With a good part of Frank against Lothair, he won't stand a chance." He really didn't. When the King of Italy tired to call a meeting, they were faced by their father with an armed guard. Frank lowered his eyes, but the younger empire held his head high. Annabelle couldn't stand to watch and left the room. She would return to Italy with the banished and humiliated son, Lothair. She would continue to send out letters and she heard in one from Holy Rome that Frank hadn't been home and often disappeared for days at a time.

In 832, for reasons Annabelle didn't know at the time, Louis was fearing a second revolt from Pepin and rushed over to his son's land, but that wasn't the son he should have been worried about. Louis the German, the king of East Francia, raised an army and sent it over. His father was surprised and divided his kingdom again. He replaced Pepin with Charles and returned Lothair's land to him for not taking part in the rebellion, but oh was he interested! He joined the fray in 833 with the support of Pope Gregory IV.

She didn't think she loved a Pope as much as she did with the actions he did. When Lothair and his father met at the Rothfeld, Gregory walked over to Louis's side and began telling them not to fight. As the soldiers disappeared, Louis was kind enough to send the remaining forces for "it would be a pity if any man lost his life or limb on my account" (1). It sickened Holy Rome at the disloyalty, but sometimes, some battles are best not fought. The Emperor was placed in Soissons and was forced to admit to crimes he didn't do. This upset loyalists and Lothair was forced to retreat to Burgundy and Louis the Pious was back on the throne in March 834.

In all honesty, the whole situation sent her head spinning and Fortuna went to Romano for the rest of the year and 835. He was happy to see her and they relaxed. A message arrived a few days before November in the latter year and Romano peeked over her shoulder curiously. "All Saints' day?"

She rolled her hand in the air, trying to find the words, "It's, uh, a day... Shit, I don't know, I'm not with the church. Something about recognizing saints I think."

Romano's eyes glistened, "Like-a Grandpa Rome?" She looked over curiously.

"Is he a saint? I haven't really been following-"

"Saint Peter did when-a he first came. He-a died twelve years before you-a dropped into our-a lives," The child whispered.

Fortuna froze and smiled, "I'm sure he was a charming man."

Romano chuckled and edged into her hold, "Don't-a speak to me like-a that. It-a makes me feel-a old." They laughed and she fell on her back, letting Romano sit on her stomach.

"We both know I'm not religious, but do you want to have a feast in honor of Rome?" He nodded weakly and they took a brief nap next to one of the walls. November 1st came and they had a good meal and both were terrified when they saw Rome pop up at the head of the table, but they shook it off and managed to have a nice meal. However, when it came time to clean up, he disappeared. "That ass." Romano snorted and leaned on the table to nap over his full stomach.

836 came and with it, Southern Italy agreed to an armistice between Benevento, Sorrento, Naples and Amalfi. Another magical night occured in 837 and Romano got pissed.

"Ragazza, let-a me sleep!"

The woman chuckled and kept looking up, "Hold on, it'll come, I'm telling you!"

"Wh-"

"THERE!" He looked up and tilted his head.

"What is it?" A small white dot with a tail was barely moving against the sky, but it made his sister grin.

Looking down at him, "That, Romano, is Halley's comet. The damn thing only comes around every 76 years or so, and... It's just amazing, Roma."

He scoffed, "How could something so small be so cool?" Fortuna smiled and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Because even though I might not see it every time, it's a constant remind that we're not the only things out there that are pushing along through time. It's as stubborn as you are, Romano." He snorted again and she smiled. "Do you want to go to bed now?"

"Let's wait another moment. It stinks inside," The child grunted.

Fortuna smiled and looked up, "As you wish."

* * *

" **This is fucked up** ," Annabelle growled. The tall blonde next to her frowned and sighed.

" **Annabelle, please watch your language** ," He asked airily. She cast him a sideways glance and nodded. The civil wars had been hard on him and Now, Pepin's Death didn't help his mind. It did set his mind at ease that there were now less combatants, but there was the face he just lost a ruler. Louis was pushing to install Charles there, but the Aquitaine nobility were having none of it and instead took Pepin's son, also named Pepin, as king. However this also sparked another nerve of Louis's, which was why Frankish was nervous.

When Louis the Pious threatened Aquitaine, Pepin's Uncle Louis came to his aid and charged Swabia. For the first time in a while, Lothair sided with his father, but as when siding with Louis, he asked for a larger share of the kingdom. Louis agreed and with Lothair's help Aquitaine was put down. Charles was accepted and the two brothers were each given halves of the empire, not that it would matter in the next three years.

Louis the Pious died in 840. He had to deal with three civil wars and forced them on the two nations under his control. The three who put up with those years do not remember him well. He was, however, the father of the man who gave meaning to the German Empire, if that counted for anything.

* * *

 **BECAUSE OF VALENTINE'S DAY, I FIGURED WHY NOT. NO SPECIFIC LANGUAGE, BUT ITALICS ARE, AS ALWAYS, EMPHASIZED.**

Liberty's heart broke slowly as she rubbed her sixteen-year-old daughter's back, "I'm so sorry, Carina. You know I wouldn't put you through this if I could." Carina's eyes were clamped shut as she continued to bawl and hold onto her mother like a lifeline.

"B-B-but-t Mom, w-w-we alw-ways move w-when I make a-a n-new fri-iend. W-Why n-n-not before?" She sobbed, effectively ruining her mother's green turtleneck.

"I don't know, sweetie. Let's go to the kitchen, I'll make you some hot cocoa and we can talk. Do you want be to call-"

She nodded wordlessly, still gripping her mother's shoulder and Liberty cooed, "No matter how old you get, you're still my little bambina, aren't you?" Carina snorted into that awkward laugh while one has a bunch of snot fly out their nose. It prompted more laughing and Liberty grabbed a tissue from her younger self's bedside to clean up. "Alright, upstairs young lady." Tucking an arm under Carina's knees, she picked the teen up and waddled to the kitchen. Thank peaches for her athletic boyfriend and his physical therapy over the years.

Placing Carina in the giant beanbag in the living room, Liberty walked through the archway to make some hot chocolate and pulled out her new iPhone to call Allen. "What's up, Mom?"

She smiled as she poured some milk into her daughter's favorite mug- it listed the 'viking world tour' on it, it was the best thing Liberty ever bought- and whispered, "I need Allen for a moment, Carina is bawling her eyes out and needs to-"

"Hold on a sec." There was muffled talking and his voice came back through, rather, Allen's did.

"Is everything alright?"

Liberty sighed as she placed the mug into the microwave, "We're heading on another go. Greece needs some help and-"

"-And Carina's having problems dealing with it. No wonder she's a stuttering mess around people, Mama! _You're killing her self-_ "

" _-YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT? I CALLED YOU BECAUSE you two are the only ones who currently knows about her and Allen's the only one who is allowed to interact with her on a daily basis_!" Liberty growled, watching the cup spin. "She wanted to talk to you because she knows you'll be there when she's leaving behind her friends like she is now!"

Allen sighed and hummed, "Alright, put her on. It's so weird because she's so not... you." Liberty snorted.

"What, before I got hit with reality and got mean?"

"Yep. So where's my baby sister?" Footsteps tiptoed behind her and Liberty decided to give her this one.

The phone got pulled out of her hand, making Liberty 'jumped', "Right here, Lennie. You're not on a date with some poor girl, are you?"

A muffled response that the mother couldn't hear garbled off and the microwave beeped, "Honey, go wait in the living room, I'll get this. If Allen says anything-" Carina waved her off and wiped at her eyes again. "Alright, go bad to being a teenager." The teen stuck out her tongue out and stepped back into the living room. "That's my girl." Taking the mug of hot milk out, Liberty stirred it up and put at least four inches of canned whip cream on top before walking out.

Carina was laughing and happy tears popped up in the corner of her eyes, "Thanks Lennie. Mom's back, I'll ask her." Taking the phone away from her ear, "Hey, Mom? Allen said to ask if I can go over to Dakota's while. Would that be ok?"

"If Dakota's parents are ok with it. Are you going to drink this or am I?" Carina smiled at her Mom.

Placing the phone back up to her ear, "Lennie, you're a genius. Mom said sure. I'm definitely going to that game with you next time I can, promise!" She turned the device off and grabbed for the cup like a spoiled toddler, "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

"Hmmm, I don't know, it looks really good-"

"Mooooooom!"

Liberty laughed, "Alright. Do you want me to contact Dakota's parents?"

"Please?"

She took up the phone and opened it to a family picture of the two redheads- and a certain trio of Italians and her boyfriend in the back posing for a fake picture- and called Dakota's parents. "Hello? Hill residence."

"Hey Barbara, I hate to ask this so last minute, but-"

"Actually, I hate to cut you off, but Dakota's giving me the puppy eyes right now. Could Carina come over for the night?"

The auburnette perked, "Really? That's what I was going to ask. That would be great. I'll drop off Carina in...?"

"An hour is fine. Dakota has to clean her room," Barbara growled with what Liberty assumed was a pointed look.

She chuckled, "Alright, again, thank you so much Barbara."

"Anytime. I hope the move goes smoothly." They hung up and Carina cheered for joy and ran off to grab some things. Within an hour and a half, Liberty was at home and nursing a small headache. She was waiting for the ibuprofen to take effect.

A knock at her door made her wince and she stood. She opened the solid door and blinked in surprise, "You dork!" Silence met her ears as she looked at the large stack of cornflowers on her doorstep. It reached her knee and made her laugh, "I need help, Teutonic!"

The albino stepped into the door, "Is that a damsel in distress I hear?" Liberty laughed and even if it did make her headache flare, it was worth it.

"Sword, help me get these things in the house, please?" He grinned and carefully picked up an armful, leaving the other half to her. "Carina is at a friend's for the night, we're going to Greece for a while."

He groaned, "That..." (2)

"Yeah. But do you want to stay in and watch a movie?" Liberty asked as she placed their flowers on the counter. "I have Monty Python is you want to see England and France's sexual tension at it's greatest."

He snickered, but stayed mostly, helping her with the vases, "Nein, I'm fine."

She raised and eyebrow, "Gilbert, are you ok?"

"Jah, just had one of _those_." _A night terror._

Liberty sighed in understanding, "You know you can always call me and I can come over. But you're not leaving this house until tomorrow morning, Sword."

A smile crossed his face and he pulled her into a hug as his arms circled her waist, "Danke, Shield. Let's just put on zome Game of Crowns."

She giggled, "Thrones."

"I knew zat."

"Of course you did."

"Shhh, shortie." Liberty growled at he began to smother her into his chest. "But your my shortie."

The auburnette smiled, "That is the only reason I'm not throwing you out my door. If you go put it on, I'll grab the Black Forest Cake in the fridge. How much _don't_ you want?" His laugh was enough of an answer and she laughed.

Fast forward two hours later and they were fake fighting with two foam swords with the tv show in the background. "Surrender, my brave knight!"

"Never, my love!"

Liberty sent him a savage grin, "Then I shall have to make you surrender!"

Prussia chuckled darkly and gave her his own vicious smirk that sent shivers down her spine, "Not if I make you surrender first." She raised her sword in a protective manner and let her smile drop.

"Not on my slice of Black Forest Cake." His grin grew wider.

"I'll take jou up on zat." They charged, but it ended when Prussia tapped her neck, "Got jou."

"Foiled again by my dashing knight in armor. Tell me, brave man, has anyone claimed you?" She asked, looked at him from her place on the floor. How she got their, neither remember.

Prussia tried to take her seriously, but looked in the eye and broke down laughing. "J-Jou dork!"

Liberty was a second behind him and he ended up collapsing on top of her, "You oaf, get off!"

"Never!" He placed his forehead on her's and they shared a smile before sharing a kiss. "I still want zat cake."

"I will fight you for that cake."

"I just met my quota with the fighting." Liberty's choking sound made him laugh and race off to the kitchen.

"GILBERT GET YOUR PALE ASS OVER HERE!"

Valentine's day was the best.

* * *

 **Alright, the Valentine's day thing kinda just happened. I love it so much when the story just flows out instead of being choppy like the earlier parts.**

 **(1) Apparently an actual quote.**

 **(2) Does everyone remember that huge thing with Greece and it's debt. It managed to get fixed with the Eurozone's decision on February 29th.**


	74. Chapter 67

**Hey guys! So I will try to do Hetaoni and I'll make it a side-story or I'll post it on the dA page or something.**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks, you too! That, I'm not so thrilled about. YOU NEED FOOD. I have been knocked in the teeth with one. I'll talk your word on it. It is. I think Rome would ask him not to in case Rome thought Romano was an attacker and tried to hurt him. I won't blame you. The family is doing alright, but they're kinda just lounging around right now. So long as Rome stays, and it does, the holy city of main Europe, Italy won't get attacked by an outside force too hard because the Pope had a lot of power and he's down there, soooo, yeah. I'm sorry, but I tried to cram two civil wars in there. Louis and his sons were crazy, but now that he's out of the way, we just have to make it to 843 and we'll be home free! Pretty much, but worse could happen. LL doesn't care if it's just them though, so he's fine. Pretty much. Actually, that was Frank arguing with Louis. Which parts? CONFIRMED. True. I don't know. Why do you think they started using numbers?! THEY KEEP USING THE SAME FUCKING NAMES THAT'S WHY. There is a very good reason for that, you'll see it eventually and it's the frosting on top~! True and most definitely. It is, but I chose all of my names in this story carefully. OH MY PEACHES NO THEY DON'T AND THEY DIDN'T EITHER. YOU ADDRESS IT.**

Frankish/Gaulish/Old French/Vulgar Latin(French)/Old High German(Reasons)

 **Italian**

Old English

 _Emphasized_

* * *

Annabelle sat sideways on Frank as they looked into the flames, "These guys." He hummed and shifted his head to rest on top of her's.

"I'm wondering when will it end," He admitted as he flexed his feet to the warmth in front of them.

She hummed and closed her eyes, "Give it a few years, Frank. Things will settle eventually. I'm sorry, Frankish, but I need a break when this is over." The blonde chuckled and breathed out deeply.

"I might go with you if I could."

The woman smiled sadly, "I'm sorry France, but you need to keep an eye on things here. Pierre only knows what these kings will do if you don't stay here."

A bitter smile crossed his face, "That, Annabelle, is what I'm afraid of." Alliances were formed with Louis's death. Lothair held the eastern half of the empire, along with Italy, with his nephew, Pepin of Aquitaine. Charles was given the western half and sided with Louis the German. On June 25, 841, the two sides faced off with each side roughly 150,000 strong, but by the end of the battle, Holy Rome, Frank, and Annabelle stood in the carnage and wept. 40,000 men had fallen that day and oh were they remembered. That night, all three had nightmares and dealt with it in different ways.

Frank cried himself to sleep over his lost citizens and he tossed and turned in the night, but never quite waking. Annabelle didn't even try to sleep at first, but when she did, a small figure stared her down with tears in his eyes. "You were thrashing," Holy Rome whispered, crawling into her grasp.

She nodded, "I'm not surprised. I have a feeling this was one of your worst battles, Holy Rome?" He nodded and curled into her stomach, not unlike what her brothers would do when they were scared. "Don't worry, you can sleep, I'll be right here. Do you want me to tell you a story? It gets a little scary, but everything turns out alright."

"Please?" He asked, peeking up at her.

Amalia smiled, "It's scary to see you like this, but I'll try to help you. This is the story of Hansel and Gretel. Once, there was a small family in the woods, made up of a woodcutter, his sickly wife and their two children, named Hansel and Gretel. As the two children grew, their mother grew sicker and sicker until she passed. The woodcutter needed someone to take care of his children, so he remarried. The stepmother was an evil woman though, and she nagged her husband to leave Hansel and Gretel in the woods so they could have more food themselves." Azure eyes stared up at her in horror, but she lifted a finger. "The children heard and Hansel ran outside to fill his pockets full of white stones..." As she continued to tell the German fairytale, Holy Rome stared at her, but he saw a message in there. Even when it seems everyone has turned on you and you seem lost, your family is sometimes ass you can rely on.

As the happy ending came to a close, the 41-year-old nation let his eyes drift shut and Annabelle promised to guard him the rest of the night. He had hummed and fell into a deeper sleep than before, one without nightmares. A weight soon settled on the bed next to her and a sleep-walking Frank curled up to her in a ball. "Goodnight, you two. I'll keep watch." Louis and Charles had won that day.

* * *

"Wait, it was that easy?" The three immortals sat in unbelieving silence as Frank realized what happened. It was August 843 and the Treaty of Verdun was just signed. The year previous, Charles and Louis made the Oath of Strasbourg, declaring their loyalty to each other, while at the same time declaring their older brother unfit for Holy Roman Emperor. Lothair decided to make a compromise: In return for recognizing him as the Emperor, the Frankish empire would be split into three parts, one for each son of Louis. Pepin, who was a grandson, was placed under Charles's care. Louis lived up to what he would later be called, taking the far east, now known as Germany. Lothair decided to stick to his past and stayed in Italy and the land above it. Charles took the far west, now known as France, but because Pepin's kingdom was in his share, Pepin was under Charles's authority.

Frank chuckled and tears poured down his face, "It's over, Holy Rome! It's over!" The boy let a smile cross onto his face and Annabelle laughed, pulling them into a group hug. Annabelle chuckled in disbelief and they just danced for a few minutes. The brothers who started the mess peeked in for a quick moment without letting the immortals know and they felt both guilt and relief at the small family unit.

Later that night, they all clamored into Annabelle's bed and the boys fell asleep, curled next to her. The woman smiled as she looked at the moon, " **You were right, Mom, time doesn't stop for anything**." Petting the blondes' hair, Annabelle let herself relax into a peaceful sleep.

When New Year's came by, the woman immediately headed South to see Veneziano. Peeking her head into the home in the early afternoon, she grinned as she saw Luciano try to doodle on a piece of paper, but growling. " **Sorry I'm not as-a good as-a you**!"

" **It looks better than anything I could do** ," Fortuna said as she peeked over his shoulder. The child yelped as he shifted to Feliciano.

The boy trembled for a moment before seeing who it was and sighed, " **Sorellona, that was-a mean**!" He whined and jumped into her arms.

Fortuna chuckled and shifted him in her arms, " **I know, I'm sorry. And what I said still stands, Luciano, it looks better than anything I could do. Romano's better than me**."

Luciano emerged again and frowned, " **Shut-a up, Fortuna. I'm-a garbage**." He paused and snorted, " **Ok, Feli just agreed with-a you. You-a are terrible**." She laughed and grinned.

" **Feli! How could you! But Luciano** ," Fortuna said as she sobered, " **why did you let Feliciano take over when I came in**?"

" **Because everyone prefers a cute-a face. You-a said it yourself-** "

Fortuna shook her head, " **Luciano, that is not what I-** "

" **I-a know, but it-a works.** "

She pursed her lips, " **Fine. Feli is the cute one, you're the handsome one**." He raised an eyebrow and the woman smiled, " **I'm telling you right now, I know Feliciano is going to be able to make girls smile and laugh, you're going to make them want to swoon, but either way, you two can be a hit with the ladies**." Luciano laughed lightly and shook his head.

" **Fortuna, you're-a weird**."

" **You love me for it** ," Fortuna grinned.

He shifted his hand, " **Eh**..."

" **Veneziano Italia! Well, at least I know Feli loves me** ," She sniffed, pouting with a happy glint in her eye.

Luciano chuckled and put his head on her shoulder, " **I-a don't hate you if that-a counts for something. I'm-a hungry**." Fortuna shook her head, but walked off to the kitchen nonetheless.

On the 25th, Fortuna's favorite Pope died and was replaced by the 102nd Pope of Rome, Sergius II. By June 15th, Louis travelled down to Rome and on that date, by the new Pope's hand, he was crowned co-ruler of Middle Francia and the various lands in Italy that the Franks controlled. Frank nodded to her from across the room and Holy Rome did the same, but she placed Veneziano on the floor. " **Venie, hide for me**?" He had paused and ducked behind the skirt of it, peeking out. Frank and Fortuna didn't think the smaller ones saw each other, but anything was possible.

"Frank, I'm going off. I need a break. There's been a lot of shit going on-"

He nodded, "I'm assuming you're going to visit our favorite little spitfire?"

"Yeah. He's going to have a few issues coming up, but that isn't for a few years. See you soon, France?"

The blonde smiled, "If that is what fate says, then always."

"You romantic. Go make some poor woman swoon before they decide to go marry the kings or something." He grinned and walked off. Annabelle sighed and went off to start packing her bag. "Tunics, breeches, shoes? Need to make new ones..." She left before 845 even came to pass. The woman settled in upper Wessex and Englaland came to welcome her. With his help, she managed to build a small hut, not far from the nation's own home, but still far enough away from people that she could relax in peace. It was a simple building with pillars on the sides, a straw bed in one corner, a fire pit in the center and a perch for Henry by a currently closed window. The two sat by the fire and stared at the circle in silence.

Englaland stood up with a sigh and walked out the door, throwing a look over his shoulder. Elizabeth nodded in understanding, "I'lll be fine. Come get me if you need me." The leading up to 849 were quiet, but when someone burst in her room that year, Englaland almost got an arrow to the face.

"Bess, come quick, please? Osburh is giving birth! We need some help!"

She put down the new bow and nodded, "Alright. Let me grab my bag and Henry, we'll leave in a minute." The blonde nervously tapped his foot as Elizabeth slung her bag over her shoulder and let Henry jump onto her arm. "Come on, let's go."

"You might want to leave Henry here," Englaland said nervously, crossing his arms.

"Al, you didn't," Elizabeth growled as she frowned. Henry shifted his wings lightly in agitation.

He looked down and sighed, "It was the fastest way. I just need a boost and I'll get us there."

"Damn it, Albion! You know I hate traveling like that!" She yelled, placing Henry on his perch and opened the window. "You fucking owe me for this."

"I know, I know, hurry up!" The boy grabbed Elizabeth's hand and they closed their eyes. She felt through her aura and began to pick apart the green parts and sent small amount of the energy over to him. The blonde sucked in a breath and began chanting. A sharp tug just behind her belly button almost made her sick (1) and suddenly they were in a familiar room, but falling. "SHIT!"

A large crash came from the room and Elizabeth groaned as her half-brother landed on her stomach. It hurt, but at least some of Al's aura was already returning to her. It was the only think keeping her from passing out. "This better be worth it."

A scream outside sent the two siblings scrambling for the door and they quickly found the laboring mother with a few midwives. Elizabeth growled and clenched her fists, "Englaland, are you going to be in here or in the hall?" He shrugged, and took a quiet seat in the corner. "Alright. I'll wait with you, but just this once. If this is who I think it is, he'll need as much help as he can." It was.

As the day came to a close, the siblings settled at the base of a tree, munching on a couple of apples. "What's his name?"

Elizabeth looked over in curiosity, "What do you mean?"

"You know what I bloody mean. You seemed to know who that was, who was it?" She laughed and looked at the sky, mostly the North star.

"Alfred. His name is Alfred. He keeps you going against Danmark and Norge. He's the one who set the stage in unifying what will be you when you're older. I'll help where I can, but I'm supposed to be on vacation," The woman said as she stretched.

Englaland squawked, "I'm not some place you can go vacation to!"

"The rest of Europe is having so many problems right now that I can't possibly help them all at once. I've spent too much time with Frankish and Holy Rome, so I decided to visit you. Deal," She growled. He sighed and looked to the sky as well.

"Fine. Stay. I can't say we'll enjoy it." She shrugged and stood, holding a hand out. Her brother took it reluctantly and she pulled him up.

Digging a small hole with her toes, Elizabeth dropped the apple core into it and pat it over, "Alright let's go. I'm tired." He hummed and they walked back. It was 849 and war was coming. Again.

* * *

 **I'm cutting it off there. I can't. And I was looking at Pinterest and I cannot hold my shit when looking at the funny fandom side. If you see random little story blurbs on some APH pictures, that would probably be me. Again, I'm tired, but one last thing-**

 **Hoppy854- I know you've asked about the 2Ps, who are you waiting for? I'll see if and when they can come in. If it's more than 800 years, I'd going to add it to that request thing I had going a while back if you want.**


	75. Chapter 68

**Hey guys! I'm going to start on the Hetaoni chapters when I get to Hungary. I'm actually probably going to go with the original instead of the fan-finished one in my poll, so I'm going to have to leave it forever unfinished.**

 **AnonChan1: That is weird. But if you thing about it like Rome as the city who grew as to Romano when Rome conquered the south, Rome is about 200-300 years older than his grandson. Yeah. Same, but then again, nothing would get done. True. And I don't know, but he would have gotten scolded a lot. Oh, yeah. As far as I can see right now, which isn't very far, things seem to be mostly smooth sailing and the bros are mostly working together as 'brother nations' or something like that. Oh my. Hahaha, fine. You're not too bad. Pruck or Peruck? I'm no good either. That's why I told you to get this. True, but I don't think France is ever dissolved. IT'S ALWAYS PEPIN'S FAULT. Ha! I don't know about that, apparently it's old name meant 'strong fort', but all the same, true. I plan on it. You can, but it depends on you you're with and how well you know them. True, but... reasons. I WENT THERE OK. I WENT THERE ND I DON'T REGRET IT. Hah. And it only saves once, but you can only follow and fav this once, but it's a nice thought!**

 **Hoppy854: Alright, I'll try! I'm kinda throwing my plans to the wind, but mostly because it fits.**

Old English

 **Late Latin**

 _Emphasis_

* * *

Elizabeth stood by Englaland's side as Danmark grinned from across the plain. "Hey, Al, are you ok?"

"After what's been happened... I am more than happy to return the favor," He growled as a dark look crossed his face. His aura rippled angrily and a flash turned a murky brown, but Elizabeth looked at it in concern. She shifted her axe and borrowed circular shield nervously.

"Al, I want to talk after this," She growled. He huffed and nodded and a sudden cry overtook the field. Both sides charged and Elizabeth lost her head again, metaphorically. Blood flew everywhere, but it wasn't long before she faced of with Denmark. Her short tunic, hair, and axe were bathed in blood, but then again, so was his. "Dan."

"Rag," He said with a smirk.

The woman adjusted her footing and frowned, "Get out."

The blonde laughed, "How about... no?" With a cry, he swung the tool in his hand. Elizabeth held up her shield and placed some force behind it. It was her first time using a shield and she was unprepared for the force behind it. Danmark's eyes widened as he saw her stumble back a step or two, but right herself, their arms still attached to their connected weapons. He smirked and used his own shield to hook it around the woman's and hit her upside the head. Her world went black as the heavy wooden connected with the side of her skull.

* * *

"Bess?" A hand moved her shoulder and she whined as her mind was telling her to go back to bed.

"Mom, it's too early. I don't have to start until 10..." Elizabeth complained quietly as she turned over and immediately regretted it. "Holy shit, I thought I told you to cut me off after six mugs, Eriu!"

A sigh came from behind her, "Same old drunk as always. You'll be fine, Elizabeth."

"Englaland? What the fuck happened? Why does- goddamnit. Remind me to beat Danmark's ass in next time I see him," She whined, clenching her fists as her head pounded in agony.

"Give him a break, Sister. He's not going to be walking straight for a while anyway," Englaland said with pride.

She sighed, "Lemme guess, we won?"

"Look around, Bess, what do you think?"

The woman whined, "First off, how bright is it?"

"It's almost sundown and it's in the other direction, get your rear up!" Elizabeth chuckled lightly and sat up, wincing as the blood fled from her head, but not nearly as much as when she saw the carnage. "Bess?"

"You slaughtered them, Al," She whispered. "I can't believe I slept through all of this."

Englaland paused, "I can't either. What did you want to talk about?"

The woman frowned and pat the area in front of her, ignoring the corpses around them, "Sit. There's something I want to see and talk to you about. Something I saw."

He cocked his head, but laid down his cloak and did so, "Go ahead."

"Open your aura. I'm going to nitpick for something," She sighed. "It's nothing bad, but I just want to make sure so we can talk about it."

"Like we used to do? Alright..." He closed his eyes and his aura broke up into smaller pieces and Elizabeth did the same and looked at the aura provided.

It was mostly a solid green that made up a portion of her own, but a small mass attempting to hide made her smile, especially when a different color lit up out of it, "Hello there."

Englaland stiffened and jumped away from her, "Elizabeth, what are you doing? There's nothing-"

"I want to talk to him," Elizabeth declared. He stared at her with wide eyes and looked down. "You're not the first one I've met who has an alternate personality. He's not the kindest person, he'd agree with me, but we've accepted each other. Your other will not scare me off or treat you different, trust me. How long has he been around?"

The blonde sighed again and collapsed onto his cloak again, "He showed up not long after those bloody Vikings did. It's not that I'm worried about you scaring him off, I'm scared about him scaring you off."

She grinned, "Al, I have met too many different people to be scared off. What's his name?"

"I've nicknamed him Ollie because of his personality, it reminds me of elves, so-"

"From Alf, Ollie. You're stalling again," Elizabeth said with a smile.

He growled, "I am not!"

"Are too!"

"I am no-" Englaland's hair under the blood shifted to a strawberry blonde and freckles erupted all over his face.

Crystal clear blue eyes with bits of blood vessels gave it a pink appearance as the new child sat before her with an absolutely... adorable or creepy smile, but Elizabeth leaned more towards the latter because of the blood lining his face, "Hello there!"

Elizabeth laughed at the deja vu, "Hello, what's your name?"

"Artie calls me Ollie, so I go with that! It's so nice to finally meet you, Bethy!" The woman jumped lightly as Ollie lunged at her and wrapped her in a hug. "Artie missed you!"

She smiled and pet his hair back, "I know and I feel guilty about that. In all honesty, I was not expecting a little ball of energy. Sorry, Artie, but I was expecting a grouchy version of you." Green aura flashed angrily and she chuckled, "I know, but if you had met the other I knew, you wouldn't be surprised."

"So I'm not the first 'other' you've met?" His eyes asked, full of curiosity.

"I have met one other. I can say that you both are really different from your... how do I explain it?"

"Host?"

She smiled at him, "I guess yeah. But those two balance each other out a lot. I'm really surprised how those two work together or else they'd be a fucking- Shit, Ollie!"

He frowned as he pinched her arm lightly, "No cursing! It's against the bible!"

"Oh no. Not this again," Elizabeth sighed. "Arthur, can you explain this one, please?" The child was quiet as he closed his eyes and nodded.

"Oh. I don't really agree with that," He stated and Elizabeth held her breath, "but I'm sure we can come to a compromise. How about you don't curse and I don't burn you at the stake?"

The woman's eyes widened in horror, "Uh, s-sure. What w-would you recommend I do instead?"

Ollie's smile returned, "What's your favorite food?"

"Peaches. Easily," She said, tilting her head.

"Then use that instead! Try it!" The child cheered.

"F-For the love of peaches?" Elizabeth said nervously.

The strawberry blonde's smile grew, "Perfect!"

She sighed, "Alright. But, Ollie, just to let you know, you can't go threatening to burn people at the stake. I'm mostly going on because it would make you happy."

Ollie's face fell, "Aww, why not?"

"It makes people scared and if people are scared of you they aren't going to try and be friends with you," The woman explained. Her half-brother nodded slowly.

"So it's not ok to threaten people. Got it!"

Elizabeth smiled and ruffled his hair, "Unless it's necessary. If you let Artie take over more often, he'll take care of that for you." Ollie smiled again and closed his eyes.

"Bethy, I'm tired."

Petting his hair back again, Elizabeth let herself relax, "I am too, but I'll get you two home. Sleep for now." Picking him up, she watched him rest his head on her shoulder and drift off. "Holy peaches."

After that, they had to watch their mouths moderately, but Ollie eventually got used to a few slipping through. He was also a lot more... vocal than Luciano, but he also seemed to be more of the gentle english grandmother who is trying to calm down the pissy brat that was Arthur. They balanced each other, but not as well as Veneziano.

Next year, 853, Elizabeth got to meet another brother. "So Mercia asked Wessex for help?"

"Mercia has to up up with Danmark, they don't need Wales up their rear," Englaland growled. Alfred's father, Æthelwulf, charged into Wales. Another short strawberry blonde at one point jumped the child and her half-brother wasn't even surprised, "WALES, PUT ME DOWN YOU TWAT."

Wales chuckled and ruffled his hair, maybe a little hard and Elizabeth watched the interaction carefully, reaching out her aura nervously. The boy's turquoise eyes locked on her's, "Artie, who's this?"

"That's Elizabeth," He grunted, trying to worm out of his brother's arms. A large red blur on Wales's shoulder jumped off and flew over her head a few times. "See, even your bloody dragon likes her!"

She raised an eyebrow and gulped, "T-That's a dragon?"

"You've seen Nessie, befor', Lizzie, why no' draig?"

They all looked at the newcomer and Englaland growled, "What the hell, Scotland? Did you finally crawl out of your drunk cave?" Elizabeth sighed and took a seat, looking at Scotland.

"Leave me out of this. Try not to push him right now, Scotland," She warned.

He huffed and threw the boy over his shoulder, "I won''. We've been doin' this fer years."

"Ollie, let me know if you want me to stop them," She said desperately, starting to stand. England growled as Wales and Scotland and Wales began to toss him back and forth. Watching patiently, the woman jumped in and snatched the child out of the air and placed him on her shoulder.

Strawberry replaced blonde and Ollie cried, "You meanies!"

Scotland and Wales jumped back and Elizabeth took his hand, "Ollie, it's fine. They're your brothers."

The redhead snarled, "Lizzie, wha' jus' happened?"

"Danmark pushed Arthur too far. You know what it's like, but he had the threat of being completely overrun. His mind split to deal, and this is the other side. Arthur named him Ollie," She growled back. The child on her shoulder wrapped himself around the top of her head, "Ollie, be careful up there. It still kinda hurts."

"Sorry, puppa (1)! But I'd say it was nice to meet you, but you weren't the best hosts!" Ollie whined, loosening his grip on his sister's head. "I'm Ollie!"

Wales smiled, "Well, Ollie, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were there! Welcome to the family!"

Scotland growled and got out a stick to chew on, "He's no' my brother. IT's enough we're no' tryin' te kill 'im." The grip on her head tightened again and Elizabeth took Englaland off of her shoulder, but kept him in her grip.

"I'm not going to be surprised if this happens to you Scotland. Your brother could help when it happens, but... Englaland?" She grinned and looked down. Ollie gave the same smile. "CHARGE!" A random army out of nowhere stormed past Wales and took him by surprise. So, in 853, Wales as subdued by the West Saxons as far north as the brother existed.

* * *

Arthur looked at her as he held the other two boys' hands, "Are you sure? They won't be too much trouble, will they?"

Elizabeth smiled, "Not at all. I gives me a reason to go down there, so it's nice. Thanks, Al." He nodded and passed the two kids over.

"Be good for Bess, she'll take care of you, but you have to do what she says, ok?" Englaland coached the two. They nodded and toddled over. Æthelwulf looked at her from the doorway and smiled.

"Lady Elizabeth, are you going to be the one to escort my sons to Rome?"

She nodded, "Yes, are you going soon?"

"I am hoping to." Elizabeth nodded and gathered the four-year-old Alfred in her arms as well as his six-year-old brother, Æthelred, and walked out with Englaland.

"Lady Elizabeth is too long. I can't put up with it," She whined as she walked to the two horses that would take them to the coast.

Englaland snorted, "Well, what do you want?"

"I don't know. Let's ask Romano when we get down there. Ollie, I really hate to ask this, but-"

"I'll talk to him," The blonde quipped and clammored onto his pony. "Give me Alfred. He isn't too much work or strong enough to fight back." The woman snorted and carefully passed the prince over.

* * *

" **Why the-a fuck are you-a asking me**?"

Arthur winced, but shrugged, " **I dunno! Lizzie said to**!"

Romano turned to his sister, " **Ragazza, what the-a fuck. And what's-a with 'Lizzie'? You're a Fortuna! _Luck_**!" Englaland snapped his fingers.

" ** _That's it!_ Lady Luck**." They looked over at their sister. She smiled and mulled it over. It made sense and it fit.

" **Alright. I'll be Lady Luck.** " They all let out a varying chuckle, but another one snapped them out of it. Alfred was waving a stick at someone they couldn't see and shouting.

"I'M THE KING! I'M THE KING! I'M THE KING!"

Englaland squawked and scrambled over to the boy, "Alfred, quit it!" Fortuna picked up the other Italian to see who the prince was yelling at and nearly dropped Romano.

"Alright, little one. I take it you're King Alfred?" The Pope asked with a smile.

The child grinned, "I'm the king!"

" _ **Holy peaches, that was the Pope**_!" Fortuna squeaked.

" **Ragazza, what the-a hell?! _Holy peaches_**?"

She sighed and went to hit her head on a wall a few times, " **Someone I recently met doesn't like cursing. It goes against the bible and he threatened me. We compromised and he recommended my favorite food as a substitute**." Romano snorted and hid his face in her shoulder. He whispered something and even though she couldn't hear it, Fortuna had a pretty good thought.

" **I love you too, Roma**."

* * *

 **OK THAT WAS A WEIRD CHAPTER AND A LOT OF STUFF WAS REVEALED. I'M DONE. THE BATTLE MENTIONED WAS THE BATTLE OF ACLEA.**

 **(1) LATIN FOR DOLL/PUPPET OR SOMETHING, ROOT WORD FOR POPPET.**

 **I'M DONE.**


	76. Chapter 69

**Hey guys! I know that was a weird last chapter and the years were short, but I figured why not. With an impending either comedy or doom or even relatively normal day for us in the United States here on Monday (President's day) (The one time I will bring up POTUS until I hit that period, hopefully), I just wanted to give something.**

 **AnonChan1: I had to look that up and why where you reading that and this? It's a disaster waiting to happen! Yeah. I don't know about others, but I have a compulsive need to do something or else I get antsy. I've usually found that France actually has a very hard time, even when divided between sons, to actually stay apart and his kings usually work together to some degree. Actually... Louis the Pious who had a twin. His name was Lothair and died in his infancy. I know I hated the man, but that was adorable to name his firstborn after his dead twin. True, but that's the way it worked. That can work! True, but I heard a while back that France, Germany, and some other nation were working out a deal to make this huge alliance or something that would make a kingdom that would unite them into what had been Charlemagne's kingdom or some jazz like that, I don't remember very well. Actually, I just looked it up and France and Germany want to make a EU superstate, something along the lines of 'The united states of Europe'. WHY. YOU TOLD ME TO STOP BRINGING THEM UP. You don't. What do you call our fighting? Who's Nonny? INDEED. I actually used to do that all the time. SHE NEVER HAD ANY REASON TO AND AN AX VS A SWORD IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. She's trying to recover from her head injury. :3. IT IS. AHHHH. True. I CAN TELL. HE MIGHT. Those guys, except for Scandinavia and the occasional visit to Frank, are pretty isolated amongst themselves. Pretty much. Royal brats. It is, but I don't think we have.**

Old English

 **Italian**

Latin

 ** _Old East Slavic (or emphasized Italian. You'll know)_**

 **Hunnic**

 _Thoughts/emphasis_

* * *

"It's nice to see you again, Æthelwulf," Fortuna said as she held her brother and Alfred. Englaland stood by her side, but Alfred's brother was already back in England.

"And as to you, Lady Elizabeth," He responded.

The blonde at her side coughed into her hand, "We've declared her Lady Luck." Æthelwulf chuckled and ruffled his son's head. Romano leaned away from the men.

" **How-a long are they-a going to be here**?" He asked Englaland. Æthelwulf cocked his head. He probably knew a bit of latin from church, but it was different from this.

Englaland looked up and shrugged, " **It shouldn't be long. He had to leave his kingdom in his other son's hands, so he can't be gone long**." Romano nodded and leaned back onto his sister. Æthelwulf shook his head in confusion and reached out to ruffle his son's head again, but then reached for the other child. Fortuna shifted him away and bowed her head to the king.

"He doesn't like being touched," She offered.

The king nodded in understanding, "My apologies." He stepped away and after a while, the group dispersed. The Anglo-Saxon king actually made a large impact on the stereotype of his nations. He wasn't a germanic hillbilly ruler of some backwater nation, he was a rich, spiritual king whose gifts of gold and riches to the church were as good as the church's neighboring superpowers, the Franks and the Byzantines.

A new issue arose before the Anglos left- Lothair had died and in a 'treaty', he assigned each of his sons a plot and one of them a title. The youngest, Charles, received the western portion of Lothair's property, the second oldest, Lothair II, received the upper and middle portion, but the oldest, Louis II, received the greatest: Northern Italy and the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Frank requested her presence introducing the two. She agreed to Romano's distaste.

The night before she left, Romano and Fortuna spent the night chatting about everything and anything they could think of. One thing that she enjoyed about Romano is that if he didn't agree with something, he would let her know or if they didn't eye to eye they could debate for a while, but at the end of the night, they left it all in the air and very little was off limits. Anything that was, it was left at that. Time could reveal secrets if needed.

The next morning, Romano and Englaland waved her off, but she just hoped they would get along. The trip north didn't take very long and she managed to arrived before the others did and Veneziano was delighted to see her. " **SORELLONA**!"

She laughed and pulled the laughing child into her arms, " **Hey, Feli! Hey Luciano. How are you guys**?"

" **We've-a been good! Big brother Frank told-a us that he's going to-a introduce us to-a new friend**!"

" **Something like that. Do you remember the little blonde boy you met a while ago? The Holy Roman Empire? You're going to meet him soon-** "

Another voice came in, "Annabelle?"

"We're in here, Frankish. Is Holy Rome wit-" A shout under her made her jump as another body mass slammed into her. "Never mind. Holy Rome, get down, you're scaring Veneziano!"

The blonde child frowned, "Who's that?" Venie peeked over her arm and Holy Rome cocked his head. "Are you-"

"You're-a Holy Rome? Like Nonno?"

"Nonno?"

Fortuna placed a kiss on her brother's forehead, "No, Venie, I'm sorry. Not like Grandpa. And Holy Rome, you've learned more latin since I last saw you."

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

Veneziano curled into his sister's arms nervously, whispering, " **Fortuna, get this-a weirdo away from me**." She chuckled and rubbed her brother's back. Luciano may have taken over just enough to tell her that, but Feliciano still had majority control.

"Holy Rome, can you excuse us? We're a little tired..." The blonde pursed his lips and nodded. "Thank you. Come on, Venie. Let's go get ready for bed." When they entered, Luciano took over and stretched.

" **Grazie. The-a new kid is-a weirding us out, but Felice likes that he's-a the one who's protecting us. I couldn't care-a less** ," He sighed, flopping backwards on the bed.

She smiled and sat next to him, " **Holy Rome is only 55 years old, give him a break. Get used to him, he's going to be around for a while.** " Luciano groaned and turned over. " **I have some more news. I met another... other**."

The atmosphere suddenly dropped and she vaguely wished she hadn't said anything, " **Who and what are they-a like**?"

" **It's Englaland. He's actually with your brother right now, but I'm hoping Arthur can kept Ollie reined in. Ollie is nothing like you except for some of your more violent tendencies, which I told him**." Luciano laughed and wiped away a false tear.

" **Beautiful, Fortuna**."

" **Exactly. When I cursed, he threatened to burn me at the stake, but he's just a kid.** "

The child frowned and rubbed at his temples, " **For** -" Fortuna instantly knew what was causing Luciano's headache and put a hand on his shoulder.

" **Feliciano, don't worry, it worked out, he's a sweet kid. I have a substitute to use around him instead, I just put in the word peaches**."

Luciano paused and stared at her, " **Peaches**."

" **Peaches**."

" **Fucking peaches. I can't-a wait to meet this-a kid,** " Luciano laughed.

Fortuna sighed, " **Please don't hurt him. He came out for the first time two years ago**."

" **He-a threatened my human shield. Only Roma, Felice, and I can-a do that. But we'll-a see** ," He said. With a sudden shift, Feliciano took back over and Holy Rome and Frank came into the room.

"Annabel, I hope you don't mind the intrusion. I tried to stop him-"

Holy Rome crossed his arms, "I was wondering where we are going to sleep."

The woman smiled and looked at her little brother. He curled into the sheets and pouted, "Alright, I'll take them to the guest room. Hold on." Leaving Veneziano there, she took Holy Rome by the hand and Frankish by the arm to lead them out. She only let Holy Rome go to hit him on the head when he turned his head to stick his tongue out at Venie, "Be nice to Venie. It's been a long day." Walking them past Grandpa Rome's old and dusty room, she pretended she didn't notice their curious glances towards it.

* * *

By peaches, when Englaland and the other came up, never before has Fortuna been so concerned for Luciano and Ollie. Thank goodness they were together for less than a day, but those two...

Æthelwulf was travelling back up Italy to head home, but then Englaland made the suggestion to visit Veneziano. It all started off ok. The two countries met and the king headed off to... somewhere better to sleep than a random, unguarded home. Then Arthur used his third sight to find out that Veneziano had a second personality and... things went to shit from there.

Ollie immediately took over and smiled, holding out his hand, "Hello! You must be that brother Bethy spoke about when I first met her- why are you hiding?" Venie had screamed and dove behind his sister.

"Ollie, now is not a good time. Luciano, please don't-"

The growling child stepped out form behind her and was gripping his pugio tightly, "So you're the-a bastard who threatened Fortuna." The two's host personalities flared in panic, but it didn't matter as the two others faced off.

The Breton grinned and drew his own defense dagger, one probably of Viking make, "You shouldn't use such language. It's so vulgar. Are you sure you're Catholic?"

Something happened that no one expected. Luciano gave up control to Feliciano. The boy was seething in a rage that Fortuna hadn't seen from him, ever. "Sorellona, forgive-a me, god." He gripped the dagger and raised it. His arm turned a tan-ish color that showed Luciano had taken that part and Fortuna decided she had enough.

"STOP IT!" The two shrank at the bark, wincing as spit went everywhere. "I AM DISAPPOINTED IN ALL OF YOU. FELICIANO, I THOUGHT YOU KNEW BETTER TO THREATEN VISITORS. ENGLALAND, I THOUGHT YOU HAD OLLIE UNDER CONTROL. LUCIANO, I TOLD YOU THAT WE HAD GOTTEN PAST THAT AND WE DO NOT TRY TO KILL OUR GUESTS. OLLIE, FOR THE LOVE OF- WE DO NOT QUESTION OTHER PEOPLE'S RELIGIONS. YOU CAN DEAL WITH THAT LATER WITH MARY (1), BUT WE DON'T NEED THIS RIGHT NOW. Not in this household." Fortuna's heaved and tear began to escape her eyes.

Feliciano choked on a sob and he dropped the knife, "I'm-a sorry, Sorellona!" Ollie's head lowered in shame.

"I'm sorry as well, Bethy." She shook her head and fell to her knees, wiping at her face.

"Peaches, I just want one time when countries can meet and not try to kill each other," The woman croaked. Luciano took back over and walked over to Ollie, ignoring his fallen blade on the way.

Holding out his hand, he lowered his eyes, "Only for Fortuna."

Englaland nodded and wiped at his own tears, "Only for Bethy." With a shake of hands, they let their normal selves take over and go to their sister. A temporary truce was a real godsend. They moved on later that day and she was ready to escort Englaland out of the area when Feliciano grabbed onto the edge of her tunic.

" **Sorellona? Can I-a talk to you**?" She cast a glance over at her half-brother before walking into Veneziano's bedroom. " **Are you-a mad at me**?" She took a deep breathe and picked him up.

Carrying him over to the bed and sitting down, she watched him patiently, " **In complete honesty, I'm mad at both of you. You may not look like it, but Feli, you're over a thousand years old at this point, Luci, two hundred. That's more than four to fifty generations of common sense and decency, so I would have thought you were more mature than that.** " Tears were actively streaming down her brother's face and he looked down, toying with the edge of his tunic. Grabbing his chin to lift it, " **Feli, look at me. Both of you look at me.** " One eye turned a gentle magenta that was angry, but she didn't know if it was at himself or her, and the other turned a gentle honey that resembled her own, drowning in tears.

" **You were doing what you thought was right. I will never try to deter you from doing what you think is right. Ask yourself if this action is moral or the right thing, and most of those decisions, I will stand behind. I appreciate that you tried to fight for me, but I like to fight my own battles. If I need help, I promise I'll let you know. And Feli**?" He cocked his head and Fortuna smirked, "You were really scary back there. Worse than Luciano." A half laugh, half-growl came from the child and she smiled. " **Anyway, I want you to remember that no matter what, you two are still my little brothers and I'll always love you**." Placing a kiss on their foreheads, she put them down. Feliciano took completely over and nodded, wiping his eyes.

" **Grazie, Sorellona. I love-a you too, Sorellona** ," He whispered. She took his head and led him back into the hallway to meet up with Englaland. Ollie was standing in the doorway and his back way turned. "Ollie?"

The strawberry blonde looked over his shoulder and smiled, "Veneziano! I'm sorry about earlier!" Luciano took over and shook his head.

"I'm sorry as well."

Ollie nodded and fully turned around and Fortuna's eyes narrowed. Her old pugio was in his hands and the brit was rotating it in his hands. "Here, you dropped it earlier."

Luciano took it and looked it over, running his hand over it for any new scratches and nicks, but apparently found none when he nodded, "Thank you. I-a have to admit. I was-a impressed when I-a heard someone got Fortuna's cursing under control. She might as-a well be a witch." The air dropped and Luciano's shoulders dropped when he noticed the silence. Turning to his sister, "You have got to be-a joking. I-a thought you were not religious."

"I'm not. It's more like an after-effect when I got sent back. Don't worry, I didn't make a contract with Satan." The smaller Italian shook and Feliciano took over.

"How can I-a be sure?"

Fortuna smiled and went into their room and grabbed the antique cross that they had managed to save from the Iconoclasm period a few hundred years ago and grabbed a vial of Veneziano's holy water. Coming back out, she passed the materials back to the child. "Try anything you want. I am not evil." He looked down at the things in his hands and his arms fell.

"I-a trust you, Sorellona. You-a wouldn't have-a been able to pick up the-a cross anyway," He admitted. The woman smiled and gathered him up into her arms.

"Thank you, Venie. And thanks, Luciano for being so nonchalant about it," She grinned. (3)

Englaland cleared his throat, "We have to go here, Bess." The Italians smiled at each other and left on good terms. Ollie and Luciano had a newfound respect and fear of each other, but they also understood they needed to compromise in times of violence and hatred.

On the way back, Æthelwulf continued North and ended up in the court of Charles the Bald. On October 1st, he married the ruler's young daughter, a rather odd move considering many Frankish princesses got sent to nunneries, but it also created an alliance between the Western Frankish Empire and Wessex. In the winter, Æthelwulf continued home and when he did get home, he was pleasantly surprised to find his oldest son in full rebellion of him. The king allowed his son to rule in the west while he kept to control of East Wessex.

Elizabeth went back to her small home and was pleasantly surprised to find another Eastern Imperial eagle egg. And a cow. The cow was nice. It just kinda sucked because within the first week of owning it, it turned out it had cowpox. It also meant Elizabeth got cowpox, not that she was complaining. After all, one of the ways people began to cure a different, deadly pox was with this. Ah, smallpox, Elizabeth could not wait to get past that.

While the new chick was still growing- and learning to not attack Pierre- she got a letter from Scotland for the funeral of one of his kings. When she saw the name, Elizabeth agreed quickly. It was 858, and it was the man that apparently united a majority of Scotland- Kenneth I, also known as Cináed mac Ailpín- and he was dead.

In the next year, she received a rather... odd letter from her Italian brothers. They were freaking out over the amount of snow and ice over at their place and it was rather cold. Giving her cow to a neighbor to care for, she went South. When she landed, she accidentally met with Frank and he took her to a familiar scene, but she couldn't place it. He pointed her to a direction and told her to trust him and start walking. He would know if she didn't go straight. She kept going straight and if it wasn't for those two fucking peach trees, she would have thought she was still in the Frankish Empire.

" **RAGAZZA, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING**?" Romano yelled through the sleeping hedges. Fortuna jumped and peered through.

" **Romano? I'm in Italy right now**?"

He growled, " **Where the-a fuck do you-a think you are**?"

" **I didn't know! I walked here from Frank's place and I didn't know where I was walking**!"

Romano smacked his head into the palm of his hand, " **Ragazza, he had you walk across the-a ice! I thought you could-a read stars or some shit**!"

She growled, " **I can, but it's been so cloudy lately that I couldn't tell where I was going**!"

" **That-a sounds like an excuse! Get in-a here! I have a feeling we-a in for a long winter**." It was. Italy was covered in snow for 100 days and carriages were going all over the Adriatic sea. Romano had been lucky and grown a lot of his plants in his garden and saved them. They had also written a very aggressive letter to Frank about the stunt he had pulled.

She was back in Englaland after the blanket lifted over her brothers' lands and made it back just in time to see Æthelwulf's eldest son(2), Æthelbald, beat the shit out of the Vikings and take the loot. It turned out Æethlwulf died in 858. Sadly, the current western king didn't last long either and died later in December. Then there were three brothers. The oldest of them got the throne of all of Wessex, making Æthelberht king. She got a letter from Sweden next to accompany her West in 862. She agreed but was... surprised to say the least.

Sweden stood behind her as she smiled at her old friend, " ** _Hello, Onogur_**."

The blonde teen smiled, " ** _I'm sorry, but I don't really go by that anymore. I'm hoping to go by Ukraj_**."

Neylan cocked her head, " ** _Why that_**?" The girl paused and looked at the two other countries hiding behind her.

" ** _It means heartland to an extent. There's some things I don't want these two to know_**." Everyone on the field cocked their head in confusion, but the woman nodded.

" ** _I understand, trust me. Can I just call you Ukraine instead_**?" She shrugged and two pairs of violet eyes peeped at the auburnette. " ** _Who are these two_**?"

Ukraine rubbed their hair lightly, " ** _Technically, they are both of the Rus if you use that trick we did a long time ago, but... I call her Belarus, or White Russia, because of her hairbow, and I call him Russia, which means_** -"

" ** _Land of the Rus. I'm aware. I am so happy you taught me how to speak this tongue, Ukraine. It's a big help_** ," Neylan admitted.

The teen smiled, " ** _Anything I can do to help_**!" It was Russia that approached her first. He walked up to her and simply stood there patiently. The woman stared back and after a few minutes, he smiled and came to sit by her. Neylan wrapped an arm around his other side to try to keep him warm, but mostly, he was plenty warm himself.

Belarus... She was tougher to crack. She stuck close to Ukraine at all times and occasionally snarled at Neylan when she got to close to Ukraine, but then she was awaken by a nightmare. Ukraine was a heavy sleeper, as was her brother, but eventually, all of the poor girl's rustling woke the only non-Slav. Waking up slowly, Neylan sat up slowly and Belarus looked at her like a deer in headlights. Noticing the girl's tears, the auburnette didn't say anything, but pat the spot next to her and opened the blanket.

The child was stubborn and shook her head, but Neylan was even more-so. They had a stare-down and then Ukraine decided to roll over in her sleep, pushing Belarus out of bed. Sheepishly, the small toddler crawled into bed with the older woman and nestled into the pit of her stomach for heat. Neylan wrapped herself around Belarus and it eventually became their nightly routine until she would leave in the next year or few. In that time, she would bond with the siblings, relearned East Slavic and the Cyrillic alphabet that had been recently invented. The trio became christian in 863, so it was interesting and in return, Neylan taught hem Latin. She was sad to leave.

In 865, she headed back to Englaland and the child welcomed her back. Ollie might have taken over next-to-immediately and told her proudly that they threw a Viking king into a snake pit. The joy in his voice was a little too evident and Elizabeth sighed with a smile. "If it was for good reason, alright. But not everyone deserves the snake pit, Ollie." He nodded sheepishly and Arthur took back over.

"Sorry about that, but it's a good time that you showed up. Æthelberht died not long ago. I'm starting to think what you said about Alfred being king being correct," He admitted with clear exhaustion.

"It's fine, it's nice one of you is looking on the positive side, Al," She grinned, ruffled his hair. Waving her hands away, they walked back to her small little cottage. Her cow was long since dead, but she didn't particularly care. All she knew and cared about was that two of the brothers were now left. Norway requested her back and Englaland let her with one condition- Norway didn't try to attack him. The two agreed and watched each other for a moment before nodding. Elizabeth had no idea what just happened, but it might have and to do with Flying mint Bunny floating over her brother's shoulder and a large green blob hanging behind Norway. Weirdos.

It turned out, Ragin had been requested to help out one of her favorite stories growing up. Harald Fairhair. The man had been rejected by the love of his life until he was king of all Norway and he swore to do so, also swearing not to comb or cut his hair until then. He also established a royal presence in the majority of Norway during his life, so he also had that going for him. The immortals helped him through his wedding rejection and when he began his first conquests. When Norge was certain Harald knew what he was doing, he sent her back. When she arrived, she was horrified to find Ollie boiling mad.

"THEY TOOK THE NORTH. WE'RE ALL THAT'S LEFT. DANMARK TOOK IT!" He bawled, but gritting his teeth. Elizabeth sucked in a breath and picked him up. She had dealt with a mad Luciano enough to know to stay back a little and she was right. The child lunged at her a bit to bite her, but stopped and looked at her.

"That's what I'm here, for, right? I made a promise to one of my brothers, and I'll make the same one to you until you get out of this- I won't let you fall. You'll make it through. You trust me, right?"

His crystal eyes shifted from a blue opal to an emerald as he crumbled, "They killed on of my kings, one in the N-North. T-They cut his b-back open a-and-"

Elizabeth nodded, "I know, Al. I know and I'm sorry. We'll give them what for, but just for now, let it out." He nodded and curled in on her shoulder, letting tears stream down his face.

"T-They t-took out his r-ribs from his b-back and took out his l-lungs. They made me wa-"

"England."

He turned his head and opened his mouth shakily and looked at the cold stare his sister gave the wall, "Y-yeah?"

"One of your names in the future is England, and I just want you to know, I am going to kick Danmark's ass so hard, he'll get out of your country," She swore.

"Y-You don't have to-"

She turned her gaze on him and he blinked in surprise to see tears pouring down his sister's face, "He hurt family and I can't let that pass."

From that moment on, if one of Englaland's brothers requested for her presence against the Vikings, he would send her over without a second thought. If only to get the Scandinavians out of their area. In 868, though, it was put into practice and Ériu was complaining to his little brother over how one of his kings was about ready to launch an attack on the Danes and Norwegians in his land. Arthur brought her up, and the Irish nation laughed and promised to bring her back in one piece. At least, that's what it sounded like, but both of the Britannic countries were a little drunk at the time. She was sent over and helped king Áed Findliath kep them out of Ireland. It was an amazing feeling.

But the Danes weren't done, not by a long shot. In the next year, their leader, Ivar, forced his taxes on the Mercians and set off for East Anglia. Destroying their army, he and his men took the king and tortured and used for archery practice. It was sick. The next year? They attacked Scotland and destroyed one of his citadels. Englaland had a sigh of relief when the Vikings invaded Wessex and took up residence in Berkshire. Not for that reason, but for the fact that on December 31, 870, they clashed with the Earl of Berkshire. They had sailed up the Thames, but Æthelwulf of Berkshire drove them back. Plenty of the Danes in the battle of Englefield didn't make it home, or if they did, it wasn't alive.

Four days later, the defeat was quickly forgotten by the Bretons from a large slew of their own. Englaland had looked at Alfred who led the troops with the help of the king. "This is the man who will not let me be killed?" He growled angrily.

Elizabeth frowned, "I'm sorry, but yes." Englaland looked down and she placed a hand on his shoulder in consolation. "Things will get better."

April 23, 871, Alfred was named king of Wessex after his brother's death. There were less rebellions, in 872, but they were still worried. Her brother began to leave her alone more and in turn, Elizabeth stuck to her small home. She continued to send out letters to keep in contact with the outside world and tried to help out her neighbors as much as possible. She occasionally got dairy and cheese and small things in return. After half a decade since his crowning, Alfred got some good news. While a Danish force slipped past his army, they had been trapped by the king's army. A peace deal was made, but the Danes broke it and fled. Alfred blocked their ships and with little hope of reinforcements, the Danes were forced to submit. They were up and kicking again in 877.

In early 878, Elizabeth decided to make herself and neighbors a treat for the new years when a knock came at the door. "Whoever it is, come on in!" Placing the cakes by the fire to cook, she looked at her visitor to see who she was dealing with. "Who are you?"

A familiar face towered over her, "I am... just a-"

"Never mind. It doesn't really matter. I have to go get some wood, so if you could watch the cakes for me, I'll let you have one and stay here for a while if you want," Elizabeth ranted. The poor man looked so confused, but nodded anyway. He watched her grab her old Danish axe and tensed. "Relax. I'm not a Danish ass. I used to be friends with one, but... Then he attacked my brother. He gave me his old axe." The visitor nodded and took a seat by the fire. "I'll be back in a while." Exiting the door, she laughed quietly.

Traveling a small distance away, she chose a small tree that could last her a while to chop down. The woman was in no rush. After half an hour, the auburnette dragged the tree behind her and brought it behind her house to cut into smaller pieces. It was probably two hours later and she entered the home, but only was greeted by a burning smell and a lost-in-thought king. "I gave you one job!"

Alfred jumped in his seat and looked over at the cakes in surprise, "I'm sorry, I've had a lot on my min-"

"You think I didn't notice?! How does Englaland even put up with you, mr. I'm the King, I'm the king, I'm the king!"

He stared at her and cocked his head, "You knew? And you know-"

"He's my brother! I'm surprised you don't remember me either, Alfred! I know I didn't spend much time with you, but damn!"

"Language," A new voice jumped in. Arthur came in the doorway and looked at his king, "I was looking for you. Of course you found Bess."

She huffed, "I'm wondering how myself, Al. You've been ignoring me."

"I know. I think it's time we all had a talk about defense. You were there when Frank grew powerful, right? Even what king who helped Frank and that new germanic brat be born?"

Alfred followed the conversation and he kept quiet, "I'm hurt, brother. I agree and I can try to help as much as I can." And in the small little house, Elizabeth taught Alfred different techniques. From Charles Martel's standing army to past importance of good defenses, especially on the Persian front, to how she learned from her grandfather of how roads can speed up armies. He took it all very seriously as he began to work on the preparations in the next year.

In 881, Wales caught on and began to fight back against the Vikings again. The next year, Alfred increased the power of his new navy, but it didn't go over well, but it stood a chance. She also received a letter declaring the birth of a new empire- Kievan Rus. The woman sent a return message congratulating the trio.

Good things happened in 884. Mercia and Wessex had a marriage between them and the latter got overlordship that was readily also sent a letter proclaiming he was united again under Louis the German's son Charles. Things got complicated fast when claims to Charles's throne came pouring in after he declared his illegitimate son heir, but... It was too screwed up. Wales became a little divided and some of the petty kings went to Alfred for help while the main king went to the Vikings for an alliance.

In 886, Alfred managed to get England's modern heart back- he retook London from the Danes. In 889, Mercia took after Wessex's example and began to fortify their cities, but then she got another letter from Frank. All it said was, " _He's back_." There was a small cross drawn on the bottom to emphasize his point on who it was. Magyar. The Huns of 'today'. The next year, Alfred began to take into consideration another tradition from Elizabeth's travels. Ériu was well versed in the ways of writing things down and he was surprised at how fondly she spoke of the writing and the mess that was Columba and Finnian. Commissions were sent out to begin to translate things into Old English, and the immortals were rather proud of the king.

As the 890s rolled in, Alfred began to strengthen Englaland against the Danes, winning various battles and defending his land. The alliance that the Welsh king made with the Vikings fell out in 894 and Wales was attacked. He asked Alfred for protection and overlordship and his kingdom was oppressed. Before the year was over, Elizabeth approached Englaland. "Al-"

"I know that look. Go," He said as he continued to copy some of the works. As an interpreter of the other scripts to be turned into Old English, he had begun to work on various documents that some of the other scribes couldn't make heads or tails of. Nodding, Elizabeth left without another word. She knew what she was doing was dangerous and potentially stupid, she knew she had to mark her place.

It took a while, but the woman did manage to find the group. Sending out a blast of aura from a hill overlooking the camp, Neylan waited. A dark aura answered her and it and a smaller green one made its way out of camp. Standing and making sure her weapons were in easy reach, the auburnette waited and crossed her fingers. A small child with wild brown hair reached her first. " **Was that you**?!"

Neylan blinked at the loud voice, " **Hey, Hun, she sure has some lungs, doesn't she**?"

" **Girl, remember** ," The child's guardian growled, tossing the child onto his shoulder. Neylan nodded. Her old enemy was raising the child as a man to keep her safe in the violent world. who knew what would happen if anyone else found out she was a girl.

" **Hun, why did the weird lady call me she? I'm a guy**!"

He shrugged and looked at her with an unreadable glint, " **I don't know, maybe she's just weird**." The child nodded and cocked his head.

" **I'm Hungary, nice to meet you, weird lady**!"

Neylan gasped, " **Hun, I thought we had an agreement... Nice to know you lived up to it. Your... whatever knows me as Neylan**."

Green eyes twinkled happily and he hugged the other man's head, " **He's my Grandpa! I think he's told me about you! You fought alongside him, right**?" A silence reigned over the three of them and Hungary looked at his guardian, " **Grandad, is she deaf**?"

" **No, but she's just remembering all the times we had together** ," He said gently. Casting over a gaze, Hun shot her an apologetic look.

The woman smiled, " **Yeah, something like that. How's you life been so far**?"

Hungary grinned, " **It's been pretty fun! Grandad's showed me how to use a sword and ride horses**!"

" **That's good, Hungary. You're still the cutest little thing** ," She cooed, reaching up to pinch the small country's cheek lightly. Hun watched it with a careful eye, but laughed when his ward bit his old 'friend'. " **Ok, I take that back, you were cuter as a baby**."

" **What? How-** "

Neylan paused and looked at Hun, " **Did you never tell him**?"

" **No, saw no reason to. I was worried...** " _...Worried that she was never going to make it._ As the nations knew, some came and went with the seasons, occasionally less. They never knew if and when they were going to die, like how Englaland was so terrified in the early years of Alfred's reign.

" **Right. Can I hold Hungary**?" Hun raised an eyebrow and she returned it and the child was passed over. Hungary settled into her arms and kicked his legs.

" **Grandad, who is she**?"

He smiled and ruffled Hungary's hair, " **When I said old friend, I meant old. She's older than you**."

The kid looked at Neylan with wide eyes, " **Whoa! That's old**!"

Neylan facepalmed, " **Thanks**."

* * *

 **Ok, I know that was a long chapter and really weird, but I wanted to get it out of the way. Excused the rushedness. If that's even a word...**

 **(1) Mary I of England, also known as bloody Mary. This name cropped up because of her habit to kill anyone who didn't conform to her religion, which was Roman Catholic. Her father's had been Anglican, though formerly Roman Catholic, her brother's religion was Protestant (Who were the majority, if not all, of those killed under her), and after her reign, her sister's religion was Anglican.**

 **(2) There's some confusion as to if Æthelwulf had five sons or four sons and a brother. The second is more accepted and that's the version I'm going with. The jolly little fuck-up's name is Æthelstanm king of kent.**

 **(3) It actually wasn't until the... 1450s to 1750s that witch hunts were popular and during this period, witches weren't actually 'real'. There are plenty of examples of codes and rules forbidding people from hunting down witches because they were simply superstition. It isn't until later that things are going to get very scary for the nations and Lady Luck.**

 **I'm going to work on Hetaoni until my birthday (March 9th!) or until it's done. I'll be making a side story, so just look it up after this is up. See ya!**


	77. Requests

**Here are the drabbles requested! I am also done with Hetaoni, so I'm back on these!**

 **The reviews on Chapter 77:**

 **AnonChan1: Yeah. I hated Louis, but damn. Ah, it is. JESUS CHRIST, DO YOU FANGIRL? Remember the stereotype I brought up? That's kinda why. I can agree to the ships, but things start to get really weird soon. Remember, in the anime, HRE said he loved Veneziano since the 900s, and guess what! We're almost there! But the real HRE isn't until 962. She is not Smol. She is Some Major Old Lady. These guys are weird. One thing I know- Religious people do not like it when you question their faith. "I never did understand Catholics". She promised him she would never lie to him. Basically! People got weird names, ok? The cow was a gift from England, but I talked to my mom and apparently she should be covered for a lot of vaccines- except smallpox. The old substitute for smallpox? Cowpox. That's my job~! THEY ARRRRREEEEEE. Yep! That's actually a legend! A woman took Alfred in for a while, but left him to watch some cakes. He got so lost in thought, he lost track of time, she got mad and scorned him. The woman is said not to have known who he was.**

* * *

 **AnonChan1: Thoughts on Lady Luck.**

 **Situation provided: Romano talks about his sister to Spain while he is under the latter's 'wing'. They speak in Latin or Gothic to understand each other. Second, France talks to Spain about his relationship with her**

Spain sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Roma, did you make another mess?" The small nation huffed and turned away.

"Don't call me that. Only Ragazza can call me that." The man cocked his head and looked at his ward curiously.

"Who is that? You've mentioned her a few times, but not too much. Who is she?"

Romano's eyes widened, but then frowned at the brunet, "Why should I have to tell-a you, bastard?"

Spain grinned mischievously and clasped his hands behind his back, "I could take away your tomatoes until you tell me."

"I, um, damnit, bastard. Alright. She's my sister, my Sorellona. Happy?" The man let his face fall.

"Roma, that wasn't enough, tell me more! What was she like?"

The child played with the hem of his dress and thought for a moment, "Fine. Ragazza goes by a lot of names, but her real name is Carina. She was there with Grandpa Rome and was there when Vesuvius erupted for the-a first time. Fortuna-"

"Fortuna?"

Romano paused again, "That's the name she goes by with Fratello and I, but I call her Ragazza. She's-a weird, but there when I-a need her and the-a feeling is mutual. She's just... Sorellona. She's violent, defensive, and... I don't have to explain her!"

"But I'm-a there when you need it, Roma!" Spain whined and Romano slugged his arm.

"That was different, Bastard. She trusts me, I am her-a nation after all!"

The brunet blinked in confusion, "Wait, I thought she was your sister!"

"She is! Weren't you-a listening!"

Spain shook his head, "But how can she be your sister and be one of your citizens?"

Romano growled and hit his arm a few times before being satisfied, "She was born in Southern Italy! Ragazza's one of my citizens!" He huffed again before sitting down, "She's just-a been around so long and understands. Ragazza stopped treated me like a child and..." He trailed, unable to find words, but his face turned a faint red. Spain smiled and pinched his cheek.

"You're so cute, Roma! You look like a tomato! Let's go get some!"

Pulling his face away roughly, the kid growled, "About time, Bastard. But Sorellona is going to kick-a your ass someday." Spain laughed, oblivious the passing glance that Romano sent to the Roman sword hanging proudly on the wall.

(France's)

France sighed as he plopped into the chair, Spain doing the same across from him. "Hey, France. I spoke with Roma a little bit ago and he seemed pretty attached to his big sister. What's up with that?"

The blonde chuckled, "Attached is one word. She loves him no matter what. Annabelle is... special." He sighed and stood up to go get some wine. "Want some, mon ami?" Spain waved his hand.

"No thank you. I'm fine with water." Carefully watching the frenchman, he rested his head back, "What do you think about her? From what I gathered from the little man is that you haven't been with her. That's odd for you." France smiled and passed him is water and sat back in his embroidered chair with a happy groan.

Taking a small sip, the blonde savored the flavor before swallowing. "Annabelle is odd, but that is a godsend. She wants what is best for those close to her, but wants relations in themselves. I remember when she had her heart broke a thousand years ago, and it crushed her, Aragon, it really did. I like to think that the only reason she didn't spiral was because of her family, that she needed to make sure we were safe. In return, she takes care of us. When terrible things happen to us, she is there. It is for one of those reasons that I've never made any advancements towards her."

With a chuckle, he reminisced, "Well, not since I first met her. Flattery doesn't work on her. Actions mean more."

Spain shook his head and sipped at his water, "Well, I get that, but why haven't you tried anything? I'm sure she would fall for you if you tried." France shook his head with a smile.

"If you had two roses on a bush, one stays young forever on the bush, and the other wilts regardless if picked, would you rather for that one rose to always be there no matter what you did, or would you want to have a pretty rose for a day or two before it wilts? If I made a move on Annabelle, any any interaction is awkward and our past is dead. I would rather keep her close by not ruining her opinion. We trust each other the way things are," He concluded, looking out the window. Annabelle would be there no matter what happened and if a single night would ruin everything, he wouldn't risk it.

The brunet shook his head. His friend and intricate metaphors.

* * *

 **(Name withheld(?)): Interactions with Canada and/or America**

 **Situation Provided: Meeting Canada for the first time (The buildup and stuff. It'll take a while.) (Please note that this will be placed in the story later)**

Ragin gasped as she set eyes on the land, "I never thought I'd see it..." Leif came up beside her and laughed.

"Is it as beautiful as you remember?" The woman shook her head as her legs crumbled in shock.

"Never..." Two presences caught her attention as Norway and Iceland took a seat next to her. "You two know that's not Greenland, right?"

Norway looked at her blankly, "I figured. Iceland is..." She spared a glance at Iceland, who was glancing at the new land with wide eyes. Ragin could see excitement, but a hint of fear in his eyes. It was a new land, but he was scared for that exact reason. None of them had any idea what was on this new horizon, not even Ragin. Her mother had laughed nervously and dashed over Vinland in history for whatever reason.

"Ice? It's going to be fine," She said as she put a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her with uncertainty in his eyes and she smiled. "It'll be ok." Soon, the vikings landed on the coast and Ragin decided to see if there were any nearby 'new' nations. Spreading an awareness out, she ignored Norway's glance and looked. A strong brown aura was a distance away and there was something there, but she couldn't place it. Grasping her viking sword tightly and stringing her bow, Ragin cast a glance at Norway, but Iceland looked between the two confused. Laughing silently in her head, the woman set off for the auras.

The moon hung high in the sky when Ragin decided to have a snack. She looked at her supplies from her belt and sighed, "Ok, don't want to waste those..." Her stomach grugled and she laughed, "Ok, I'll figure something out. It's only been a little less than ten centuries since I've landed- Ow!" Ragin rubbed her head as a large nut hit her upside the head, the angle making it impossible to just have fallen from a tree. Looking around sharply, she sent looked for any auras. The brown one was to her left in the dense brush and she sighed. "Hello?" Ragin took off her weapons and took a seat on the leafy ground and waited.

The other immortal didn't move for a while, but Ragin was just as patient and the nation emerged. The person who came out of the shadows was easily one of the most beautiful people Ragin had ever seen. She had long black hair and tan skin that glittered under the moon. The woman took a seat in front of the European. Now they were at a stalemate but they had to make friendly. Reaching slowly into her pouch, Ragin removed a hunk of cheese and split it in two, giving the larger to the so far mute woman. She took the dairy cautiously and eyed Ragin as the latter took a bit and swallowed. Deeming it safe, the woman took a small bit out of her slice and her eyes widened.

An unknown language came from the woman's mouth and a small rustle came from the bushes. A small boy, barely old enough to walk, came and sat by her and took a piece of the cheese. Ragin smiled at the scene and the woman looked over at her again. "Ragin," The European said carefully, gesturing to herself. Waving a hand in the other two's direction, she cocked her head.

The woman smiled, but a small crashing sound from behind Ragin startled all three. Two figures emerged and the woman looked ready to dart off. Ragin took a step in front of the natives and glared at Norway and Iceland. "Damn it, you two, what's going on?" Norway looked over the shorter woman's shoulder and his eyes widened at the pair behind Ragin.

"Iceland. Take off your weapons and very slowly, sit down," He commanded and Iceland did so with a confused face.

Ragin bowed her head in relief and took a seat once more. The woman was still there, but had the child behind her back. "What's with the Skraeling (1) and Vinland?" Ragin growled at the name.

"What did you just call her?"

Norway looked at her and sighed, "Never mind. It's what some of the others are calling the natives. They're calling the land Vinland." Ragin sighed and hung her head.

She tried to explain the situation to the native pair, who seemed to accept the titles relatively well. After a few minutes, Vinland trotted over to the european woman. He cocked his head and Ragin smiled at him. He smiled lightly and plopped down in front of her. Iceland got impatient with waiting and got up to walk back to the crew and Norway cast her a glance. Nodding, the auburnette got the message and continued to play with the child later to be known as Canada.

Even though they couldn't understand a thing the other was saying, they still played together, the woman who would be known as Native America watching over them carefully. Sadly, time was not on their side and it came for the time to leave. Vinland seemed to know something was happening and he smiled sadly at the girl. She ruffled his hair and the women shared a quick hug and a look of understanding- take care.

* * *

 **AnonChan1: Monopoly.**

 **Situation provided: Some of the countries are reluctant to brave a storm attacking the conference hall and Liberty pulls Monopoly out of a closet. Players: Italian brothers (no Seborga, sorry), America, China, Germany, and Liberty. A few others might be early observers, but this is pre-1996 and Pre-Carina.**

Liberty winced as she looked over the rain absolutely attacking the window. Romano winced on her left and Veneziano's whine caught her ears. "I know we're brave on the roads, but not _that_ brave," She muttered. Romano chuckled and nodded.

Across the table, America slammed his head into the table, "Hey, Mom, is there anyway I can get a ride to the hotel?"

"Freddie, I'm not going anywhere until this storm clears up. Is anyone else staying?" A few nations looked out the window, but most were confident enough to brave the storm. The ones that weren't, raised their hand. Liberty counted them and nodded. China and Germany decided to stay, as well as the nations she had just spoken too. She sighed and nodded. "If it doesn't clear up tonight, do you guys want to just spent the night here? I have a few sleeping bag in my car."

Romano shrugged, "What the-a fuck, why not." Venie nodded and America hummed. China pursed his lips and she smiled.

"Don't worry, I have a camping mat for your back, China. Germany, are you staying?" He looked out the window and a crash of thunder made him nod. " Alright. I'll go grab them. America, go ask the receptionist for my backup. She'll know what I mean." He whined again and jerked his head up, but settled his chin the table.

"Mooooom, do I have to?"

"Do you want me to tell president about that stack of illegal fireworks you have in your shed that could probably set half the neighborhood on fire?"

He pouted, but stood, "Fine."

Veneziano smiled at her once he was out the door, "Aren't you-a one who gave him the-a fireworks?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't need to remember that." Romano snorted and leaned his arms on the table. "Alright, I'll got get the sleeping mats." She raised her voice a tiny amount, "Germany, can you held me? Six sleeping bags is-"

"I'll help. Do you think it was ok to leave the mircos at Austria's place?"

Liberty nodded, "It'll be fine. Rome and Prussia are looking out after them. They'll take care of them. Seborga might not look it, but he's pretty responsible as well." Germany nodded and they walked into the lower levels of the building which served as a parking garage. Water was already pouring in, but it didn't matter to them as they made their way to a back corner. As part of a joke, the brothers had let her borrow one of their cars and they were lined up green, white and red.

The blonde chuckled and shook his head, "Who's idea was this?"

"Flavio's. Never trust him when you're trying not to laugh. He could make Sweden chuckle if he tried hard enough," Liberty said. He nodded and she opened the trunk. Eight sleeping bags were in the back and she shouldered a drawstring bag. Picking up three of the sleeping bags, Germany grabbed three more.

"Vhy do you have eight sleeping bags?"

She shrugged, "It's important to have camping materials. I have some energy bars in my bag for the morning." He nodded and they worked their way back up. The meeting room, even though there were only a small handful of countries, it was hell.

"No! I get to-a be the hat!"

"Please! You couldn't pull it off if you tried, dude!"

"I get the battle ship!" China yelled, grabbing the piece.

Romano growled, "I get the-a wheelbarrow!"

America continued to fight over the top hat with Veneziano when Luciano came out, "Give-a me the top hat."

Allen was quick to join, "Oh, sorry, Uncle Luci-"

"Allen J. Jones, calm down. Luciano, you too," Liberty growled as she came out. She threw down the polyster bags and came over to the board. "Venie, how about you're the shoe and America, you're the cannon. I'll be the top hat. Germany?"

"Vat are ve playing?"

Liberty grinned and held up the box top, "Monopoly. I left it here for the odd nights that some of the guards stay late and can play, but I can join in every once in a while. Anyway, who do you want to be?"

He gripped his chin, "I'll be ze dog." Luciano laughed and held a hand out to Allen, who gave the man a 10 dollar bill. Liberty raised an eyebrow, but shook her head.

"Can we start now?" The game started with Liberty going first. She landed on chance and grinned. "Advance to nearest railroad." America whined as she bought the Pennsylvania Railroad. "Hey, it's Vanderbilt's fault you're freaking out, but you're not getting my railroads!" The game began to pick up and soon, the Italians own most of the red and orange properties, China the first street, America the green and utility properties and Germany owned most of the yellow and pink ones. Then things got interesting when China bought Park Place. Boardwalk and Short line had yet to be purchased and Romano was beginning to sweat. His measly properties of New York and Kentucky weren't doing so well.

It was Liberty's turn next and she grinned at her brothers, "I miei fratelli (1), what do you say. Do you want to go into business together?" She grinned and held up her properties. They were a railroad and the other two red properties. Luciano looked at his two oranges and grinned at Romano. "All of our properties are our own, but we collect fully on the properties. None of us go bankrupt unless all of us do."

Romano shrugged at his brother, who smiled, "Liberty, I think you-a have a deal." The family was back together. Liberty rolled and landed on Short line and bought it. Passing the dice over, the round passed again and it was America's turn to get nervous, but he looked around. The others were thriving, but they weren't going to help him.

He rolled and laughed, "I got boardwalk, assholes!" China moaned and Germany shook his head. The siblings looked at each other and their sister held up her two railroads.

"Hey, America!" Romano yelled from across the table.

"I'll trade you my railroads for boardwalk!"

He looked down at his B&O 'Body odor' Railroad and Reading Railroads, "...Alright, but only because I don't have park place!" China growled as he watched the property he needed change hands and the three were rapidly expanding. Romano suggested hotels and when possible when they had extra, his siblings pitched in and then there were a hotel on each of either properties. Germany had done the same, but America and China were slow to do the same.

Then, it came. America landed on New York Avenue. He growled as he looked at his assets. The utilities were mortgaged, but he didn't have enough even if he were to mortgage his others. Silently, he handed over his properties and cash. Luciano grinned as he took them and distributed them. Romano got the blunt of it, seeing as it was his property America landed on, but they had to get their share. China rolled and sighed happily to land on the new spot, North Carolina Ave, for they hadn't been built up too much yet. He handed over the $130 and passed the dice to Liberty. She put down a hotel on each, getting some money from her brothers and built up their empires. Germany and China paled and the game ended soon after.

The siblings grinned as they counted out their money and laughed. They really did make a monopoly, but the others blamed it on the mafia. They started a game of Morra to see who would win, but in the end, Feliciano came out and won. They all shook their heads and got ready for bed, but didn't notice something.

The rain had stopped a long time ago.

(1) My brothers

* * *

 **Seeing as apparently no one's interested in requests, I'm not doing anymore until 1500s unless it's a really good reason.**


	78. Chapter 70

**In case you guys decided to skip the requests chapter, I'm done with Hetaoni (I gave it an ending!) Continuing on!**

 **AnonChan1:Seen and heard what? That child needs his tomatoes. I also just realized that this is impossible as Tomatoes weren't in Europe until after 1500 and this takes place before or in the 1300s. Spain knows not to get drunk! NEVER. They are. She is. That aura is Native America and she has trouble seeing Canada at times. They do, about 500 years later! I'll take those brownie points! Apparently you've never been in the North around the fourth of July. If possible, people bring in illegal fireworks to shoot up there. My family used to go up to Minnesota every summer and because there are a lot of lakes up there, people go nuts. The Pelican Rapids fireworks show is amazing, FYI. He was the horse. True, and my family kinda just adapted. That's why Luciano bet on it. It is, but yeah.**

Proto-Hungarian

 **Old English**

Italian

 _Thoughts/Emphasis_

* * *

Neylan grinned as Hungary swung from her arm, "You're getting stronger." The small child grinned.

"I have to grow up to be strong like Grandad! He tries to hide it, but I know he worries about me," He whispered. The woman nodded.

"When you were smaller, hell, even now, you're at risk of war with the Byzantines..." Green eyes floated to the trodden grass nervously. "But nothing going to happen. You have your family to look out for you and you have your horses. You grow up to be strong. Trust me on that."

Hungary grinned, acting like a child again, "Why should I trust you?"

The older woman tapped her chin mockingly, "Because I have no reason to lie to you and you're a promise to your Grandad."

"What do you mean?"

"First off, everyone does stupid things that impact others," Neylan began. She noted a wave of aura coming from behind her and sent her own. "I'm not perfect. I've turned against my own Grandpa before. He had done something stupid himself and in the end, both of us got hurt. We did get over it, but... Family forgives. We might not forget, but we forgive." Looking up, Neylan smiled as she felt the sun on her face. "Your Grandad hurt me when we fought together. It took me years to get over it, I still get flashbacks about what happened, but he made a promise to me. What he did could be repaired by raising you to be a better person. He's held to that so far."

Hungary smiled and swung her legs to get herself back going, "What did he do?"

She shook her head, "It's in the past, but maybe someday that's nowhere soon." The child nodded.

"Grandad's good at keeping promises." Neylan chuckled and nodded.

Heavy footsteps came up behind them and Hungary was taken off of her arm, "Hello there, my little man. Is the old woman boring you?"

"No, she was telling me you were good at keeping promises!" Hun looked at Neylan with a grateful look, knowing that she didn't tell his future about one of the stupider things he had done. "Can we go play with the horses?"

"Hun, I should be going soon. Don't let me find you near my brothers again," The woman said. He nodded lightly and began walking away. Hungary peeked over his shoulder and waved happily.

* * *

Englaland grinned as he stood by his sister aboard one of the new ships. Danmark stood on the opposing side and Elizabeth knew this wasn't going to end well. " **We're going to get him, Bess**." She gripped her sword.

" **I know**." Of Danmark's six ships, three attempted to break the the line of Arthur's nine. They didn't make it. The three ships got tied to some of the English ones and the siblings wasted little tim boarding the one closest to them. The first man she came o, she gutted, plain and simple. He cried out, falling to his knees, and Ollie came out, lopping his head off. The two halves took turn killing those on board and soon, there weren't any Danes left on the first three ships. Looking out, one ship was in retreat while the other two were nowhere to be seen.

" **Where the bloody hell did they go**?"

Various cries came from the cliffs and Elizabeth snorted, " **They got ran into the cliffs. Let's go get them. Alfred will want to see them die**." He nodded and the English crews sailed close enough to rescue the shipwrecked ones. They were hanged before Alfred the great and hanged. In 897, Elizabeth knew that the face off between the Danes and the English wouldn't end well for the Danes. Only one ship made it back to East Anglia.

The next year, the 49-year-old Alfred decided to prepare for the inevitable and raised his son Edward to be co-ruler of Wessex. He would die on October 26th of 899. Then another family feud started.

So, everyone who's been reading this story knows how, unless the father doesn't like them, the firstborn son takes over, correct? This happened and Edward the Elder took over. But you know that all family have a claim to the throne as well, right? Well, this also happened. When one of Alfred the Great's brothers died, his children were too young to take over, so Alfred took over completely, not as a standing ruler, a regent. One of those children was named Æthelwold. He wanted to claim his father's kingdom and in December, he set up base where his father had been buried, at Wimborne, the burial place of many other Anglo-Saxon kings.

Edward prepared to for war, but Æthelwold refused to meet him. England looked over at his half sister and Elizabeth sighed. " **I can try something, but you can't hate me for it later**." He bowed his head and nodded. She left later that night and headed for the burial site.

When she arrived without her family, she knew she'd have to rely on hope and luck. The army watched her approach on a black mare passively and she threw herself off. Her weapons glinted in the bright moonlight and some of the soldiers stood. " **I wish to speak to Æthelwold. I have information he's going to want to know**."

A soldier came to her side, " **Why should we trust you**?" Elizabeth frowned and looked around for the decorated man she knew was there.

" **Because I know how your king can get more support when Edward has the potential to kill you all off now** ," She growled. " **Do I have to say it in Latin because I will. Englaland is ready to turn on you**."

A man in pleated armor cam up and she dismounted her horse, bowing. " **Rise and state your name**."

" **I am Lady Luck, known also as Elizabeth and half-sister of Englaland,** " She stated, rising. Æthelwold was taller than her, but he frowned. " **I have information that you may want to know**."

He frowned, " **How do I know who you are who you say you are**?"

Elizabeth sighed, looking up, " **Why do people never believe me**?" She looked back up to the pale king and touched the thick scar that ran under her jaw. " **Oh, yeah. Huns, lovely people. Can we speak or do you want your cousin to attack while we wait**?" The king looked over the horizon and nodded.

" **Follow me** ," He said. Elizabeth nodded and took her horse's reins and followed the king around the Wimborne Minister. Drop-tying her mare, she followed him in and stood before Æthelwold's father's grave. " **Did you know him**?"

She nodded, " **Vaguely. I brought him to Rome when he was a child. He was very well-behaved. You look like him**."

" **I never knew him, you know? I was too little...** "

" **Trust me, I know. You were such a fussy little baby. But the information. Edward's readying an attack, but you could probably get some support from the Vikings** ," Elizabeth said, looking at him carefully.

She was right to be weary, Æthelwold raised a blade to her neck, " **I am no fool. I have heard of what the Danes have done to our cousins in the north-** "

Raising her Viking ax by the blade, Elizabeth cut him off, " **But that was as an enemy. As an ally, you are more likely to receive aid from them. Find a Danmark and tell him Ragin says hey. He'd be more likely to help. But you're the rightful king of a rebellious kingdom. If you get the support of the Vikings, you can get what you deserve**." Æthelwold nodded.

" **Where do I need to be again**?" Elizabeth smirked.

' _England, trust me._ '

Æthelwold fled to Northumbria, where he would be supported as king.

* * *

She was back with Englaland in 900 when she got the letter. Henry landed on the back of her chair and ruffled his feathers as his owner untied the message. Elizabeth's eyes darted over it and she threw down her bread. It bounced off the floor and she growled, running out of the room. " _ **PEACHES! PEACHES PEACHES PEACHES**_!" The child blinked in confusion and grabbed the message. In careful latin, he read the simple number '452'.

To him, it wasn't anything. To Fortuna, it was the year the huns entered and threatened Veneziano, just one year after she got out. Oooh, that man was going to pay.

She managed to get over there just before June. Barging into Veneziano's home, she began looking in the rooms for him. "Veneziano?! Feli? Luciano?" A knife embedded itself in the doorway of the next room she peeked in.

"Over here, Fortuna. I'm getting-a ready to push those-a barbarians out-a Venice..." Luciano growled, sharpening a few throwing knives and a longer dagger. An unstrung bow and a quiver of arrows sat by him.

Fortuna growled and plopped near him and took out her own whetstone and grabbed one of the blades, "I fucking told him to stay out of here. Luciano, can you do me a favor?" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing. "You might see a small child out on the battlefield. Don't hurt them, but the rest, I don't care about. The kid is a new nation I'm keeping an eye on so they don't take the path of their guardian."

He nodded and stopped his work, "Fortuna, is this-a child a girl? It doesn't-a matter to-a me, but-"

"Hungary can't know. Her Nonno wants her to grow up safe from what happens to Europe's women. I'm lucky, I'm a warrior, but-"

"She's still young. The young can-a change and-a the women... I'll-a see what I can-a do," Luciano said with a frown.

Fortuna bobbed her head, "Grazie. I feel a little bad for her, though. It's going to be rough transitioning from being a guy to being a girl. Hungary's been told he's been a boy since he was born a few centuries ago. If there's anything I can do for you-"

"Whatever. You're-a here." Fortuna grinned and continued to sharpen her little brother's blades. June 29th, 900, came and the inevitable happened.

"GODDAMNIT HUN, I TOLD YOU TO STAY THE FUCK OUT OF ITALY!"

The large man and his armies fought as they retreated, his little grandchild retreating and shooting arrows backwards as well. Luciano sat in front of her and carefully taking aim with his bow as his sister steered and sliced at the fleeing people.

He snorted and little Hungary looked at her, heart broken. Luciano looked at the small child and nodded before turning away and shooting another one of her citizens. This went on for who knows how long, but as the sun began to set, Luciano had her turn around for the night, "Those-a bastards are out of Venice." She nodded and turned the steady stead around. On the way back to Pavia, the kid fell asleep and curled into her stomach. Fortuna smiled and wrapped an arm around him as to keep him on.

The sun peeked out as Fortuna carried her baby brother into the house and placed him on the bed. Feliciano slowly opened his eyes and smiled, "Ciao, Sorellona..."

"Hey, Feli. Is Luciano awake? I want him to hear this too," She soothed, rubbing his hair, careful to avoid the curl. Feliciano crooned and leaned into her hand.

"Si," He hummed.

Tucking him in, the woman put a kiss on his forehead, "I have to go for a while, but I'll try to be back when I can." Feli nodded and curled back into the sheets. Knowing he wouldn't remember, she wrote a small note and put it at the foot of the bed and left. The cherry bay horse was sleeping heavily and Fortuna sighed. She had to make this on foot.

* * *

Hungary growled and came after the woman with a knife in his hand. "You betrayed by Grandad!" Hun's eyes widened and he picked up the raging child.

"Hungary, Neylan had little brothers there, I should have known better!"

Neylan nodded in appreciation, but Hungary sloppily threw the knife at her. Catching it lightly in her hand, the woman growled. "Hungary, I want you to understand something. Hun, put him down." Reluctantly, the guardian did so and the kid instantly went to hit and kick her leg. Neylan grabbed him under the arms and lifted him so he was practically harmless. "You might not understand it now, but you don't have siblings right now. You don't have anyone to look after. I am trying to make sure my family stays alive right now and you're going to understand that someday. Do you remember that child I had with me?"

"Whatever," He growled, spitting in her face. The angry woman rubbed her face into her shoulder, but didn't let go.

"That was my little brother. He's one of the ones who has kept me sane and alive for 900 years at this point. You might not remember, but people come and people go. You've seen _your_ soldiers arrive and then die right before your eyes. _Your_ citizens," Neylan growled. Hungary stopped struggling and tears were building up in his eyes.

Hun put a hand on his old frienemy's arm, "Neylan-"

"Hungary needs to hear this. He _needs_ to know that people can turn on you in a second. He _needs_ to know that there are people who have your back no matter what. He needs to know the importance of family, because I'm sorry to say this in front of him, but _you're not going to be around forever_." A wet plop brought her attention back to the child and it saddened her to have been the one to bring him to tears.

Pulling him into an embrace, she shushed him, "Hungary, I know I seem rough right now, but you need to learn how important things are to you now before they slip out of your fingers. You will go through rough times and while I might not always be on your side directly, I'll do whatever I can to make sure you're safe. Remember my brother? I asked him not to attack you. I know for a fact that there were times he could have shotten you, but he didn't. I'll be around to help you when I can, even when your Grandad isn't because you're family."

Neylan rocked Hungary back and forth as the child cried and listened eventually falling asleep and Hun took him, "You didn't have to take it that far."

"I know, but sometimes I wish someone had talked to me like that a few hundred years ago. I needed to get my shit together and I had to learn personally to stay out of shit. Hungary's lucky. She get a decent childhood," She whispered, ruffling her hair. Hun huffed and kissed his granddaughter's hair.

"You'll keep an eye on her?"

"Of course. You need to teach her it's not ok to stab people. Do you know how many nations I've have to tell that to? At least four." Hun laughed and nodded. She did end up paying the two back as they charged a little further west into Pannonia and settled there. Hungary didn't forget what his big sister said. He took a new appreciation to his Grandad and his citizens. He also wanted to trust the woman more, but time would have to tell.

* * *

 **I've been a little busy and I'm not going to be able to post one a day like I did with the side-story. Maybe one every two or three days or something. But the 900s also have new countries and I can't wait to add in everything. Austria, HRE's feels, Kievan starts to rise, Normans in France, England is united, important stuff happens in Scandinavia, our current Romeo Fairhair dies, and other important people. That's basically the next 100 years and my version of a sneak peek. *Shrugs* Hetalia sneak peaks.**


	79. Chapter 71

**Hey guys, things have been hectic for me, but I'm going to try and get this done. I'm also having a bit of trouble with my dad right now, so if you see some angsty stuff, that's why. Stories are a reflection of the author and this is my journal.**

 **AnonChan1: I have. ...Yeah. TA: Tomatoes anonymous. Well, I'm trying not to have her be a Mary Sue, so... That probably explains it, but MN loves fireworks. You heard me. That couldn't be true enough. They have, but she's still trying o get over it. Thanks. It was destroyed a long time ago. Yeah. Ah, that word. I secretly believe that Luciano is a sweetheart. YOU JERK. She is, but she did.**

Proto-Hungarian

Latin/Italian (You'll know when)

 **Old High German**

 **Old Norse**

* * *

Hungary gripped her leg as Neylan tried to jump onto the horse, "Do you have to go?"

"I'm sorry, Hungary, but there's some shit going on with my brother's rulers and I need to make sure he's ok. He's getting anxious enough as it is," She reluctantly said. Hun came up on her side, making her jump, but he picked up his child.

"Hungary, old lady needs to leave. She'll be back," He said gently and the kid pouted, but nodded.

Neylan grinned and ruffled his hair, "I'll be back soon, Hungary. Just wait. I might not always be on your side, but I won't fight you personally." With that, she jumped back onto her horse and rode south. Time to deal with Louis III, the not-yet-blind.

Holy Rome stood by Veneziano when she entered the church reluctantly and her brother's face lit up. Louis was bowed before the Pope as he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Fortuna waited until the church had cleared, which took a few hours to be honest, and Veneziano came up and jumped up at her, "Sorellona! Sorellona!" She smiled and picked him up, swinging him around.

"Hey, Venie! How are you?" He paused and frowned. The Holy Roman Empire launched himself into her leg.

"Our rulers have been driving up and down the wall," Holy Rome growled, getting off and looking at her.

Veneziano chuckled and she smiled, "Things will get better, right? Don't they always?" He hummed and Fortuna rubbed his hair back, "C'mon, it's been a long day and you need a rest. You all do." Luciano's aura peeked out and she smiled, glad he let her know he heard. The two were probably taking turns mentally resting so Veneziano was always on guard. She ruffled their hair and Holy Rome tried to bite her hand. The siblings chuckled, but she held out a hand. The 'empire' wasn't forgotten, not yet.

Next year, in the spring of 902, Louis was forced out of Italy by a margrave of Tuscany. He stupidly swore never to return. Berengar, one of the rulers who had driven the nations crazy, was restored. May the backstabbing continue.

* * *

Fortuna blinked wearily as Feliciano shook her awake, "Sorellona, your bird's here!" She yawned and nodded, stretching.

"Five more minutes, Venie," She joked, rolling on top of him. He giggled and hit her shoulder lightly.

"S-Sorellona, you're-a crushing me!"

The woman raised an eyebrow at the giggling and exaggerating boy, "Really? I thought I taught you not to call women fat."

He whined, "Sorellona, you're not-a fat, you're-a heavy!" She chuckled and got up.

"Come on, it's time for break-" A body crashed into the back of her knees and she crumbled. Luciano popped out for the quickest of moments and grabbed his blade, but Feliciano took over when they saw it was only Holy Rome. " **You little shit.** "

" **Get him off** ," The child whined. The siblings looked at him and chuckled. Henry was perched on his arm awkwardly and continuously pecked at his head, trying to get his attention. " **It hurts**."

"Okay then, Henry, what did I tell you about hurting others?" Fortuna said, whistled and held up an arm. The bird cried and leapt up, flying to her shoulder. He nuzzled her cheek and she chuckled, "Calm down, what's going on?" The pulled the letter off and looked at it. She paled and her arms fell.

Veneziano shook her leg as she settled back onto the bed, "Sorellona?"

"Venie, I'm sorry, but Englaland let me come down here, he needs-"

The child wasted no time, "Go. We-a got this." Fortuna smiled and put a kiss on his forehead.

"Thanks you two. I'm going to pack and head over, it's the fucking vikings again. I swear, if Danmark keeps starting up shit..." Holy Rome chuckled.

"Go get him, Amalia." She dove into her bag and pulled out the small golden ring on a thick string on the inside of her bag and got the small inkwell on a desk. Pouring it in carefully, she put down her mark and sent it back off and turned to the two nations.

"Let's get some breakfast before I go. I want to have a safe breakfast before I have to start fighting." Holy Rome snorted and left.

Fortuna and Venie stayed behind and let out a sigh of relief, "Do you-a think he saw?"

She looked over to the door, "No, I don't. Either way, it was a glint in the light. Luciano, you need to get your life together," she grinned.

The alternate emerged and crossed his arms, "I-a wouldn't have to-a do anything if you didn't get-a hit in the-a first place." Fortuna chuckled and held up and arm. He grasped the limb and his sister let him down gently. "I'm-a hungry," The child whined as he shifted to Feliciano.

"I know, I know, I'm coming," The woman whined and followed him.

* * *

Elizabeth ducked as Danmark slammed the ax down in her direction. It was winter and snow splattered everywhere, but the fighters didn't feel it as they struggled to stay alive. Englaland had long since retreated with the rest of the troops, but she had stayed behind with the Anglo-Saxons of Kent. " **You really don't give up, do you, Rag**?"

" **Shut up, Dan. Has Norge told you how annoying you are recently**?"

He grinned and swung the large blade again, but Elizabeth pushed it off with her sword, " **No, not yet. Why**?"

She growled and swiped at him, " **Because you're annoying**." The blade skimmed his arm and he blinked in surprise.

" **Huh, I didn't think you'd actually hit me**."

Elizabeth growled and struck out again, " **You're a child compared to me. I have been fighting for my life far longer than you have, so I hope I can land a hit.** " It nicked his leg, and he growled, frowning.

" **Now you're starting to annoy me Rag. Look around really quick. I won't attack until you look at me** ," Danmark swore. She frowned, but did. While the Danes they seemed to be tied, both sides had heavy losses and the Kents were slowly retreating. Bowing her head, she growled.

" **You still went too far here. I'm going to get you back someday** ," Elizabeth promised.

Danmark grinned, " **I'm counting on it. See you later** , Ragin." The Battle of the Holme ended with a labeled Danish victory, even if they had lost a good amount of soldiers. But that wasn't all they had lost.

Æthelwold was dead. Edward the Elder was now a king without question.

* * *

In late 904, the woman left for North Italy again. Arriving early in the next year, the woman was surprised to find her brother and Hungary playing in the back yard with Hun watching over them. "What did I just walk into?" Veneziano screamed and ran towards her. Hun grabbed his sword in surprise, almost swinging it at the woman, but stopped himself as his granddaughter also ran by him.

"SORELLONA!" Veneziano yelled as he jumped into her arms. Fortuna chuckled and picked him up.

"Hey, Fratello, how are you?"

He smiled happily and looked down at the other 'boy', "I've been-a playing with Hungary and teaching him latin!"

"Y-Yep!" Hungary chirped, holding up his arms. Fortuna laughed and grabbed him as well and the two toddlers began to whistle happily.

Fortuna looked between them, "I leave for three years and I come back to this? Where's Holy Rome? You two didn't eat him, did you?"

The boys shared another look before turning their gaze at her and saying in sync, "He was tasty." They dissolved in giggles and Fortuna cast a weary look over to Hun. He gave an amused, but exhausted, smile. She put them down again and they ran off.

"How have you been putting up with them?"

Hun shrugged and sat back down on a slab of rock, "Define 'putting up with'."

She snorted, "Good point. Has Holy Rome been booted out?"

"Yeah, but not for long. Louis's still trying. He's going to try something soon."

"Probably, but how can those two play without trying to kill each other?" Fortuna asked, pulling her knees up to her chest.

He laughed, "Berengar hired us- me. I just brought Hungary along. But, Neylan," the large man growled. She curled tighter into her ball and Hun relaxed a bit, but the frown didn't leave his face. "Did you tell your brother? He gave me this look when he saw us..."

"Yes, I told him, but only because in case something happens, he isn't surprised. There's a side of my brother that I'd trust with anything. There's another part that might blab, but I trust Veneziano. Trust him, he's going to help when Hungary realizes it and needs a hand."

Hun sighed and leaned back, "Well the damage is done and he hasn't said anything or treated her any different." Fortuna smiled and looked at the kids. Hun might not notice it, but she spent a lot of years with her siblings. Veneziano was emphasizing some of his actions and Hungary would laugh at him. That little flirt.

Hun was right though, Louis did try something. He had taken Pavia and Berengar called on his army for help. The Hungarians pushed them out and Louis was taken prisoner. He was blinded not long after and was forced to give up his Italian titles. His rival took them up as well as the title of Holy Roman Emperor. He would be the last to hold the title until Otto I, the 'true' holder of the term Holy Roman Emperor. Things were catching up quicker than thought.

Two years passed and Fortuna left with the two for west. She agreed to stay with them but she refused to fight. Hungary looked at her and opened his mouth, but immediately closed it a few times with his grandpa nodded in understanding. She waited two days for their return, and it was evident from their grins they had won the battle of Pressburg, but the adults noticed something about Hungary.

He was taller. Hun looked at Neylan and lowered his eyes. His time was coming up. Neylan nodded and painted on a smile before the little one knew something was up. She stayed with them as they continued to plunder further west, or at least 912. Then, she decided to find Holy Rome. There was someone she wanted him to meet.

* * *

Let it stand for the record that Holy Rome was not happy to see her. He yelled as he catapult himself at her and Amalia let him get his rage out. He punched her leg and began to crumble slowly, " **Amalia, why did you let them beat me up like that**?" The woman sighed and kneeled next to him. Tears were slowly trickling out of his eyes and she wrapped him in a hug.

" **I wouldn't have been able to talk them out of it, but know that you'll get back at them someday. But for now, there's a child I want you to meet. They're very important to you. Do you trust me enough to get you there**?"

He looked into her eyes and he bowed his head, " **I have nothing to lose that this point. I'm weak**." Amalia smiled sadly and picked him up. He tensed, but settled very quickly and rested his head on her shoulder. " **Now I see why your sister likes it so much up here**."

Amalia looked at him startled, but tread carefully, " **What do you mean**?"

" **Venie likes it up here. You're taller than us** ," Holy Rome grunted sadly. She snorted and he frowned, " **What**?" She decided to play along and tell Veneziano later, maybe.

" **I'm not that tall. But let's get over there. I have a vague idea of where he is, but we need to hurry**." Holy Rome nodded and they grabbed a horse. They didn't have to go too far to get to Wallhausen and it took even less time to find Henry the Fowler's home. They were lucky, arriving early on the 23rd of November, 912, and Henry easily recognized the smaller immortal as they entered.

" **Hello, Holy Rome. I'm sorry if my wife is a little... uneasy at the moment to meet you, but...** " He trailed off, looking at the odd female. " **Who is this man with you**?"

She growled, " **I've taken the title Lady Luck, but you may know me as Amalia or Annabelle. I decided to bring the kid to his new ruler**." The woman bowed to him and he nodded.

" **My apologizes, I didn't know** -"

" **It's not your fault, I haven't been to the courts in a while, it's been a few decades** ," Amalia shrugged and Holy Rome socked her in the knee. Henry took a step back.

" **Please, my wife is this way. It is an honor to meet you, Lady Luck** ," He stated and a woman's pants were heard through the door, following a scream. The mortal took off and threw it open. His wife, Matilda was writhing in the sheets and Amalia put a hand on his arm.

" **Henry, go get a midwife. I can try to keep her calm for now, but hurry** ," She growled. He nodded and took off again. The woman cast off her cloak and rolled up her sleeves. " **Matilda, can you hear me? I'm a friend, I'm here to help.** "

She nodded, " **H-Hello. I, Uh** -" Another scream came from her throat and Holy Rome stood in the doorway, terrified.

Amalia snorted, " **Holy Rome, get over here and hold her hand. This is going to be a long day...** " Luckily, the midwife was able to arrive and Otto I was born, safe and sound. Holy Rome got to hold him for a little bit and he smiled.

" **I think I found my ruler and something more, Amalia...** " She looked at him questioningly. " **I want a name**."

" **H-Holy Rome, you don't know what this kid is going to-** " Amalia said, startled. It wasn't everyday a country wanted a name, an honest to peaches human name.

" **I trust your judgement, but I don't want anyone finding out about the name**."

Amalia smiled, " **Whatever you say, Otto. It's safe with me.** " And, as always, Time moves along.

* * *

 **I've had a long week, ok? By when Lady Luck said that Ludwig wasn't the first to take a ruler's name... Like former, like son. The only difference is that HRE took the name of the king that would lead his empire to actually grow and Ludwig took the name of the king who broke off part of the Frankish kingdom that would be the Germany of today. Again, long week, but I have new notebooks!**


	80. Chapter 72

**Hey guys!So it was my birthday a few days ago and I got more yarn and notebooks! I knit a lot, so yay and I can finally fill in more years! I'm skipping ahead to 919 because I haven't been able to find much. Quick question- how are you guys doing with all the names of Lady Luck?**

 **AnonChan1: They kinda have, I applied to sonic to get my dad off my ass. It is... I would hope not, I put a lot of effort into making her seem decent. She has the accent of the person who taught it to her, but she can replicate them in languages, but she does have a hidden Italian accent in most dialects. If Ireland had taught her English, she would have had his accent, but England did, so she has an 'American' accent. For those who go through and read these, England didn't always have his majestic accent. It was after they settled America that they changed it. You'll get to see what would happen if I wrote a history book at the end, because Liberty does end up writing history books. Kinda, but this Henry is a little Mama's boy. He's that kid whose been pushing around her brother, but she used to babysit him situation. Indeed. Kinda, not yet, but kinda. It ends up playing in their favor. Remember when LL first met Luci and she said women are more likely to be assumed weak? Luciano might be made when he finds out, but he'll understand.**

Old High German

 **Latin**

 **Old English**

Old Norse

* * *

Holy Rome shifted on his feet nervously as he watched Henry the Fowler be crowned king of East Francia, rather, the Germans. "I-Is he-"

"His reign is a good one, Otto, don't worry. He sets the stage you know," Amalia said, looking down at him. He nodded and gripped her hand nervously. There had been two main choices for king. Henry the Fowler and Duke Arnulf were the prime candidates, but the latter was letting Hungarians cross his land without attacking them and hated the man. "It's going to be so weird when you're taller than me..." She whispered.

He looked up, "What did you say? I couldn't hear you."

"Nothing. But you're going to be an actual nation soon. I hope you're ready to take that up, Holy Rome." The child hummed again and leaned on her leg. Her light blue dress clashed with his bright white long tunic.

"The duchies will help me out," He mumbled and Amalia nodded.

Henry was quick to his new position. He had fortifications put up and he traveled south to deal with the invading Hungarians. As Holy Rome informed her, Frank want no part of the invasions and left Holy Rome to deal with them. Sadly, Henry lost the battle, but he didn't lose the war. He did win back land in 920 that had been taken over by Vikings, 70 years ago. Holy Rome had looked over his king with a new hope she hadn't seen in years.

In 921, Henry finally got Arnulf's loyalty, so he could focus more on outside issues, even though the other man continued to act as a child, having a good amount of independence in Bavaria. But then, Hungary burst into the castle one day and sent the guards into a tizzy. The immortals were awaken by their door slamming open. " **NEYLAN**!" The woman shot out of bed and drew her sword. The small 'boy' wasn't alarmed, " **It's Venie**!" The others' breath caught and she grabbed her battle-ready bag. Throwing it over her shoulder, not even bothering to change clothes or brush her hair, Amalia threw on her weapons and grabbed Hungary running out of the castle. A large horse was waiting for them and Neylan threw Hungary on before clamoring on behind him. The auburnette grabbed the reins and kicked into high gear.

" **What's going on**?!"

Hungary leaned into the woman, " **Grandad found out about a plot to overthrow Berengar. He sent me to come get you**!" Neylan growled and nodded.

" **Remind me to thank him**." Thankfully, Hun was right and managed to overturn the insurgent army in 921. In 924, she got a message. " **Edward's dead**."

Elizabeth rushed right over.

The king had died on July 17, 924, and was quickly succeeded by Ælfweard, but his reign in Wessex didn't last long. The new king died a while later, but Æthelstan replaced his brother as king of Mercia and Wessex. Elizabeth stay with her brother and then came 927.

The day was tense and Englaland woke her earlier than normal, " **B-Bess**?"

She blinked and looked at him, " **Mornin' Englaland. How are you guys this morning**?" He swallowed.

" **Nervous. I'm really hoping this morning goes well** ," The blonde muttered, playing with his hands. " **Ollie keeps telling me everything will go smoothly, but-** "

Elizabeth sat up and put her hands on his shoulders in comfort, " **Then listen to him. He's here for several reasons and one of them is to help you keep an open mind. Isn't that right**?" A pink aura clasped with her brother's original green and they smiled. " **Alright then. Let's go get ready. I'm sure you want to look good**."

Englaland huffed, " **Are you saying I look bad normally? I look fine**!" She raised an eyebrow.

" **Really? So Æthelstan isn't going to send you back in here when we walk outside**?"

" **Fine fine! Only if you get a haircut**!" She winced and grabbed the long, thick braid that would, at this point, hang down to her knees. Elizabeth's head hung and Arthur smiled, " **I can cut it for you**."

The woman smiled, " **Thank you, Englaland. Just mid-back? I'm going to brush it out if you can get the shears.** " He nodded and went into the chest at the foot of his bed. Elizabeth grabbed her brush and began to comb out the middle of her back. They got it taken care of and the day was set into motion. The kings of the surrounding kingdoms arrived in Cumbria and recognized him as king of all England. While Northumbria wasn't technically a part of Englaland yet, the majority of him was united.

He gasped and stumbled back a few feet after the kings pledged their allegiance and Elizabeth was by his side in a second. " **Al**...?"

The child laughed airily and looked up. Tears poured out of his eyes and he smiled happily, " **I can feel them, Bess! I-I'm a kingdom**!" She grinned and helped him stay on his feet as he swayed.

" **What does it feel like, to be a Kingdom**?"

England's face shifted from happy to disbelief to a million other expressions as he tried to explain it, " **I-I feel like I'm flying. I feel like..**."

" **Like you've been given a new title**?" He laughed and leaned on her.

" **Yeah**..."

Elizabeth smiled and picked him up, " **C'mon, let's get to bed. You've had a long day, Kingdom of England**."

* * *

She went back to Holy Rome in 928 and almost had a heart attack. She walked into the bedroom and the child was sitting on the bed, pale as can be. "Otto!"

He looked over slowly and smiled at her, "Hey, Amalia."

"Peaches, what happened?!"

He laughed breathily, "A-A little while a-after you left Berengar d-died."

Amalia stared at him, "There isn't a Holy Roman Emperor..."

"Y-Yeah."

She sighed and sat by him pulling him into her lap, "Otto, I don't know what I can do to help, but I want you to know that your people are strong. You might not have an emperor, but you also represent East Francia right now. What about the Treaty of Bonn? Frank himself acknowledged you as East Francia! You may not have an emperor, but you have a king."

Holy Rome looked at her and nodded, "I-I can try, but I'm still n-not feeling well..."

"I know. You're not going to get back to full strength until 962, so until then, trust Henry and Otto. They'll get you there," She mumbled,laying down and the boy stayed on her stomach. Otto burst into the room, but paused when he saw the woman.

"Father's back. Brandenburg is back in our hands," The sixteen-year-old stated and left quickly. Amalia smiled at Holy Rome.

"See? And that boy needs to learn to knock." Holy Rome chuckled and to her relief, it had heart in it.

* * *

A large green blob stood in the corner of the room and Amalia screamed when she saw it. Holy Rome shot up and grabbed his blade and looked at her. "Amalia! What is it!" She looked between the large green blob and the kid and realized he couldn't see it. So, she did what she knew would get him off her ass. She lied.

"Nothing, nightmare," She breathed. He nodded and resheathed the blade and yawned.

"I can't go to bed, I'll see you at breakfast," Holy Rome muttered.

Amalia nodded and waited for him to leave when she turned to the fuzzy blob, "Ok, are you with Norway? I think I remember seeing you a while ago..." It shifted, but the woman sighed, "I... I can't see you that well. You're really fuzzy. Can you move this way," she asked, motioning right. "For yes and the other way for no?" The blob moved right and she sighed. It stepped back and waited. "Does Norway want me to come visit him?" The troll moved right again and she nodded.

"Damn, ok, I'll be over in a little bit." The blob shifted and simply walked through the walls. "What the fuck is this world coming to?" Amalia grabbed her bag and weapons and ran a brush through her hair before heading down. Holy Rome saw the bag and sighed.

"Where?"

Amalia plopped into the seat and poured herself some cold oatmeal, "Norway, but not for the Vikings. Something's going on."

She arrived at one of the ports in Norway and Norge was quick to push her on another ship. "How did you know about the name?"

Ragin blinked and stumbled lightly, "What name?"

"Norge," He said, frowning lightly.

She grinned and readjusted the fur collar she made on the way, "Oh. I'm magic." The blonde was not amused, but shrugged it off. "What's going on?"

"Iceland is growing up," Norge said, looking over the water where his little brother was. She smiled and looked over in the same direction.

"He's still going to need his brother as a young nation."

"Commonwealth. He's a Commonwealth," Norge said, leaning on the side of his ship. Ragin grinned at the care he showed. It took a while, but to see the tiny nation waiting patiently on the docks was worth it.

Iceland grinned when he saw his brother, "Big brother! Big brother!" Norge then got the biggest, dorkiest grin on his face she had ever seen on him and he picked up the kid.

"Hello, Iceland. How have you been?"

The toddler's smile faltered and he touched the back of his hair, "T-There was a l-loud noise and liquid fire..." Ragin's face fell. She had forgotten that Iceland was know as the land of fire and ice, known for the 'ice', but also volcanos. A patch of hair was a faint gray in the back was a grim reminder of this.

Norway smiled and placed a kiss on his brother's forehead, "I'm sorry, Ice. Has the government-"

"They're up and running!" The woman smiled and came up next to Norway and Iceland's eyes widened. "I-I r-remember you."

Ragin looked between the brothers in surprise, "T-That was over a hundred years ago and you were practically a baby!"

A small puffin came over and flew into Iceland's stomach. He chuckled and pet the small bird. Norway blinked at it curiously, but shook it off. Ragin agreed, "Um, ok."

The bird looked at her sharply, "Excuse you." Norway smiled.

"Nice to know the spell worked," He said.

Iceland chuckled, "It really did. Thanks Big brother!" Ragin sighed and went to sit on the dock. A few minutes later, small feet approached her and she looked up. The child who stood there smiled at her nervously, "Hello... Ragin?"

She smiled, "Yep, but if you hear other names, don't be surprised. Last time I saw you, you were about as big as your puffin!"

"Excuse me! I'm big!" The bird squawked.

Ragin grinned, "Really? I think my bird would disagree with you."

"What bird?" A large whistle echoed around the dock, followed by a loud cry. Henry swooped down and settled on his owner's shoulder and Iceland stared at the Eastern Imperial Eagle in awe. "Holy Shit."

"Mr. Puffin, meet Henry. He might be big, but he can't talk. I would hate to see what would happen if he did. Henry also isn't immortal, so I think you win," Ragin said, petting Henry's chin. He rumbled in pleasure and Mr. Puffin pushed out his chest.

"That's right!"

Iceland chuckled at the smaller puffin on his shoulder, "You're going to get a big head, Mr. Puffin." The avian huffed and flew off. The family was weird, but regardless, in 930, the Icelandic Commonwealth was founded.

* * *

 **Just FYI, Iceland's government had its shit together in the beginning. Look it up, that solved a lot of shit with arbitration. From what I gather, when Iceland came to ban pagan practices, the government met, a third party weighed the argument between pagan and christianity, chose christianity, and Iceland was baptized. Things got rough after a few hundred years, but that place was democratic. America, take notes on these guys, they knew what they were doing waaaaaaay before England even found you.**

 **It was the same general past. Norwegians wanted to get away from Fairhair, so they went to Iceland and set up a government to make sure that a king didn't rule them. It worked for a while, people began to battle for control and soon, Norway came in and took over again, slowly and peacefully. It makes me really happy when history does things peacefully instead of killing everyone.**


	81. Chapter 73

**Hey guys! Spring break, but I have some stuff I need to say.**

 **Parlemour: Thanks! It means a lot!**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks! Very few people can remember the last time they went to a Sonic's. For all accents, Italian yes, but just 'American' for the english language. It will, and it shall be great, just like a museum tour! It's going to be after he's stuck in a tree though. She is, but she's a badass, that's how (Read: I don't know). He was ok! The age of kingdoms is coming! France in 987, Hungary in 1000, Poland in 1025, and a few have come and are around in the story, but a few still have to come. He will! He is, but remember, Iceland is like Ireland before the vikings: No one bothered with him. The Romans didn't even bother with Ireland that much.**

 **Ok, this last bit absolutely crushed me. In complete honesty, other than a small want to learn, your reviews are the only thing that keep me writing this POS. It lets me know that, yes, people out there read this and like this! Your comments make me laugh and I look forward to them! I love going through and getting commentary- it tells me despite all the shit that I'm putting these through, people still read this. So, to hear you beat yourself over this is a slap in the face to me as well, because if you think they're annoying, then some comments I've written are down-right atrocious. Guys, I love reviews and I don't judge because you've put up with my bullshit and mistakes so far. So, thank you guys who have gotten this far. You guys keep me writing this. So I'll tell you guys something I've never admitted so far. This was actually supposed to be some Jason borne shit where Carina found HRE and her mom had some weird connections back to the countries, but they had to find a way to get the attention of the nations. It was supposed to end when HRE found his family and it was supposed to have a happy ending. Things shifted and now it's this. So thank you, Anon, Hoppy, everyone who has kept me writing. It means a lot.**

 **Anyway, back on track.**

 **Old English**

 _Flashback in modern English_

Old high german

Italian

* * *

Norway watched as his king was buried in a mound. His face was twisted into a frown and Ragin stood next to him patiently. Compared to France, she didn't know Norway that well, so she didn't know what to do. The woman took half a step forward and took his hand carefully. Norway looked at her and nodded in appreciation, gripping her hand tightly.

In the Early 930s, roughly 931 or 932, Harold Fairhair died. His lands were partially divided up, but some of it went to his son, Eric "Bloodaxe" Haraldsson (1).

* * *

In 932, Elizabeth decided to have a bit of fun. Sailing over there, she had a whole plot of jokes to do. Personally, she had been waiting to do this for years. 932 was the year one of her favorite movies, minus the sex scenes, took place in 932. Oh, she was going to have some fun. It started when she peeked in and shouted " **NI**!" at the top of her lungs and dashed out of the room as fast as she could. England got his revenge when he cast a small spell and she went tumbling down the stairs. She would continue to spam him throughout the year.

Next came the killer rabbit. Elizabeth got a live rabbit and waited until he woke up. Placing the rabbit in a corner, she pointed her sword at it. " **Elizabeth, what in the bloody hell are you doing this time**?" Her brother came up behind her and she shushed him.

" **Shhh! It's a killer! If you go any closer, I don't think I can protect you**!" The door opened and a 'page' came in.

" **E-England- Ooh! A bunny**!" He raced forward toward the rodent and he had his 'throat' torn out. England flew back and Elizabeth laughed and let the magic fall. The rabbit was revealed to still be in the corner and the page wasn't even there.

" **ELIZABETH**!" She ran out, laughing. Once again, she fell down the stairs.

He finally kicked her out near of the end of the year when she worked throughout the night to quietly fill the entire room with shrubbery. It wasn't until one of his brothers years in the future showed him the film that he finally understood.

* * *

 _America grinned as he stuck in the film and England cocked his head, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail? What in the hell is this?"_

 _"The funniest documentary ever. You have to see it!" The elder huffed and crossed his arms. His eyebrows rose when he saw the knights who say Ni, and he choked on his tea when he saw the shrubbery. It was the killer rabbit that did him in._

 _"PAUSE IT!" America jumped and reached for the phone as his brother pulled out his phone. "LIBERTY, YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON TO MAKE THESE MONTY PYTHON JOKES!"_

 _America chuckled as he heard his mother's response, "I was bored. It was 932. I was trying to have fun before the world ended!"_

 _"LIBERTY! DON'T YOU DAR-" He sighed and put the phone down. "I'm assuming you want the story?"_

 _The blue-eyed man grinned and leaned back, "With you and Mom? Always? What the fuck happened-"_

 _"Swear jar," Ollie growled, but Arthur quickly took back over, "Liberty decided to prank me all throughout 932 with references to this movie. The most persistent was 'Ni'."_

 _America laughed and threw a quarter into the across the room to make Ollie happy, "Dude, that sounds like her!"_

 _"It does, but don't get any ideas."_

 _"Too bad," The adult grinned and texted his mom. 'Anything I can tease Artie with?'_

 _'Geronimo.'_

 _'lol'_

* * *

Amalia looked at Hun and Hungary across the room from her place by Holy Rome and Henry. "I hope you know what you're doing," She whispered to Holy Rome.

"I trust Henry. He took a page from his enemy and learned more about the way they fight before doing... that," He growled. A dead dog carcass was thrown in front of the nations, who were less than impressed. Hun looked at the small blonde and they glared at each other, affirming the declaration of war. The small kid watch him leave, "We've been paying a tribute to them for the past nine years and Henry's done all he can to study their fighting and to prepare."

"Then I trust him. You Germanics do not fuck around, trust me..." Amalia muttered and went to go sharpen her blades and ax.

The armies met on, of course, March 15, 933, and it was very carefully planned out. Holy Rome gripped his sword as he watched some of his citizens go out as a decoy. The light infantry left first and once Henry the Fowler knew that they were being attacked, he sent out the heavier cavalry, including the immortals. The two nomads grinned when they saw the plan Henry had set and took off. Whereas the Huns would be a quick and accurate force, so he had to beat them with a similar, but larger forces. He did. With light casualties on each side, the Hungarians retreated swiftly. The wouldn't invade East Francia again until after Henry's death.

Holy Rome's color returned to him after the battle, one reason being that a few of his soldiers declared Henry emperor after the defeat. While he might have had to just go to Rome and get it confirmed, the king remained in East Francia, which was probably a wise idea. Last Amalia heard, the Hungarians were out picking a fight with the Byzantines and winning. In the next year, the germanic state headed north and defeated Danmark, conquering Hedeby. (2)

On July 2, 936, the inevitable happened. Henry passed away from a stroke and the kingdom was set up for succession, but Holy Rome knew better than his big brother in the west. He had Henry keep the kingdom together and passed to his choice. Otto had an older brother, but he was cast out as his mother used to be in a convent and had left. Because his mother had given up all rights to the church, Thankmar wasn't an option. Otto had a younger brother who was also a decent choice. According to Henry's wife, Henry I (the son) was born when the king had more power, and took his name, but Amalia and Holy Rome stepped in.

Amalia grinned and looked at Holy Rome during dinner a few days after Henry's death. "You still have Aachen, right?"

The blonde looked up, "Yes, why?"

"Well, you do remember who loved that place, right? Then again, you were just a baby, you might not remember..."

Holy Rome's eyes widened and he laughed, "That's a good idea. Otto, there's a cathedral in Aachen that I would like you to take note of. There's someone I want you to meet there."

Amalia chuckled, "That's one way to put it." Otto shrugged and agreed to be crowned there. Thus, on August 7, he was crowned, not just anywhere, but the capital and burial place of Charlemagne. Although he was a Saxon, Otto tried to make an impression by dressing as a Frank, but Amalia kept shaking her head the entire night. The Carolingian era was over in Holy Rome. This king was German.

He showed the Hungarians he was such when they tried to invade, but he pushed them west. Amalia went to Italy to check on her brothers. Veneziano told her that Hungary had pillaged and burned a few of his cities.

"What?" Fortuna growled. Veneziano tilted his head in confusion and Luciano took over.

"He-a means that some of those-a areas were burned on the-a request of some of our-a bullshit rulers. Hungary is-a pretty nice, but she does go too-a far sometimes, but I-a blame her Nonno," He huffed, crossing his arms.

She looked at the boy in her arms with a raised eyebrow, "So are you telling me that when I go south, Romano's going to tell me the same?"

The kid shrugged and stretched, "It's Roma, who the-a fuck knows." Fortuna frowned and paused.

"Wait, have you met him?" The woman asked, looking at Luciano with a deep frown.

"The idiota figured it-a out." She smiled and nodded, "I'm heading South, but I'll see you two on my way back up." Lucinao nodded and let Feliciano take back over. He took a small strand of hair in hand.

"See you soon, Sorellona?"

Fortuna smiled and kissed the crown of his head, "Always." He smiled and let her go. She managed to make it to her brother before Hungary did and knocked as she entered.

"Romano?" A head peeked itself out from a doorway and the woman fell to knees with a smile. "Hey, Romano. I'm home."

He snorted and took a step out, "It-a took you long enough. I was starting to-a worry you got brain-a damage and forgot about-a me." Fortuna sighed through her nose.

"Never, Romano. You're my brother. You haven't disowned me yet, somehow, so I don't see why I can't come back. How have you been?"

"The past 80 years have been decent. You got a haircut," Romano noted, standing in front of her with his arms crossed.

She winced, "Thanks. Things have been weird. England's a kingdom, the Vikings are getting their asses kicked and Hungary is learning from her Nonno how to devastate Europe."

He raised an eyebrow, "So same-a shit as always?"

"Pretty much. Peaches?"

He nodded and she smiled, "Come on, get your-a lazy ass up, Ragazza."

"Fine, fine! I'm here to help!" She picked up up and placed him on her shoulder and went out to the garden. His backyard was still teeming with various plants and she noted that spinach plants still dominated a corner and the peach trees were all but one in the middle of it all. Romano stood carefully on one of her shoulders to get two of the fruit. Nestling themselves at the base, the siblings ate. "So I heard you met Luciano."

Romano choked on the food, "You-a know him?!"

"Yeah. In case the same happens to you, Romano-"

He growled, "It won't-a happen."

She frowned, "IF-"

"WON'T," He stressed, squeezing the fruit.

"Romano, listen to me," Fortuna pleaded. The kid shook, but sagged. "If it does happen, if a part of your mind snaps, I will not judge you, either side of you. You're still my fratello, my country. Their actions will not affect my view of you and vice versa. No matter what happens, Romano Italia, I will always be your sister and your citizen. I could get married a thousand times and still be South Italian. You are my heart, Roma," She swore. Romano looked up at her with tears in his eyes and grinned.

"I love you, Carina."

She choked and pulled him into a hug, "I love you too, Romano Italia."

* * *

 **I realized a while ago that not once since this began that anyone had told Lady Luck they told her, other than when Luciano and Ollie met. I needed this in at some point.**

 **(1) If you're ever in Iceland (The rest of Scandinavia stopped doing this, but Iceland still does it to this day), you'll see surnames that either end in sson or dottir. The word in front of that is their parents name, so if someone's name is Fred Olafsson, then one of their parents' names is Olaf, or if its a girl, then it would be Fredicka Olafsdottir.**

 **(2) The Vikings were everywhere and some settled in Northern France as part of an agreement to help protect a king. Those are the Normans. Hedeby is also the place where she first met Danmark.**

 **I got lazy with this chapter, I'm a little tired...  
**


	82. Chapter 74

**I really shouldn't be writing this right now, I'm tired. And guys, you need to see this. On Hetarchive or whatever the english translations site for comics is, go to the world stars and there's a bunch with the brothers grimm. There'll be one that'll catch your eye (You'll know it when you see it) and it blew my mind. It's hilarious! A while back, I went and changed who Prussia was. I have a general thought of how I'm going to finish this and you guys are not going to like it.**

 **AnonChan1: Schools need to get their shit together. True and Vodka aunt? Do you remember it? True, but watch the video: APH} ME for details, it's really cool for her part. True! You guys mean a lot and other than a few comments, go nuts! She will. IT IS. My Mom used to show me bits and pieces of it, so it's great. YES. And the dead dog was a declaration of war. It actually went perfectly fine! He is and we're all happy. Basically. We haven't seen anything yet, or at least I think so. *Laughs* He's not showing up for a while. Give it a few hundred years. Yep! NO! DEJU VU MUCH?!**

 **Hoppy854: Thanks! I'm hoping to do Downton abbey and 'how bad can I be' (Thank my brother) at some point, but do you have any ideas? I... don't watch much TV...**

Italian/Latin

 _ **Middle Persian**_

Old English

* * *

Romano growled as felt his body ache and various bruises begin to dot his skin, "Ragazza, do you know what you're doing?"

She looked at him, "I'm not the only one doing this, Roma." The climb up the Abruzzo mountains was interesting, but the two siblings weren't the only ones. Some fellow Italians were climbing them with various blades and weapons. "Trust me." He hummed and tucked his head into her arm to nap. It vaguely reminded her of their previous Vesuvius hikes and her heart clenched in regret.

The reason they were climbing the mountain in the first place was a risky bet. The Hungarians had entered Southern Italy and the asshole ruler this time was Hugh of Italy. He asked for their help to aid the Byzantines, so they came and divided in the south, plundering the various areas. If the woman learned anything about the Huns in her time with them, they did not like taking the same way out as they did in. They went by Rome, so at least some of them would leave through the mountains. The battle of Chalons proved they didn't fear them. It took a while to get up the mountain, but they did manage it. She grappled behind a rock and let Romano sit in her lap to nap as she sharpened her blade.

One of the men came up to her and took a seat across from her. She said nothing and didn't look up. The man said nothing and they sat in comfortable silence. After their weapons were sharp enough to their standards, they waited, but the sun wasn't quite down yet. The man, who Fortuna now notice was a young teen with a similar hair color to her own, yawned. "Hey, kid. You can rest. I'll wake you up when they're here."

He jumped and looked at her and his eyes widened, "Mom?"

"What?" Fortuna looked at him in confusion. Another teen came up beside him and smacked him upside the head.

"Forget it, Hadrian. Mom's dead, you know that," The older growled. Romano huffed as he woke up slowly.

He looked between the two kids and frowned, "Who the-a fuck are you?"

Fortuna smiled, "Just some friends, Roma." She paused for a moment. " ** _I look like their dead mom._** " Romano froze and looked up at her.

"Oh..." He turned to the teens, "Sorella's going to-a make sure you get-a home to your-a dad, ok?"

Hadrian swallowed and looked at them, "He, uh..." Fortuna frowned.

"Then find me after the Huns pass. They're not going to hurt you three, don't worry," She swore.

The older kid frowned, "Says what?"

Romano crawled out of her lap so she could stand, "Listen here, kid-"

"I'm twenty-one," He growled.

She ignored him, "I'm..." She halted to count just how old she was. "Shit, Roma, it's 937, right? Then I'm... just over 875 years old. What's your name, kid?"

"He's Valerian," Hadrian spoke up from behind them. Fortuna and Romano laughed.

"Your-a parents named you after-a Roman Emperors?"

The older brother blinked, "Well, yeah. Our family's been here since the beginning."

Fortuna smiled, "So has Romano. But you're not the only one who's lost family."

Hadrian looked up, "Who?"

The sound of horses caught her attention and she gripped her blade, "I'll tell you after this. Hadrian, keep and eye on Roma. Hun's already played hell with one of us." Romano opened his mouth, but Valerian and Fortuna took off. Luckily, it was a relatively small unit, but of course, Hungary was in it. The child nation caught sight of Fortuna and growled.

"Really?!"

Fortuna laughed, "I fucking told you to stay out of Italy, did I not? SOUTHERN Italy, none-the-less!" Various horsemen rushed by, but their pride didn't allow for them to turn down an easy challenge. The raiders were looted, but sent on their way. Valerian and Hadrian managed to stay alive through the whole thing and watched the older woman fight. The rest of the Hungarians left, all but Hungary, at least and Fortuna scooped her off the horse. "Hey, are you ok?"

The child huffed, "You're seriously asking me that?"

"Whatever, but Hun would have my ass if he found out we had a fight and you got hurt," Fortuna admitted. He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, put me back on Aster so we can leave!" Fortuna ruffled his hair again and put him back on the horse before the two took off into the night.

"Holy shit, you weren't kidding, were you?"

Fortuna looked at Valerian and grinned, "What? He's a sweet kid, no matter his violent tendencies! I blame his Grandpa, but if you're an immortal, you kinda have to be a little violent to stay alive..."

Romano shook his head and reached up, "Come on, Fortuna! I'm-a tired and I want to go-a home!" She nodded and cleaned her bloody blade off on her leg, picked up a few loose coins she had collected and she and her brother and started down the mountain.

"Wait, Mo-Fortuna!" They looked back at Hadrian as he followed them. "C-Can we go with you? T-There isn't much we can do here! We're alone!"

She sighed and looked at Romano. He shrugged, but looked back at the two, "Fine. Follow-a Ragazza. It gets-a lonely around the-a house." The mortal's face lit up and he smiled.

"R-Really?"

Romano blushed and looked down, and his sister laughed, "Roma misses interacting with people sometimes, but..." Hadrian nodded.

Valerian looked at the nation, "You're shy?" Fortuna chuckled as Romano began yelling at his citizen. Either way, Valerian and Hadrian got a new caretaker and Romano got some friends, but only for about thirty years. People didn't live long.

She stayed with her brother and the two adopted boys until 944 when Henry arrived from a return trip to England. She unrolled the message at from her seat at the breakfast table. The two brothers were already out working at a nearby dock, so it was only her and Romano. She slammed her head into the table and sighed. "Roma."

"Who is it this-a time?"

"England. A large amount of homes have been completely destroyed by a storm and he's going to try to push the Vikings out of England for good," She sighed, resting her chin on the table.

He munched on the oatmeal and shrugged, "Why-a not? I'll-a tell the brothers."

"Thanks, Roma. I'll try to be back soon," Fortuna grinned and stood up. She went and grabbed her bag and weapons before coming back into dining room. She put a kiss on Romano's temple. "See you, Fratello. Write me if anything happens."

Romano swatted her away with with a small smile on his face, "Yeah, yeah, see you-a later, Ragazza." Fortuna grinned and left for England. When the kid had said 'large amount', it didn't prepare her for the destruction. 1500 homes in London alone were demolished and England was struggling to help his people rebuild, but there was a plus side, but it wasn't in the front of her mind as she dropped everything and went to her brother to help put a wall up. Her form towered over his shorter one.

"Hey, Al," She smiled down at him, holding the wood up as another man at a corner bound it place.

The blonde huffed, "It's about time you got here. Edmund's hoping to take Northumbria soon."

Elizabeth's eyebrows rose, "Aren't you guys having problems right now?"

"If a giant storm came over all of England, it probably hit Scotland and those buggers as well. They're having just as much trouble," He huffed, walking towards his sister's dropped gear. "You need to treat your stuff better."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, thanks, Mom." A giggle came from England and she laughed. "Hey, Ollie. So, are we going to be heading North soon?"

"If Edmund says we can, then yes." She nodded and they continued to help people rebuild. Later that night, Elizabeth helped him pull out some of the splinters he had gotten with a trick China and her Mother taught her when she was younger. "Bess, why are you boiling water?"

"All in good time. Do you have a bottle on you?" The woman asked as she looked through her own bag.

He cocked his head, "In the chest. What are you doing?"

"A trick my mother taught me when I told her I could climb the old spruce tree in the backyard before the branch I was on broke off and gave me half a dozen splinters and even more scrapes," The auburnette responded easily and England winced. "Eh, I was ten, I was fine. Give me a moment and this might take a while." She grabbed the glass and went to the steaming pot. Pouring the hot water in to nearly the top, she came back to her brother. "Are there any splinters you're worried about?"

Al huffed, "Well, all of them!" Her blank look made his reconsider and pointed to one in the palm of his hand. "This one. Unless I use magic, I don't think I can get it out."

Elizabeth pursed her lips, "I'd rather not resort to that, but let me see it? This might burn a little bit." She took her brother's hand and pressed it to the bottle and he winced.

"Bloody-!" A small growl let her know Ollie took that last word out of his mouth. "What about the rest?"

"I'll get the others, relax," She said and and looked at his other hand. A few splinters stood out proudly and the auburnette took them between her nails carefully. "You need to wear gloves or something next time."

"Yeah yeah..." She grinned and ruffled his hair. "Would you quit it?!" England huffed, but calmed down, "We'll go talk to Edmund tomorrow."

They did and the king's army managed to take Northumbria back, but they also took Strathclyde in 945. In a good move, he gave the land back to the King of Scotland.

The redhead raised a finger, "Wai'. Yer tellin' me tha' you'll give te lan' ye jus' took from me bac' if we give each other military suppor'?"

England sighed and pinched his nose, "Yes, Scottie. Or, you know, I could keep the land and attack you."

"No' if I attack ye first," Scotland growled. Elizabeth sighed.

"Peaches you two, can you stop and actually think about it? England, you're in a bad spot right now and you need safe borders, but you would have to defend the new land or invade Scotland. Scotland, England has been kicking the shit out of Danmark and the others, something you could maybe need help with. He also has a decent army and he's your only border country you have to worry about. Mutual military aid could go a long way between you two," She ranted. Scotland looked at her and huffed.

"Fine."

She sagged in relief, "Thank you. I'd say hug it out, but that seems like that's pushing it." The brothers snorted in agreement. Edmund didn't stick around, as he died May 26, 946, when he was succeeded by his brother. Eadred's reign would be challenged by two, but they would only remain challengers. Olaf, a god-family to the king, tried his hand to be king of York, but was run out.

Then there was the other competitor to the crown. Eric Bloodaxe, son of Harold Fairhair, tried his luck. People did support him and Northumbria partially rebelled against the king. Eadred went on a rampage of destruction and one main thing caught her attention. England had to get the help of a few guards to hold her back when she found out. He had burned Ripon Cathedral.

She wasn't mad because it was a 'holy place', but rather the history of it. The king went and burned the church Saint Wilfrid and her brothers' citizens built so painstakingly in 672 and her old friend was buried in. Her brother was barely able to calm her down when he told her Wilfrid's crypt survived the damage.

Eadred's rampage put the rebels to rest as he promised greater destruction if Northumbria didn't calm down. The area did and paid compensation for the damages. Olaf came back, but was again, driven out, Eric came back in the wake of Olaf's second defeat, but he was once again cast out in 954. England was fully united.

In 955, three hearts broke.

* * *

 **Really bad cliff hanger, but I'll give y'all a guess at what happens. Also, I am so done with Eadred and his Oh-my-god-what-the-fuck-are-you-doing nephew. You'll find out soon.**


	83. Chapter 75

**Get me away from the computer. Please. I've been listening to This is Gospel on loop more than what is probably safe for my mental health.**

 **AnonChan1: True, but one can wish. I was just confused, but I looked it up. My mom mom says the Vodka aunt in our family is on my dad's side and quite frankly, I agree with her. Dad's side is fucking weird. EX: My grandpa cut off part of his thumb when he was working in his workshop and then proceeded to tell little kids that's what happened when you sucked on your thumb- it would pop right off. Rest in peace, Grandpa. Alright! Let me know and 'll see what I can do to help! Yeah. Things were planned back then. He will be, but I'll twist it somehow. Like, you know how 2Ps are supposed to be exact opposites, but Romano says he hates everyone but secretly loves people? Think about that with Flavio. You have right not to trust me. I always go back to sadness at some point. It sucks, and kinda, but it was the spur of a moment thing. You went there, and actually I was kinda ifish about putting like that, but yeah. That's the whole reason Hun said Hungary was a guy the entire time. WHAT? What? He's not tiny. He's a few inches shorter than LL at this point. True.**

Proto-Hungarian

 **Old High German**

 **Trigger warning: Slight gore and mentions of torture.**

* * *

Amalia was traveling towards Augsburg, hoping she wasn't too late when a familiar presence came to her side. " **You're on the wrong side of the river.** "

" **Damnit, you think I don't know that?! I'll figure something out! Am I too late**?"

The man frowned, " **It's raging, but if you're asking if he's still alive-** "

" **YES**!"

" **Then, yes, Hun is still alive, why**?"

She growled and gripped her ax, " **Hungary needs to be able to say goodbye, especially since you got that luxury, huh**?" The man snorted and kept pace with the running girl.

" **The river's too strong** ," He grunted.

" **Damnit, stop telling me what I can and can't do**!" She reached the river and was horrified by the sight. Yes, Hun was getting his ass handed to him, but that also meant Hungary wasn't without her own problems. The German forces under Otto were chasing the Hungarian force back between the two raging rivers and she was powerless to do anything. " **Shit**!" Amalia cried. The man next to her put his hand on her shoulder and she growled. " **I'm getting over there."**

" **I know. You know where this battle heads. Get ahead of it** ," He said. Amalia nodded and took off along the bank. She didn't stop running until she found a few varying sand banks and risked it. " **Go, you have my support.** "

She smiled back at him, " **Thanks, Germania. Anything you want me to tell Hun**?"

A sad smile danced across his face, " **Nothing I can't tell him later. Go.** " The woman nodded and paddled to the small sand backs. Her head dipped under in a few places, but something supported her occasionally and she knew just who it was between the bobs. A few sounds of horses would stomp by as she crawled out and travelled away from the battlefield. Two horses came up on either side of her and one rider scooped her up by the front on her shirt.

"Neylan, what are you doing here?!" She looked up to see Hun frowning at her as blood dribbled down his face. Her eyes widened in fear and his face softened as he lightly slapped the sides of her face, "C'mon, none of that."

Hungary hummed from her place beside her Grandad, "You're supposed to be somewhere else!"

"I-I had to come here! You two don't much time lef-" A third, faster horse came up beside the three and to their horror, it was a German soldier. The man looked at Amalia and his eyes widened, swiping his sword at Hun.

The two girls watched as Hun was powerless against the blade- his hands were full. Neither could tear their eyes away from the stunned, but seemingly... accepting nation as the blade entered his neck. Blood rained onto Amalia's body and her old tormentor's body slumped on hers. A thump echoed behind them as his head fell off his body and probably wouldn't be found again. Hungary's cry snapped the woman out of her trance and she screamed, grabbing her ax and burying it in the German soldier's collar. He shouted, falling off the horse and Neylan panted as she now had to deal with Hungary, who was slipping into shock, and Hun's body.

Neylan grabbed her friend's reins and pulled the two to a stop. The child bawled and began to hyperventilate as the woman pulled them to the side quickly. "H-Hungary, listen to me, we don't have much time." He shook his head and looked at his grandfather's body. Neylan growled and gripped the child's shoulders. "Hun, forgive me." She slapped Hungary and managed to get her attention.

"Listen to me, we don't have long. You're going to hate me for a long time, but we need to set a decoy. Pull your shit together," She pleaded as tears poured out of her eyes. "Hun would want me to keep you safe and I am so sorry." Standing up, Neylan forced herself to remove the dead's weapons and forced them back on the horses. Hun's body was lax and it was a struggle, but she managed to get him to stay on the horse. The soldier was still barely alive and she forced him back on his horse and took his smaller possessions. Slapping the rear of the soldier's horse, he took off.

Hungary was bawling when he realized what Neylan was doing, "N-No! Not G-Granddad!"

Neylan let some tears out, "If the Germans come through, they'd get suspicisous if there's a dead Hun here!"

"He's not just some Hun!" The child screamed, drawing his grandfather's old blade. It fit easily in his hand and it swung just as easily. It buried itself in Neylan's shoulder. The woman's cry seemed to wake Hungary a little as he dropped the blade. With a squelch, it fell out of her friend's arm. "I-I-I'm-"

"Are you done yet?" Neylan growled. "This is what Hun wanted to keep you from becoming. You're no better than he was in the past." The sounds of more horses made her pause and she sent of Hun's horse with a sharp thwak. Hungary tried to chase the equine, but the auburnette grabbed her with her good arm and held her up as if he was a small son of hers. As the hoofbeats drew closer, Neylan looked down, "I'm sorry, but play along." With that, she screamed as loud as she could.

Holy Rome's eyes widened when he heard the scream in the woods nearby, " **Fredrick, Ludvig, come with me**!" With a subtle change in direction, they charged into a bloody grove. The small nation's eyes were drawn to the quivering woman he came to know as a good friend cradling his enemy.

" **P-Please, get us out of here**!" Amalia begged shakily. Ludvig cocked his head.

" **How do we know you're not with the Huns**?"

The woman didn't skip a beat, " **P-Please! They j-just came through here and attacked me and my child**!" Fredrick dismounted and came around the woman. " **Please, just get us out of here! I don't want to run into any more of them!** " She sent a looked over to Holy Rome and her eyes danced with a silent plea.

Holy Rome raised an eyebrow, but nodded. " **I'll get them back to the camp, keep going**." The warriors nodded and quickly took off. " **You better have a good explanation for that**."

Neylan sighed, " **Just give us time, please**." He nodded and they climbed on behind him. Hungary trembled in the woman's grasp. "Shhh, it'll be ok." The kid shook his head and buried his head in her shoulder. "Just sleep for now." Holy Rome cast them a sympathetic glance as they returned to the camp without much issue. Henry actually had them return to the capital, Magdeburg. Hungary didn't wake the entire trip and nothing was said.

When they arrived at the capital, Holy Rome took them away to their room, " **Is... Is it going to be safe sleeping in the same room as him**?" He asked.

Amalia sighed, " **I don't know. Just give us a bit of time. Can you use a different room for a while**?" He nodded and grabbed a spare change of clothes.

" **I still want to know what happened** ," Holy Rome said before he left. Amalia sighed and nodded. Somehow her bag way in the far corner and she smiled.

" **Germania, I owe you a lot right now.** " Grabbing it and plopping on the foot of the bed, she took off her overclothes, leaving her in her underwear that she managed to piece together. She looked at the open wound in her shoulder facing Hungary at the current moment and opened her bag. Taking out the needle and thread, she began to sew it up, dabbing alcohol on it every once in a while.

A small hiss that wasn't her own made her look up, "W-W-What are you doing?!" Neylan chuckled lightly and looked over at the blushing kid.

"What, never seen a half-naked woman before?"

"N-N-No..."

The auburnette sighed, "Ignore that for a moment and come here, I need to tell you a story. I'm not going to do anything weird, but I'm going to teach you how to patch up a wound." Hungary nodded and swallowed nervously, creeping up beside her. "Alright, so you need to dig the needle deeper than the wound. This ensures that it'll heal without tearing as much. Anyway, do you notice how many scars I have?"

The child's eyes looked over her form and the woman waited patiently. Hungary's eyes widened as he saw more and more. A large chain tattoo covered her lower back and two more peeked out from the half-shirt she wore. A long, thin scar curved down her back and Neylan moved the 'sports bra' a little lower to show the scar doing across her shoulder blade, "There's a matching one on the other." He nodded and his eyes found several small holes in her arms, the wound the woman was patching up and then his eyes went south. Her legs had so many scars lining them that it looked like a bird's feathers in his mind, layered one on top of each other, but they were a little different from the ones his grandpa had. Normally, scars would heal slightly before a new one came, unless they were acquired within a small amount of time.

"Remember when I said we all do things we regret and I needed to keep my head on straight?" Hungary's eyes came back to Neylan, who stared at him patiently. The woman drifted her gaze out to the full moon and sighed. "I believe it was... 447 when I came back from one of my brothers, the one on the island across from France." The child nodded and waited. "Your Nonno, er, Grandpa was sweeping his way across the land, kinda like you've been doing, under a man called Attila the Hun."

"I remember him! Grandpa called him the best ruler he had had in years!"

Neylan chuckled, "For him, maybe. Don't interrupt. But I was coming from my brother's place and he wanted me to take a message over to my grandpa to ask for help against the Germanic tribes coming in, and I was on my way, when I heard about Hun tearing through. I told the others to head to Grandpa Rome without me, that I would catch up. There was a problem. On a decent horse, how long does it take to get from West Francia to the Rus?"

Hungary tipped his head back in thought, "A while, I think."

"Yeah. I went three days without sleeping, on my way to protect my family. I was stupid, thinking I could take on an army or trying to convince the Huns to stop," She growled, pouring more vodka on her wound. "Shit that stings. Anyway, do you know who I am?"

He tilted his head, "You're Neylan...?"

She smiled, but shook her head, "No, my personification, what I represent."

"No, Grandpa never told me," The brunet whispered, clenching his fists in the blankets as tears popped into his eyes.

Neylan hissed again as she broke the thread with her teeth and threw her shirt back on, "I'm Luck. Some of nations are calling me Lady Luck because of the amount of names I have. I fell asleep on the horse after three days and when I woke up, there was a sword in my face. Attila and your grandpa found me. They found me, disarmed me, and tied me to a cross, hanging me by my wrists and ankles. Your grandfather was the one who usually did the dirty work, and the first thing he ever did to me, after I broke his nose, of course-"

Hungary's eyes twinkled with a chuckled before his eyes went dull again, "He never did tell me what happened."

Neylan brought her knees up to her chest and Hungary ran his fingers over the scars, "He sliced the area right above my throat. He meant it to show that I was at his mercy, that if I defied them, he wouldn't be so careful next time." She lifted her chin and showed the kid the thin line running on the underside of her jaw, from ear to ear. Only people who are shorter than me and in the right light can see it. From that day on for the next five years, I was either watching your grandpa rip villages and villagers apart from the top of my cross, sitting in a quiet, dark room with only my hallucinations, or on the back of your grandpa's horse, watching the earth go by. I wished I was dead so many times..."

"What?" Hungary asked as he sagged, taking in the information. Was his Grandpa not who he said he was? "B-But Grandpa said you two fought together!"

She smiled, "It wasn't a complete lie. I was aiding their side with my 'lucky aura', but I was more prisoner tan anything. I can't stand being anywhere near a cross, I hate going in churches because of it, but... I think that's another reason Hun did a cross. He did it to mentally attack Rome and me. But that cross also helped me. If it had been any lower, I probably could have been gutted on a weakly basis, but I was also kept alive.

"It all came to an end when he attacked Frank. He had the help of Rome and the Visigoths, but they did make your grandpa turn around. They got me down off that cross and here I am..."

Hungary shook his head, "N-No! That can't be then end!"

Neylan laughed, "You're a smart one. I still fear him, even now. I get night terrors and flashbacks because of him, but we did manage to heal a bit. It was... 585 when..." She swallowed. It was always so hard to bring him up, but the woman made sure to reminder herself of him. "...Sasa, or Persia, went to go convert your Grandpa to Christanity. I got upset, he came after me, and he promised he wouldn't let anything happen to me."

Hungary giggled at the small blush coming up on his friend's face, "You liked him~"

"Yeah, I never got to tell him, but I did. We reached your grandpa's camp and it was really tense. We were a breath away from drawing our blades when a sound cut us off, Hungary. Do you know what that sound was?"

He shook his head, "A horse?"

Neylan grinned and poked his nose, "It was you. You're the reason we didn't fight and you're the reason that he softened up. He admitted he regretted when he did. I admitted that I would never forgive him for what he did those years. I told him there was only going to be one way I was going to accept his apology. You remember it."

"To raise me as a better person..." Hungary whispered and his eyes widened in realization. The child touched the fresh wound and tears slipped out of his eyes. "I-I didn't know! You-you have to forgive Grandpa! I-I was mad, but... But... I'm sorry." The woman smiled and placed a kiss on top of his head.

"That's exactly what I'm doing. He raised you to be better than he was. This time, when he invaded, he didn't just invade whatever he felt like invading. He sized them up and he taught this to you. You know how to fight. You know when to give up. You regret your actions hours after inflicting a wound on me, whereas it took your Grandfather years. You're the better person that he raised you to be," She whispered. Looking up and pulling her pants on, she went over to the window.

"DO YOU HEAR THAT, YOU ASSHOLE, I FORGIVE YOU. I FORGIVE FOR ALL THE SHIT YOU PUT ME THROUGH!" Hungary tearfully laughed and Neylan shut the window. "Alright, storytime's over. Time for bed."

Hungary nodded and scrambled under the sheets, "Wait, one more thing-"

"What?"

"T-That stuff you said earlier..."

Neylan chuckled and crawled under the blankets next to Hungary, "It was mostly an act, but you're still party of a promise. I refuse to be your mother, but I can still keep an eye on you. But also? I didn't mean what I said about you becoming your Grandfather. I forgive you for that if you forgive me for hitting you."

He nodded and yawned, "Ok, I'm alright with that, and it barely hurt. Should I hate Holy Rome?"

The woman paused, "Do you?"

"I don't know yet. It was one of his citizens that killed Granddad, but..."

"He was already dying. He was giving himself up for you," Neylan whispered. Hungary nodded shakily and curled up next to his new protector. "You're going to stay here a few days, but do you remember the latin Veneziano taught you?"

"A little, but I'm still shaky," He admitted.

Neylan nodded and wrapped her arms around the kid, "Don't worry about it, but sleep for now. It's been a long day."

As they slipped off into sleep, a faint shadow appeared in the room and sat at the bed, tucking a strand of hair behind Hungary's ear. "I'm sorry, Baby girl. I'm going to miss you. Neylan will take care of you and I love you so much." The ghost stood and removed a blade from his waist and rested against the wall. "The best for my best."

* * *

 **I hate myself so much right now. This was not supposed to be a chapter of a single day. I felt like I needed this though. It's time to let go. Let's keep going for now and I'm sorry guys, but this was coming. Now, we will return to your irregularly scheduled programming.**


	84. Chapter 76

**I have to try the live interview at McDonalds again... I'll put a note at the bottom on how it goes. Also, peaches help me, I'm lost in Pinterest, get me out of here. I'm also learning what a huge problem Otto had with Italy. Bear with me on this.**

 **Hoppy854: It had to be done! I'll take that as a compliment, and don't worry, I cried too. It killed me...**

 **AnonChan1: Lol, Hahaha, lucky! Kinda. In some twisted, darker part of my mind, Feliciano's the same way. You've seen some of his lines in the anime, right? Welp, whatever. You should, and it's this weird thing where the dead nations try to prevent a few deaths of near-dead nations because it's a way of getting them to say good-bye. If your chance to do some is gone and everyone knows it, you might try to help someone who's a breath away from the wanted position. It was, but it was what came to mind. It will not go away easily. Holy Rome turns Amalia enough and lets her do this. Hungary's remarkably understanding.**

 **Guys, serious, this is mostly history, but if you want the funnier gist, go to the bottom, but this is a short chapter.**

Latin

* * *

Neylan woke to thrashing and out of instinct that came from Romano and Vesuvius, she tightened her grip on Hungary. "Hu-Hungary! Wake up!" He shook his head and tears poured down his eyes.

"G-Grandpa!"

"Hungary!" Holy Rome burst into the room and threw a cup of water at her. The hun coughed as she burst awake. "Hungary, honey, you were having a nightmare!"

The blonde came around the side of the bed and grasped his ex-enemy's hand, "Hungary?" The weeping child looked around to him, "It'll be ok."

The brunet shook him off, "No it won't! Grandpa's dead!"

"Mine is too! So is Amalia's! We know the feeling!" Holy Rome yelled. Hungary paused and looked at each with wide eyes. "We understand, but don't treat us like we don't know."

Amalia nodded, "Hungary, you'll have time to grieve, but your people need you right now. But first, let's get breakfast. Holy Rome, I'm going to go take a bath, I need one, but you two go on ahead. Hungary, what I told you last night? It stays between us, ok?"

Hungary nodded and slipped out of her grasp and beside the other, taller kid, "Of course." The woman sighed in relief and grabbed her bag and slipped into the hall. Thankfully, not many were up yet and the public bathhouses were sure to be free of... screw it, prostitutes. She was right and only a few attendants were walking around. Stripping down to her underwear again, she scrubbed the blood off of her from the day before.

"I'm sorry, Hun. I'm going to take care of her." Silence responded and she laughed.

* * *

Hungary soon returned to her own land and the kid wouldn't come back to western Europe. He knew when to give up. Amalia stayed with Holy Rome for the next several years and she got a letter from England. "Eadwig is dead, Edgar is the complete king, Northumbria is under him." Then came one of the biggest headaches that Amalia had gotten growing up learning about, other than math and science. Otto I, Pope John XII, the former's invasion of Italy and basically 'this fuck-up'. It all started the decade before and is necessary for this story.

It started when Berengar II, yes he's related to Berengar I, did two things, each with a different effect. The first was for the first time Otto had to march down to Italy: he tried to marry the former wife of Lothair, the king of Italy, to his son in 950. Now, here's the effect: Adelaide was a distant relative of Otto's son(Liudolf)'s wife, and families reached out to one another back then. Otto came up to the call and 'knocked Berengar back' when in all honesty, the king had fled. Otto was declared king of Italy and he married Adelaide, giving him a closer tie to the land. Veneziano seemed happy to see the two other immortals, but Holy Rome was giving her brother a cold shoulder. "I have work to do," Was the only explanation given. In Holy Rome's head, he didn't know why he had a growing impulse to protect the small female nation.

Regardless, with the threat gone, Otto felt it was safe to leave Italy, leaving behind a small army, to go face problems in the north in 952. Otto appointed a friend and son-in-law to take care of Italy and he extended an olive branch to Berengar. He could receive his title back on the condition that Otto remain his overlord. The former king and his son agreed and headed north, and Otto signed off on it on a few conditions. A large tribute had to be paid to the Germans, Otto would be in charge of Berengar, and an area in Northern Italy had to be ceded. It was done, but Berengar was very bitter about it.

In 960, the German army was now on its way to Italy for the second reason. Just as one does not invade Russia in the winter, one also does not invade the Papal states in the Middle ages.

Apparently good ol' Berry never got the Memo, because that's exactly what he did, but Pope John XII took a page from Stephen II's handbook and called on outside help and the best nation for the job, other than the Byzantines but the catholic church don't go there, was the king of the Germans. He also added in a sweet deal- the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

Amalia hadn't laughed so hard or so long in the past hundred at the face Holy Rome made when he heard. She still swore up and down for the next 800 years that the wine he was drinking flew across the table and into the king's cup. Otto decided with this new development that the future of his nation needed to be secured. With the son who had helped him years ago in Italy dead, he had to choose a new successor. He chose his son Otto II as his heir and he headed down in 961 and once again stole the title of King of Italy. When he reached Rome, he was declared Holy Roman Emperor, but then the real shit-storm started.

After Otto left to deal with Berengar again, the Pope began to grow fearful of the king's power and resorted to a very desperate move. He sent off a plea for help to the Hungarians and the Byzantines. "That's very stupid," Fortuna growled as she sharpened one of Luciano's daggers for him. He lent it to her to play mind games with John. He jumped from his place at the table and sputtered.

"O-Oh yeah? Why's that?"

Feliciano chuckled darkly and let his other side show, "Because Fortuna knows the-a Hungarians. Even if they-a get past Otto, your envoys will-a be killed on sight if she-a wants them to-a be. The-a Huns can also attack the Byzantine empire so they wouldn't-a have a choice but to put their-a attention to them and not-a you." The woman frowned at the last part and checked the edge of the blade on the center of her palm, holding it up to the light. Blood poured down the blade and John swallowed.

"W-Well, this has nothing to do with you!"

Fortuna snarled, "Well, John, that's where you're wrong." Gripping the blade, her old pugio, nonetheless, she slammed her hands on the desk and John leaned back. "It has everything to do with us. If there's even a remote change that my brothers get hurt and if you dare bring Hungary into this right now, I will not be afraid to kill you myself. Hungary just lost his only caretaker a few years ago and he's going to stay out of here, especially when Holy Rome's here. One of his citizens killed Hun. I still remember Hun's blood pouring down on me when that soldier beheaded him right in front of us, so he's going to stay out of it. Don't you dare fucking say that this has nothing to do with us, because it has to do with everything. So you know what? Send those ambassadors. See what happens." She lefted her hands, noting the bloody handprint absentmindedly, but stomped out of the room.

Luciano followed behind her wordlessly, but when Feliciano took over, he tapped his fingers together, "I-Is it true, Hun is dead? I-Is all of that true?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I need to clean my arm off, but that was fun." He snorted, but continued to follow her.

Otto did manage to stop the envoys in time and he came back to Rome to see what the fuck just happened. With Berengar imprisoned in Germany, he marched on Rome, overthrew John and replaced him with his own Pope. After a bit of back-and-forth, John was back on the chair in 954. It wouldn't last long.

Veneziano never questioned why she left in the middle of the night in May, 964, or why the Pope was found hit in the temples and died eight days later. Either way, the lecherous ass was out of the way and things could be cleared up. Holy Rome sent her North in 965 as he beisiged Rome to get his choice of Pope on the chair and she reluctantly left.

* * *

 **Guys, I'm finding diddly-squat for the next few years, so there is a very good chance a few new characters will be introduced and I might end up skipping a bit. This part gave me a headache, so I made this to help me. So done. The job interview day actually moved to Wednesday, so that's fun!**

* * *

 **Otto seems to be kinda chilling out in Germany, some chick is like, 'OMG, help this old guy is trying to get me to marry his son. I could marry you instead, but only if you come get get me'. He kinda shrugged, came over with his son, who was kinda, 'Dad, I'm going on ahead, see ya!' got his ass handed to him and when daddy dearest came to him, his troops were nearly gone, and Otto wasn't very happy.**

 **Otto came to Pavia, the KoI (King of Italy) wasn't there, so he kinda marched right into Pavia, 'Sup bitches, I'm here, I'm king.' They kinda shrugged, crowned him and he now had to deal with how to treat Italy. 'To be an ass or to not be an ass, that is the question', he said and shrugged again and went with 'ass.' He offered to let the previous KoI, 'Hey, submit to my badassry, pay me a bunch of money yearly, and give me some land, not all of it, but some, and I'll give you your title 'back' and let be the ruler of italy', or something like that.**

 **The old KoI was like, 'dude, I don't like you, but I like being king. I won't like you very much, but I'll be king.' A few years after, he invaded the Papal states and the Pope flipped his shit and asked for help. The Pope was also like 'Oh my god, I should make you a HRE.' Otto was like 'Oh my god, you should totally make me HRE.' So that happened, he ruled Italy for a bit, the pope changed his mind and sent e-vite over to the Hungarians and the Byzantines 'Oh my god, help, this guys is crazy powerful'. Otto got his hands on the e-vites and cancelled them before they got to the reciepients and kicked the Pope off his unicor-high horse, shit.**

 **The pope was run out of Rome after trying to save his ass, returned, drew up a meeting, 'oh my god, you guys, you can't just say I'm not Pope anymore'. He was pope again and was trying to make friendly with Otto when he died. Wonder how that happened.**

 **But that's the thing I used. Damnit, but Drunk history has influenced me too much. This was a headache.**


	85. Chapter 77

**Hey guys! I'm going to try McDonald's again and hopefully they aren't yanking my chain this time. I'm skipping ahead to 973 because of reasons again. A lot of major shit is going to be going down in the next while as we dive deeper into chibitalia. Timothy Reuter is my MVP right now.**

 **AnonChan1: DUDE, REST EARLIER. Kinda, but that also means Luciano is the one who gets attached~ Which ones, PM me. True on both counts. If that's how it shows up, imagine how pissed I am behind the screen. Yay! NO. LATER.**

 **KittyBear98: Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention, but I'm crushed to say that I do not have a saved copy of this. Thus...**

 **If anyone out there has a saved copy of the pre-edits and lets me borrow the 15th chapter name 'Chapter 14', you will be a very honorable mention.**

Latin

 **Old Norse**

 **Old High German**

* * *

Easter in Germany was nice to say the least. There was plenty of good food, the marches on Italy had largely stopped, relations with the Byzantine empire had been improved and she and Holy Rome were no longer at each other's throats as much. There had been a marriage arranged to keep peace with each other, but that's not why this year was special. Amalia looked over to the 'kiddie table' and smiled when she saw a lot of her friends gathered together. She walked over and Veneziano grinned at her, "Ciao, Sorellona!"

"Hey, Venie!" She picked him and Romano up and sat at them smaller table off to the side. "How's it going over here?"

Greece shrugged, "Hungary's being mean..."

Hungary gasped, "Greece! I'm only playing with you!" She sighed and Romano chuckled.

"Pretty much. Just-a wait for the stupido Dan-"

" **FOOD**!" Danmark ran into the table and she growled.

"Danmark! This is a break, calm down!" The woman barked.

The tall teen chuckled and popped some chicken into his mouth, "Sorry!"

"No, you're not. Lithuania, who's that?"

The mousy boy peeked up and smiled, "It's a new friend!"

She blinked, "New?" He nodded and she put her brothers down, putting a kiss on the crown of both of their heads. Romano growled and Veneziano giggled happily, "Be good you two. Feli, listen to Romano and Luciano. Don't get in trouble."

Romano huffed, "Just go already!" Amalia chuckled and went over to her old war buddy and his new friend who was hiding behind him.

"Lith? Who's this?"

A blond head popped himself out, "Who's there?"

Amalia smiled at the kid, but struggled to understand over the west slavic accent, "I am one of many names-"

"Amalia!"

"Fortuna!"

"Neylan!"

"Ragin!"

"Not helping! Speak in latin for fuck's sake so we can understand each other!" Various groans came from around the small table and Lithuania laughed airily. She turned back around and sighed, "These guys really haven't changed in the past few hundred years, but what can we expect?"

The blonde peeked his head out, "Liet, what do you call her?" The woman smiled at the stage-whisper and Lithuania looked over his shoulder.

"I first knew her as Ragin. You can come out, she probably won't bit you."

Danmark threw a piece of cheese at them, "Probably?! She's done it enough!" Romano and Hungary laughed, mostly because they knew it was true. Amalia hung her head and a tiny hand rubbed her hair.

"You have very soft hair," The blonde said, running his finger through it.

"Thank you. I never got your name," Amalia asked, but didn't move her head.

He sat down in front of her and began making a braid, "I'm Poland!"

She smiled and ruffled his hair a little bit, "It's nice to meet you Poland. You're very lucky, I don't think I've ever seen this many immortals together at once before."

Lithuania nodded, "A lot of good could be done right now..." The Rus siblings nodded from their little corner of the table.

"That's not a bad idea..." An idea popped into the woman's head and she frowned, "Might as well get that out of the way. Everyone, can we all head outside?" The nations looked at each other in worry and Poland jumped and caught her wrist. He laughed as she swung him back and forth. "Come on, little one." Romano snorted and took Amalia's other hand.

They all piled out of the castle and made their way into the guarded courtyard, but she turned to Greece, "Do you have any paper and ink on you? I wouldn't be surprised if your mother enforced it." He shrugged and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. "Alright, this is going to sound weird-"

"It-a already is, Ragazza," Romano growled. Veneziano hummed and Danmark laughed in agreement.

Amalia frowned, "Sorry, but I'm trying to make sure the next Lady Luck is moved along easily. Remember the story I told everyone about when I had to go back?"

Hungary's face lit up, "That boring thing? Yeah!" Greece hummed and Belarus nodded shakily.

"It wasn't just a story and I want to make sure everything runs smoothly. With this many nations present, I figured why not do it now. I also need to drag another issue into this. Dead nations might come back," She growled and suddenly, any potential side conversations went out the window. The countries that had lost a guardian were suddenly quiet, most notably Danmark. "Don't anyone lie to me and say that they haven't seen a previous protector. I sure as shit have. We need to bring up the fact that they might come back temporarily to take care of a younger nation. Danmark, you're not an idiot. Iceland wasn't born out of no where."

He clenched his fists, "Damnit, Ragin, you think I don't know that?" Poland tugged on her hand.

"Why is he so sad?"

Amalia sighed and looked down, "Scandinavia raised a handful in the North and a few hundred years ago, a new kid showed up on an island. Scandianvia had visited his newest son, but Danmark's heart hurts because it also meant that Scandinavia was alive and didn't take the time to visit him. But the fucking idiot-" She growled and Danamrk looked up with a snarl, "-Has been ignoring the fact his dad was been there the entire time." His face cleared as a pair of hands appeared on his shoulders.

The boy whirled around and choked, "Fadir?" Scandinavia grinned and pulled his boy into an embrace.

"You little shit, you're going to be taller than your old man here soon."

A hand came on her shoulder, but it wasn't very solid, but then a more material one took to her other shoulder, "Hey, you two."

Germania smiled faintly and Rome laughed, "It's-a been a while!"

Amalia nodded, looking around, but tears came into her eyes when she didn't see anyone. "T-This is why we need this. I want to make sure the next me gets where she needs to be without resistance and to make sure that anytime a... former nation comes up, the rest of us know. If it's more permanent, then the world needs to know."

The nations that had gathered nodded and took varying seats. Rome pulled his boys into his lap and Germania went inside for a brief moment, returning with Holy Rome. "So we have two things we need to address. Nations and the next Lady Luck."

Holy Rome nodded, "If there is any suspicion of a past nation coming back, notice must be sent out."

Hungary huffed, "But what if it's a trap or it's a false alarm?"

"Then we gather only if it's the nation that starts this whole mess, but otherwise, it's just a notice. Is that agreed on?

Romano raised an eyebrow, "But what if-a we don't-a feel like telling everybody?"

Ukraine cocked her head, "Punishment?" Amalia nodded and began writing.

"Code... something. Act one, a certain nation returns for good and it is a call to meet. This can only be called once, but Act Two applies to temporary returns. Act Two, upon this act being called, all nations that sign will notify all other signers that a former immortal is back temporarily. If this is not followed, punishment will be determined. Agreed?" Amalia asked, looking up. They all nodded and she continued and sighed. "I want to make sure my next self is sent back as easily as possible. I used to be mortal, but my mother, the previous Lady Luck, passed me her immortality. That means that I'll have to do the same for my daughter. I don't want you guys interfering in anyway other than meeting her. Can I trust you all with that?"

Her brothers swallowed and Russia looked at her, "You'll be human again?"

She slowly nodded, "I'll be mortal, but it has to transition in the exact same way, or something could end up different and then I'd end up different. But, seeing as my memories haven't changed, I'm going to assume so far that they do, but can I mark down that you guys don't try to keep me in the common day?" Romano gripped her hand and leaned on her.

"Where would-a I sign?" The auburnette put a kiss on the crown of his head.

"Thanks, Roma. So, Act three, a nation shall not interfere when the entire code is called. This can only be called once. Now, what do we call this thing?"

Hungary paused, "What's the color of their aura, the nation?"

Amalia paused, but frowned, "Blue. Their eyes are blue."

Veneziano spoke up, "Then, Code Blue. Is that-a all?" She nodded and signed her 'name' at the bottom. 'Lady Luck' Romano took the pen next and shakily scribbled his name, then Veneziano did the same. Holy Rome took the pen next, passed it to Greece, then Hungary, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Danmark, Lithuania and Poland. The former nations watch their old wards sign it passively and looked around at each other. Magyar appeared behind Hungary.

"Sorry I'm late- Hello there, who are you?" He asked, looking down. The child hung off his neck in a hug and looked absoultely heartbroken.

"Grandpa, it's me, Hungary!"

He grinned, "Sorry, you were so small last time I saw you." Amalia laughed and leaned back. Greece also looked around and frowned before turning to Rome.

"Where is he?" The man blinked and looked around, shrugging.

"He's probably with Turkey right now or something." They nodded and the older nations yawned. "Well, kiddos, I think it's time for us to go. See you some other day, but we're watching, ok?"

Veneziano and Romano nodded and curled into their Grandpa's warmth, and the woman edged closer to him, "We're going to miss you, Nonno." He ruffled their hair and Amalia laughed. Scandinavia was having a heart-to-heart with his son, same with Magyar, but Germania was having a very heartfelt stare-down with Holy Rome.

All in all, Easter in 973 was nice. Holy Rome got England, who showed up late, to sign it. Unsurprisingly, he signed it almost immediately. andOther than the Fact that Otto I died less than a month later, but his sucession by Otto II was very smooth, but he very quickly faced issues with his cousin, his mother and wife, and the empire's duchies. It was mostly Henry II fighting his cousin in an attempt to get more power, but when Otto disagreed with the duke of Swabia, he attempted a conspiracy to get his honor back.

Holy Rome got rather confused when Amalia heard it, she screamed, " **HONOOOOOR**!" She also began to toy with the lit candles and ended up burning herself. He snorted in amusement.

Henry was soon thrown off as he escaped to Bohemia, and Otto reorganized the duchies. The next morning, a small blip made itself known to Amalia and she looked to Holy Rome, " **What the hell did Otto do? There's a new nation**."

He blinked and closed his eyes, but quickly opened them again, " **That's Austria, a new march.** " (1)

" **Well, can we meet him? He's going to be around a while**!" The blonde shrugged, and they headed out later. Amalia looked out the window and she smiled when she saw a small boy playing in the dirt. She dismounted her horse and came and sat with him. Austria looked up and cocked his head.

" **Hello**?"

Amalia stared in shock at his purple eyes and laughed, " **Hello, little one. Are you Austria**?"

He pouted and put his hands on his hips, " **Yes, but who are you**?"

" **I'm Amalia, it's a pleasure** ," She stated. " **Your eyes are purple**."

" **Your's are orange. So**?"

She grinned, " **Some of my friends in the east have purple eyes**!" He hummed.

" **Well then. But who are you**?"

Amalia cocked her head, but grinned, " **Hey, Holy Rome, we have a smart one**!" The small boy frowned and took a step back. " **Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. It's not everyday a day-old nation can pick out an immortal from a normal human. Well, little one, welcome to the group. We hurt each other, help each other, but all have a great deal of respect for everyone over 100 years old. Be careful how you grow up, Austria.** " He pursed his lips and nodded.

" **How old are you**?" Holy Rome laughed.

" **Austria, I thought Vatti taught you better than to ask a lady her age**!"

Amalia chuckled again and began counting, " **Shit! I missed my 900th birthday! Oh well. I'm 916, but I'm going to be 17 in September, so there's that. Holy Rome, on the other hand, is... 161, but he's going to be 62 on Christmas. He's just a little kid**." Austria chuckled behind his hand and she sighed. " **Well, what are we going to do now**?"

* * *

 **I'm going to cut it off there, but serious, I am so sorry about the chapter issue, but if anyone has an extra chapter, that'd be great. But if someone doesn't, then the basic thing from what I remember: Persia and Rome tease each other, Persia gets appointed the best friend position, Rome, her father figure. They punch each other, break each other's noses. She gets a horse named Flavio that 'tells' her to get a haircut, and she comforts the smart horse as he dies. But seriously, if anyone has that, lemme know, I'm begging.**

 **Also, general note, it's said that a king of Poland and another from Bohemia showed up, as well as people from the Greeks, Beneventans (Southern italy), Magyars (Hungary), Bulgars, Danes, and Slavs (Kiev siblings and screw it, Lithuania, even though he technically isn't around yet)**

 **(1) It was said in the anime that Austria was designed to be a war country. He actually started out as a part of Bavaria, in something called a March, or an area of land between its parent country and an opposing country as a buffer zone, usually for war. So there's that!**

 **It's almost France's birthday in the story!**


	86. Chapter 78

Hey guys! I forgot to tell you, but I did get that job at McDonalds, so I'm just waiting for them to get back to me with some info... And again, I'm skipping ahead, I can't handle this, information is limited right now. I'm skipping ahead to 987. I'm also trying to get into contact with a friend of mine who might have a spare of the chapter.

AnonChan1: It did, but it was confusing... He did~ Basically. Kinda, but it was said that that Easter had a lot of people from different countries there!What? YAAASSSSSSS. This is an early version of code blue. Also, what LL meant by 'there the whole time', as the fact that Scandinavia hadn't actually left, but did the same disappearing thing Germania did, so he was still technically there, but Scandinavia decided to screw with his son's head. Actually, he was 'floating' above them all. It's this weird thing I get annoyed at because no one looks up. Yep!

Old French/Vulgar latin(French)

 _ **Gaulish**_

Latin

 **Old English**

 **Old High German**

* * *

Annabelle sighed as she leaned on a wall, practically uninvited. She had found a way not long ago to dull her aura down to a human value and she hid her wait under the customary veil of the high class. oooh, she was going to mess with Frank. She hadn't seen him in years and decided to mess with him. So here she was, waiting with her face draped and a rose twirled in her hand, her pinky twisted around the rest of her fingers in a secret code.

Hugh Capet and the blonde nation made their way around the room, chatting happily and Frank, of course, worked his way through flirting with the ladies. It took a while, but he made his way to her. "Good evening, miss."

Annabelle giggled and twirled the rose in her hand and lifted it a little, "Good evening, sir. May I say that this evening would not be as beautiful as it is without you?"

He laughed and took out his own rose, "Annabelle, you flatter me, but you really must work on your lines. Your words are a bit outdated." She grinned and slipped her veil back enough to reveal her face and let her aura loose again.

"How did you know?"

"You never seem yo take off your brother's ring," Frank said, placing the rose behind her ear.

She laughed, "Of course. Nice choice in king, France, he's a lot smarter than the others."

He raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Oh? How so?"

"Well, for one thing, he decided to stay out of that whole revenge thing Lothair and Louis had going. He also heads a line that lasts for 800 years, roughly." Frank whistled and she passed him her rose, "Happy birthday, Kingdom of France." He nodded and took it carefully. "So, what does it feel like, to have a birthday?"

The blonde hummed and looked over the room, "It's one of the best feelings I've had in years, but then again, it's been a rough few years."

She laughed, "Few years is one way to put it. What's been going on since I left?"

"Well, there was the revenge on Holy Rome, trying to stay afloat, but Charles the bald made a deal with this king, Rollo, I believe his name was. He got to stay in Normandy in return for protection. It worked out decently, so there's that. It's been nice since that brat is no longer running around and pillaging everything," He growled.

Annabelle laughed, "Hungary? He's been a doll since that, but he lost his Grandpa not long ago, but there was also easter a few years ago and you should know something."

"Code blue? I've heard about that. I'm assuming that's another reason you came to visit?"

"Not completely, but I also came to give my greetings to the new king," The auburnette replied jerking her head toward Hugh. "So, to history, you're now known as France, but how are you going to take that?" Frank shrugged and lead her over to the head of the Capetian dynasty.

The king was quick to look over and smile, "Hello, Frank, who is this?"

France smiled and looked and her and Annabelle gladly took the cue, "Good day, and congratulations on the election, your Highness. I am one of many names, but France has designated me Annabelle, or a name that's beginning to float around is-"

"-Lady Luck. I have heard of you. Other nations speak fondly of you, yet you haven't been to see France before today. Why?"

She frowned and out of reflex, hid her aura. Frank raised an eyebrow, but she looked at him, "I will not be needing a chair, but he's going to need to trust my brothers."

He nodded and Hugh straightened, "Who are your brothers?"

"Together, they represent Italy, the land including Benevento and lower in the peninsula," Annabelle said as she straightened herself and felt a sight tension between them rise. France coughed and she nodded to him, "If that's all, then I'll take my leave."

The blonde shook is head, "Nonsense, you just arrived! Stay for the night at least?"

Hugh nodded, "I agree, stay for a while." Annabelle sighed and nodded. "Besides, I would like your help crowning my son, Robert." She nodded weakly and looked at Frank, absolutely terrified. Robert, if she remember correctly, was an extremely religious man and reinstated an ancient custom of burning heretics. Her lack of religious loyalty would likely not be taken well. Actually, many of Hugh's descendants were religious and there would be turmoil to come.

"Annabelle?" The comfort in his voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she swallowed as she looked at him, trying to remember a language that Hugh probably wouldn't know, but then remembered Frank and his father used to be ruled by celts- hopefully he would be able to understand a part of its successor.

" ** _I'm worried, Frankish. You know how I feel about religion and this guy's son burns heretics at the stake_** ," She rambled quietly. Hugh blinked and France's gaze hardened, but he smiled.

" ** _Do not worry. I will not let anything happen to you_** ," He said, grasping her hand. The woman nodded and clenched her free hand. " ** _You trusted me before, why not now_**?"

She nodded and sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm just... It's been a while and I'm a little tired." France nodded and looked up to his king, who nodded. "Sorry I'm being like this on your birthday."

"Do not worry, I've missed your 900th, so I won't feel too bad about my first as a new kingdom," The blonde said with a grin as he lead her to their old room.

She stayed with the family for a while, but largely stayed in her room or deep in the woods, practicing fighting with France. When he voiced his concern over the secrecy, Annabelle said she was defending herself from the family. He nodded and they readjusted their blades before continuing their 'dance'. Annabelle did trust the church a little more when they decreed it was illegal to commit acts of war on the church and innocents, or made the act a little better known in 990.

In 991, she got to see England again. One of his kings and the duke of Normandy were making a treaty where neither would harbor each other's enemies, so of course the nations went along. France swirled a rose in his hand to try and piss his friend off.

"Bloody fool, would you stop that!"

France chuckled as she spun the rose faster, "But why, Angleterre? It's calming-"

"Peaches, France, stop," Annabelle snapped. "Don't we have bigger problems to bring up?"

"Oh, yes, the end of the world," The man said, sitting up in his seat.

England nodded in worry, "Yeah. To think I could die..."

France hummed in agreement, but Annabelle growled, "Damnit, you two-"

"Language," England piped, but covered his mouth. France caught it and grinned savagely.

"Ohonhon, is little Angleterre offended by bad language?"

England looked at Annabelle in terror and she growled, "Frankish, drop it. There are somethings you don't poke at and this is one of them. You'll understand when you're older."

He raised an eyebrow, "Angleterre is younger than me."

She snarled, "Frank, for the love of peaches, stop."

"Annabelle~" France whined and crossed his arms.

"Franc-"

"Bethy, calm down."

She looked over and smiled, "Hey, Ollie. Is Arthur ok with you being out?" The boy shrugged and France gapped.

"W-What, h-how?!"

Ollie grinned and stood on his seat to lean on the table, "I'm Ollie, nice to meet you~ I'm a different side to Arthur, but... He doesn't like me coming out."

Annabelle chuckled and ruffled his hair, "I wonder why. You threatened to burn me at the stake, little one!" France looked between the two of them in horror.

"H-How is this possible?!"

Annabelle sighed and took a chair, "This is going to take a moment. Ollie, can you let Arthur take back over?" The strawberry blonde smiled before letting his other part take over again. "Do you want to explain or do you want me to?"

England shrugged, "You have more experience with it than I do."

She nodded and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Ok, um, France, do you know those times when you're being pushed to the edge, but you know you aren't going to die? This happened with England and someone else that I know and part of their mind separated to help them deal with that. As far as I can tell, each side has the exact same memories, and can sense the same, but only one personality is in control. The other person I know can let their other take control of certain parts of their body. France, I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure this happens to you."

He nodded and sucked in a shaky breath, "S-So I'd have no control over any of my actions if this... other... take over?"

"Kinda. You can fight for control, but when you have someone living in your head, you learn to deal with them. Ollie looks different from me, so people may not know it's even you," England provided, shrugging.

Annabelle nodded, "I've told the others that their own individual actions are their own and I don't judge. But if I'm right, your's is going to be a _very_ late bloomer, so don't worry. But can we please get back to the treaty?"

England nodded, "Alright, but France?"

The taller blonde looked over shakily, "Yes, Angleterre?"

"This doesn't leave this room and can you please respect Ollie's request?" England asked as he tensed. France relaxed and nodded.

"I can try, so long as you won't judge me later on mine. What was his name, Ollie?" The child nodded and Annabelle smiled in relief. France and England may hate each other, but not always. She left with England and tried to help him with some of the problems he was having, and quite frankly, if Elizabeth hadn't known that they would make it to 2016, she really would have thought the world was ending. According to England, there had been several earthquakes, devastating frosts and heat spells, and strange lights that lit up the sky.

The last one made an appearance in either 993 or 994 and he shook her awake, " **Bess! T-The lights! They're here and they're really bright**!"

She opened an eye and sighed, " **Lemme throw on my cloak and I'll take a look**." The kid nodded and dart out, whisking the cloth in front of her 'room' closed. Her old house was long gone from all the earthquakes and the huge storm that had swept through years ago. Elizabeth grumbled as she rolled out of bed and threw on her cloak and stuck her feet in her fur-lined boots. She stepped outside and found England looked up nervously and the woman did the same, and laughed.

" **I haven't seen them this bright since... Gosh, when was that... 774**!"

England looked over and cocked his head, " **You remember these? They usually pop up, but they usually scare the people around here and something bad seems to happen-** "

" **-Because you want something bad to happen. Northern lights just happen, it's one of those things. They don't really cause too much harm, so enjoy them while you can.** " She heaved him up and put the boy on one of her shoulders. " **I try to appreciate them when I can, just like Halley's comet, it's something older than us that's pretty and not trying to kill us**." England chuckled and nodded.

" **I don't know about the rest of my people, but I think I can trust that**."

The good times didn't quite last and that particular summer was particularly bad and crops couldn't take the heat. She sent a bird to Romano, who said that constant watering and shade tended to help. Using that, the two in England managed to keep a small garden in the back that kept them fairly well, but barely. In 995, Halley's comet appeared and her brother was quick to wake her up again.

In 996, she tried to rush back to Holy Rome when she heard of the Pope's death before Otto III could be crowned Holy Roman Emperor and the woman had had a sigh of relief when she made it before Hugh died. Amalia did not want to have to deal with Robert. Anyway, Pope John XV died before Otto could be crowned as HRE. He marched on Rome when he heard about a rebellion in the area and he stuck his cousin on as Pope. Gregory V installed Otto as the Holy Roman emperor and it was some big mess when Otto left again.

The emperor was forced to come back in 998, replace his cousin, who had gotten thrown off by the leader who had originally lead the rebellion in the first place, and instead of being pardoned again, he was killed. Sadly, Pope Gregory V died before he could see the end of the world that everyone was raving about. With Otto's help again, a new pope came up. Although his real name was Gerbert, he took up the name Sylvester II and predicted that the end of the world would occur on Jan 1, 1000 AD.

" **This guy**!" Amalia growled when she heard. " **Damnit, the world isn't going to end anytime soon**!"

Holy Rome looked at her nervously, " **But if the Pope says it's true-** "

" **This is why I hate religion. Otto, trust me on this, I was originally born in the year 1996, I'm old, ok**?" He chuckled and nodded. " **But you know what? Let's hit that brick when get there. I'm tired**."

* * *

 **I'm done right now. But we're right at the corner of the end of the world episodes, but as it's said in Hetalia and a bunch of different sources, no one really knew when the world was going to end, so the people then were in an ever state of panic, but January 1, 1000 ad was popular, as was 1033, and the general late 1000s. These last two seem to fit the story line the best if Hungary converted to Christianity, the ones who started the panic, in 1000 ad, so they kinda missed that. I really do not like Hugh or Robert if you guys didn't guess.**


	87. Chapter 79

**Hey guys! I'm writing this on Italian unification day! Or for those weirdos out there, St. Patrick's day, whatever makes you happy! I've fixed that chapter and again, Natsu, thanks for checking.**

 **AnonChan1: I have to meet with the guys again and we're hopefully going to get things straightened out. Hopefully and lol! Things have been reaaaaaaally weird in France, but I haven't really been following, but it's mostly been power struggles, same shit as always. There's Charles the fat too. Nothing until that one thing with the 'demon'. Yep! True.**

 **Old High German**

Old Norse

Italian

* * *

It was just about to be 1000 AD when Norway called her north. Holy Rome threw a gasket, but she told him she'd be back. The woman had laughed and swung him around, " **Otto, I'm overjoyed you're worried, but trust an old soul when I say that the world isn't going to end**." He nodded shakily.

" **A-Alright, but hurry back, ok**?"

She sighed and looked around the bedroom and a large blade in the corner caught her attention, " **Holy Rome, I swear on Joyeuse that the world isn't going to the end. After 2016, I don't know.** " He huffed and nodded, kicking his legs.

" **Alright put me down**!" Amalia nodded, grabbed her bag and stepped outside the room. " **Good luck, Amalia**."

" **See you soon, Otto** ," The woman replied, smiling. He nodded and looked at the blade that his ruler had left to him years ago and smiled.

Ragin went up North, and as always, Norway pushed her into a boat without saying much on her arrival. "Hello to you, too." Norway snorted and came out to sit against the side of the ship. The woman joined him, "Thanks for having me come along. I'm assuming we're going to that 'new land' that Eric heard about?"

"Yeah, how did you... Never mind..." Ragin laughed and a tall man came to stand in front of them.

"Norge, is this the lady you were talking about?" He nodded and the man laughed, "I'm Leif, son of Eric. How are you?"

The woman stood and held out a hand to the Prince, "Norway knows me as Ragin, and it's nice to meet you. Are we heading to this new land?"

Leif blinked, "How did you know?"

Ragin smiled, "I know many things, but I also know that you make it to this new land." Leif grinned and slapped a hand on her shoulder."

"I like her, Norge. Rag, we're heading to Iceland, then Greenland, and then on, the area!" Leif walked off and Ragin grinned at Norway.

"He's lively."

Norway smiled and looked at the explorer, "Indeed he is." He paused for a moment and passed her a blade, "Your others are old and who knows what we may find." She nodded and looked over the long blade carefully. It had a a thick crossguard and she smiled.

"Thanks."

The group sailed west for a few days, but docked at Iceland. The small nation got on board with his puffin, and they continued on. Iceland spent some of the days curled next to Ragin or his brother, who he simply called 'Brother'. Norway, after Iceland was asleep, ended up confessing that he feared the day that Iceland wouldn't call him brother anymore. She had smiled and responded that no matter what, Iceland wouldn't forget Norway's position in his life and would always be his little brother in his heart. Norway had smiled, but nodded.

Then, after passing Greenland and a few other places, "LAND!"

The nations had been napping, but were slowly awoken as Ragin gasped as she set eyes on the land, "I never thought I'd see it..." Leif came up beside her and laughed.

"Is it as beautiful as you remember?" The woman shook her head as her hands gripped the side of the boat in shock.

"Never..." Two presences caught her attention as Norway and Iceland sat up next to her. "You two know that's not Greenland, right?"

Norway looked at her blankly, "I figured. Iceland is..." She spared a glance at Iceland, who was glancing at the new land with wide eyes. Ragin could see excitement, but a hint of fear in his eyes. It was a new land, but he was scared for that exact reason. None of them had any idea what was on this new horizon, not even Ragin. Her mother had laughed nervously and dashed over Vinland in history for whatever reason.

"Ice? It's going to be fine," She said as she put a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her with uncertainty in his eyes and she smiled. "It'll be ok." Soon, the vikings landed on the coast and Ragin decided to see if there were any nearby 'new' nations. Spreading an awareness out, she ignored Norway's glance and looked. A strong brown aura was a distance away and there was something there, but she couldn't place it. Grasping her viking sword tightly and stringing her bow, Ragin cast a glance at Norway, but Iceland looked between the two confused. Laughing silently in her head, the woman set off for the auras.

The moon hung high in the sky when Ragin decided to have a snack. She looked at her supplies from her belt and sighed, "Ok, don't want to waste those..." Her stomach gurgled and she laughed, "Ok, I'll figure something out. It's only been a little less than ten centuries since I've landed- Ow!" Ragin rubbed her head as a large nut hit her upside the head, the angle making it impossible to just have fallen from a tree. Looking around sharply, she sent looked for any auras. The brown one was to her left in the dense brush and she sighed. "Hello?" Ragin took off her weapons and took a seat on the leafy ground and waited.

The other immortal didn't move for a while, but Ragin was just as patient and the nation emerged. The person who came out of the shadows was easily one of the most beautiful people Ragin had ever seen. She had long black hair and tan skin that glittered under the moon. The woman took a seat in front of the European. Now they were at a stalemate but they had to make friendly. Reaching slowly into her pouch, Ragin removed a hunk of cheese and split it in two, giving the larger to the so far mute woman. She took the dairy cautiously and eyed Ragin as the latter took a bit and swallowed. Deeming it safe, the woman took a small bit out of her slice and her eyes widened.

An unknown language came from the woman's mouth and a small rustle came from the bushes. A small boy, barely old enough to walk, came and sat by her and took a piece of the cheese. Ragin smiled at the scene and the woman looked over at her again. "Ragin," The European said carefully, gesturing to herself. Waving a hand in the other two's direction, she cocked her head.

The woman smiled, but a small crashing sound from behind Ragin startled all three. Two figures emerged and the woman looked ready to dart off. Ragin took a step in front of the natives and glared at Norway and Iceland. "Damn it, you two, what's going on?" Norway looked over the shorter woman's shoulder and his eyes widened at the pair behind Ragin.

"Iceland. Take off your weapons and very slowly, sit down," He commanded and Iceland did so with a confused face.

Ragin bowed her head in relief and took a seat once more. The woman was still there, but had the child behind her back. "What's with the Skraeling (1) and Vinland?" Ragin growled at the name.

"What did you just call her?"

Norway looked at her and sighed, "Never mind. It's what some of the others are calling the natives. They're calling the land Vinland."

Ragin sighed and hung her head, I'm not calling her that. I'm going with America."

"Why?" Iceland asked, looking from behind his brother.

She huffed and looked at him, "Norge?"

The older brother smiled, "Trust Ragin, she knows what she's doing."

She tried to explain the situation to the native pair, who seemed to accept the titles relatively well. After a few minutes, Vinland trotted over to the european woman. He cocked his head and Ragin smiled at him. He smiled lightly and plopped down in front of her. Iceland got impatient with waiting and got up to walk back to the crew and Norway cast her a glance. Nodding, the auburnette got the message and continued to play with the child later to be known as Canada.

Even though they couldn't understand a thing the other was saying, they still played together, the woman who would be known as Native America watching over them carefully. The Vikings would spend the winter at the settlement and as time grew, she took a risk and began teaching the two English. Sadly, time was not on their side and it came for the time to leave. Vinland seemed to know something was happening and he smiled sadly at the girl. She ruffled his hair and the women shared a quick hug, "Take care," Ragin whispered. America nodded and they disappeared into the brush that they had first emerged from the season before.

She wouldn't se them for almost 500 years.

* * *

" **What did I tell you**?"

Holy Rome chuckled and nodded, " **You did say it**." They were at the Aachen Chapel, 1001, and, against the immortals' wishes, removing relics from Charlemagne's tomb to bring to Rome. " **Are you going in**?"

She frowned and shook her head, " **No, and you shouldn't either. Remains need to do just that: Remain where they are**." The blond nodded and looked into the church, " **The dead also tend to smell worse than dead fish on a bad day. Trust me on this**." He nodded and came to stand next to her.

" **What's one of the oddest things you've ever seen**?" Amalia blinked and she looked down at Holy Rome.

" **You mean other than you**?" The kid growled and kicked her in the shin. " **Ok, ok, fine! Um... Peaches... Probably... I don't know! Seening Columba- Ooo! Columba! I saw a monster once**!"

The child stiffened, " **A monster**?"

She grinned and leaned on the church, " **Yeah! It was... It was majestic, but at the same time, absolutely terrifying! It looked almost like a squished chicken's head on a thick branch and it had some teeth that were the size of my finger! It nearly drowned and killed a man, but Columba's faith was stronger than Nessie. Don't worry, Nessie's aaaaaaaall the way in in Britain**." Holy Rome swallowed and grabbed his cloak in worry. " **Hey, don't worry, I wouldn't let anything happen to you.** " Otto III and some of his officials followed them out and they seemed to gush in the fresh air, making Amalia chuckle.

They headed to Rome and while another rebellion arose in Tiber, Otto was very careful while putting down the act. Rome, as a rival, didn't like this and had a rebellion of their own. They drove the Emperor from the city, but agreements were reached for submission, trust wasn't felt by either side. Otto had his army called in late 1001, but a fever struck him down. He died January 24, 1002. Following this, Italy broke free of Holy Rome's reach and elected a new king of Italy on February 15th of the same year.

With no child, succession was a tricky business following Otto's death, but Henry II, son of Henry II or Henry the Quarrelsome, but only as king of Germany. In the next year, she received a wedding invitation from Frank, but as a side note, he stated she did not have to come. Swallowing, she asked if Robert II knew of the invitation. If Frank was smart, he wouldn't have told the king about the invite. If he had and she said no, Robert would have all the more reason to attack. Thankfully, France had been smarter than that and said Robert knew nothing about it, so she said she would not be attending. France knew that so long as Robert II was king, she wouldn't visit him, but not that he blamed her. He was wrong.

On the death of Robert's mother, Adelaide, daughter of Rollo, in 1004, she visited and France was by her side every moment of it. Robert II was there and questioned why she didn't go far into the church, but France broke in every time he would try to ask about it. She returned to Holy Rome and just about slaughtered him.

When the woman went to return to the empire, she stopped at Veneziano's place, to find many of the buildings in Pavia gone and in ashes. She ran to try to find their old home in the dark and her feet carried her away to the location. Veneziano was found covered in soot and bawling as he sat in what had been their grandfather's room. "Venie!"

He looked up at her with heartbroken eyes and opened his eyes, "S-Sorellona..." She picked him up carefully and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh my god, Veneziano, you're ok. You're ok..." She whispered, crying as he leaned into her hold. "What happened?"

The child shook his head and cried into his tunic, "H-Holy R-R-Rome didn't-t w-want to, b-but his-a a-army..." She shushed him and placed a kiss on his forehead and rocked him and looked at the destruction. "I-It's just-a Pavia..." She nodded.

"Did it destroy everything?"

He sighed shakily, "N-No. N-Nonno h-had a s-stone hold. A-A lot o-of the old-a stuff is i-in-a there." She nodded and sat down. "I-I'm sorry, Sorellona, if-a only-"

"Veneziano, don't be, it's not your fault. Just sleep for now and we can pick things up in the morning. I'm sorry I wasn't here. I could have tried to stop this," Fortuna whispered and took off her cloak and wrapped Veneziano in it. The cold nipped at her neck as it was left unguarded, but her brother drifted off quickly. She sat in the soot and leaned on a remanent of the rock base.

It turned out, Rome and Veneziano's paintings were safe underneath the stone slab guarding them, and a wood bottom protected it from the dirt. The child said to take the paintings to a government building for better protection and she heaved them up carefully, throwing her cloak over them for better protection. Returning to the house later, she jumped into the indent and the siblings looked at each other when a hollow 'thunk' echoed. With a gentle tug, she pulled one of the boards away and found a book.

"H-Hey Feli, what did Nonno have a book of spells?"

"What?!" She opened the ancient book and they poured over some of the pages that contained ancient latin. The language was so old that Fortuna was barely able to read it. If she had arrived a century later, the woman might not have been able to read it at all, but here it was, a book of spells that their grandfather had collected. The boy swallowed and pushed it away from him and towards his sister. "T-Take it."

She looked up startled, "What?! Why?"

"You have more-a use for it than-a I do..." Veneziano whispered, and Luciano's side flared before settling in agreement. "Just-a take it." She bowed her head and climbed out and put it in her bag next to her own books of shadows. She looked at the front doorway and chuckled sadly.

"Hey, Venie, doesn't that look like a bench?" He looked up and laughed.

"It-a does!" With help from some of the neighbors, Pavia began to get slowly rebuilt. By the time a temporary house was put up for Veneziano and Fortuna, Holy Rome and Henry left. Feliciano showed her what the damage had done to him, and she was angered to find a large bruise covering her brother's chest over his heart. After all, Pavia was the heart of the north.

* * *

" **What the hell was he thinking**?" Holy Rome winced as Amalia paced in the room.

" **He was looking out for his army** -"

" **What**?"

Holy Rome looked at her, " **After my citizens insulted some of Italy's citizens, they put Henry under siege and drove the offenders out of Pavia. I know it was bad, but the army had to get Henry out, and the only way they could do that was to start a fire and..**."

" **And massacre the population. Stay out of Italy** ," Amalia growled. He nodded shakily and she left. Germania appeared next to him.

" **She loves her brothers, Otto, she's just looking out for them** ," He said, looking at his son.

The kid nodded, " **S-She... I didn't want to hurt Italy..**."

Germania put a hand on his shoulder, " **Give the two of them time and space. Ragin knows you didn't want to, but she's mad you didn't come up with any better option**."

" **I know, Vatti, I tried, but...** "

" **Give them time. I know Amalia already regrets yelling at you** ," The man said, looking at the door before disappearing again.

Amalia peeked in the door and sat on the floor next to his chair, " **Sorry, Otto**."

The kid huffed, " **It's ok. I could have tried something else**." She bowed her head and he pat the top of her head. " **Things will get better**."

She laughed sarcastically, " **Don't they always**?"

* * *

 **Hey guys, I have the April fools day chapter written up, but I'm going to post it then, but it's pretty much, 'is this real, fake, or both, and if so, what's real and what's not?' Y'all gonna kill me.**


	88. Chapter 80

**Hey guys, it's my last day on break (first day I'm writing it. I also had my first day of work on the 25th and that was interesting.) and I don't know how much time I'll have to write with my new job, but I'm not ditching this unless something happens. Also, have you guys seen those pictures of preteen!Romano and he's wearing these baggy-ass pants that end just under his knee? Guess what those are called? Venetian Breeches. He's wearing pants named after his brother. That's like Venie eating Romano cheese. Also, I got to 7,000 views! Thank guys! I have a April fools thing all written up, and it's been saved for a while for you guys.**

 **AnonChan1: Thanks, I'll need it! True, but trust me, it's not just France. Eh. It would have been, but she wouldn't be there if it did end. Kinda, but as time goes on, she usually gives them to fam for safe keeping, but if I remember correctly, she has a celtic blade, her Persian one, a viking sword and then a viking axe, including her 'dinner knives'. Maybe, but she's going to have to get her Roman sword from Spain. Well, she hasn't been to the Americas in almost 1000 years, so she doesn't remember much. Yep~ I've never smelled a dead person, but I have smelled dead things in general and it's not pretty. She grew up with America, of course she's going to like cryptozoology! Well, that side of the family was weird. The second Henry II took up the name Henry IV, his dad (The first Henry II) kidnapped Otto III when he was a child, the second Henry I fought tooth and nail for a right to the throne, but relations improved after a while. ...That bitch was the daughter of Rollo, great-great-great grandfather of William the conquerer... True, and yeah. There are spells that England and LL haven't seen before, so they're going to copy them down. True, and yay.**

 **Italian**

Old French

Old English

* * *

Fortuna stretched as she woke up from her afternoon nap and Romano whined as his 'pillow' moved. " **Half an hour...** "

She laughed, " **Sorry, Roma. The garden needs watering, but I'll see what I can do**." He nodded without opening his eyes and the woman picked him up so his head still rested on her shoulder and he gripped her arm tightly. She went over to the large water pot used to collect rainwater and grabbed the small thumb pot. Covering the hole, the woman went around to water the large garden Romano kept for personal use. Letting her thumb come off the top, the familiar sound of falling water calmed the siblings, one of them into a deeper sleep. He would need it, it was April 30th and something amazing was going to happen, but was bound to get a little annoying.

Romano noticed it first, curled up in the bed, " **Ragazza, you forgot to snuff the-a candle**." Fortuna huffed and sat up in bed.

" **Roma, I'm right here...** " Their eyes popped open and she looked out the window, " **There it is**!" The child tried to look, but all he knew was his sister was basking in the moonlight, but it was a new moon.

" **What-a the hell**?!"

Fortuna grinned and picked him up, " **It's a supernova, the brightest recorded in history**!"

He shook his head, " **Ragazza, you always get so-a excited about the-a sky..**."

" **Well, I've told you, we can't see the stars as well as we did before, so I'm taking advantage of it**!" They looked at the pulsing ball in the sky for a while before heading back to bed. " **Let's get to bed, I don't think it's going anywhere, Romano**." He nodded and they crawled back underneath the covers. It would play hell with them because it was not fun trying to sleep with a constant light.

In 1007, another eruption occurred, but it wasn't as bad as 79 or 512, but Romano's temperature still flared. Fortuna took him to the outdoors and gave him sips of clean water, making sure her brother still got a little relief. With the scars on the inside of her forearms remade, Fortuna realized how much she had missed. Romano had huffed and told her she could have been there, he shrugged it off. The woman knew better, it did hurt him, but he knew she loved him.

A new French prince was born May 4, 1008, and this king, she had no real issue with attending his birth. France smiled as Henry I of France cooed as his finger wrapped around one of her's, "You're going to try, Henry, but you need to trust." Robert came in and cocked his head as he looked over his son.

"Annabelle. I did not know you were here," The king said. She bowed her head and put Henry back down in the crib.

"My apologies, I thought Frank- France had told you," The woman responded, not breaking his gaze. He nodded and came around the other side, making the immortals tense. "How have you been?"

The king gripped the edge of crib, "Serving god as always. And you?"

Annabelle swallowed nervously, "I have been well. France." The blonde nodded and waved her off.

"Heritic." She stiffened at the word and clenched her fists.

"King. Are you going to do anything about it?"

Robert growled, but France stepped in, "Go. Don't come back."

She whirled around and the blonde nation glared at her, "France-"

He raised a hand oddly, "Go and I don't want to see you again." The woman looked at his hand and nodded shakily, running to her room, but let a smirk slip onto her face as soon as she was out of the room. He remembered.

France sighed as he lowered his hand, clenching it, "I do not like her."

Robert frowned, "I do not either, but how did you not know? She would have shown up to church at some point."

"I figured she went to a smaller one. Annabelle does not like crowds," He supplied easily and looked over Henry. Robert nodded and left. "Little one, your father is a fool. I just hope Annabelle remembered. You see, little one, a long time ago, Annabelle played a very nasty trick on me and we devised a way to tell if the other was joking. If we tucked our pinky over the rest of our fingers, we would know..." A small screech came from the window and a very familiar old bird came to the window. France smiled and took the note and grinned.

"I remember," He read aloud, laughing. "Damnit Annabelle."

* * *

England and Sweden sat before a roaring fire as Elizabeth stirred the stew, "Do you two have an idea about it yet?"

The brit groaned and tapped the quill against the floor almost violently, "We know it's going to be some heroic story, but we don't know what!"

"You mean like Gilgamesh?" They cocked their heads in confusion and she groaned, "Never mind, you'll hear about that later. But seriously, why not use figures from your past?!"

Sweden hummed and looked to the other blonde, "It doesn't seem like a bad idea..." England found it very considerate that the Scandinavian spoke in his language, even if he didn't have to.

The other frowned, "Fine, but I write it!" Elizabeth smiled as they began to fight over which figures to use and Henry flew in and landed on her shoulder. "Hey, Bess, that bloody bird almost looked like a dragon-" He went wide-eyed and looked at Sweden. He barely managed to read an excited glint in the other man's eye, but it was there. "Dragons!"

Elizabeth laughed and ruffled the boys' hair, "After dinner, it's almost ready." They hummed and continued to pour over possibilities, but she gave them their bowls and let them be. After all, Beowulf wasn't going to write itself. The two continued to work on the book until a very excited monk showed up at the door.

"Mr. Britain, it's ready! Meet me at the tallest tower in town at noon!" The blonde nodded and Elizabeth cocked her head.

"Al, what's going on?"

He frowned, "Just come by with me and we'll show you!" She nodded and went along. When it came time, she was horrified.

"Arthur, did you just bring me to see a man fall to his death?!" The auburnette yelled and ran towards the main church building.

He grabbed her wrist, "Bess, hold o- DUCK!" Elizabeth heard a whoop descending from the sky and threw herself over her brothers. England laughed and peeked out at the monk who soared over their heads, "Look at him go!" She looked at the falling man as he tipped to the side, but he began to fall rapidly. "Eilmer!"

The siblings ran in the direction and the monk was sobbing as he shook and with good reason. Both of his legs were shattered, "I-I did it! We c-can reach the heavens!"

England laughed airily and kneeled by him, "Don't get too cocky, but let's get you fixed up. Bess, do you think you can help?" (1)

She nodded, "I'll get the the left leg if you get the right. I also have something to show you when we get back in." He raised an eyebrow, but went to the left leg. They began chanting lowly under their breath and Eilmer's sobs soon calmed down. His legs weren't completely healed, but it was the best the two could do without making the three of them seem suspicious.

Elizabeth looked over the winged contraption, "Whoa... What went wrong?"

Eilmer winced as he struggled to get the winged invention off of his back, "I forgot to add a tail." England reached forward to get the thing off his citizen and when he did, the woman picked the monk up bridal style. When they settled him at his writing table, he shooed the two out and they went to the back room.

"What's this thing you wanted to show me?" England asked as he crossed his arms.

Elizabeth smiled halfheartedly and reached into her bag and pulled out the old bag, "It turns out that I wasn't the only one in my household who knew magic."

He gasped and took the book of spells carefully, "A-Are you saying... That..."

"Grandpa has a whole book of spells that are probably older than either of us that we've never heard of. I already wrote them down in my book, but I thought you'd want to see it," She said. He opened it and his eyes flew over the pages.

"There's a spell for disguise, one for healing... that one's brutal."

She winced, "The one that absorbs the pain? He has a side note that a perfectly healthy soothsayer performed this spell on her older brother who was dying of a heart attack. She seemed to inheirit the heart attack a second later. It was more of a transfer spell. Wait, how do you understand this latin?"

The nation frowned, "Before you were sent back in time, Julius Caesar came through and killed Mumsy when he came in. He began to teach me Roman ways. I can understand it with a bit of difficulty..."

"I had the same problem, but it's not too bad," Elizabeth said, paging through it.

"You were raised by the man, I'm not surprised, but I'm not surprised he didn't tell you about this. You know how crazy the emperors were," England said and Ollie came out for a moment.

"We're lucky that kings calmed down."

Elizabeth cast him a gaze, "Wait, Ollie, can you?"

He looked up and grinned happily, "Yep! I can't do it was well as Artie, but I know a few basic spells."

She ruffled his hair, "Alright then. Sorry, Al, but I'd rather not leave it here." Arthur took back over and nodded.

"Alright, but give me a while to write as much as I can. I also found a few spells from Norway that you might want to copy as well. One's for healing, but he gave me another one where you can leave a message for someone on their body, but it can be activated by blood family."

Elizabeth blinked and closed her Grandpa's book, "Wow, that's oddly specific."

"It is, but it could be useful..." The two hummed and began to trade spells.

* * *

 **(1) People sometimes question if Elimer really 'forgot', because they take into account something important to the story. He was a christian monk. In those days, the skies were for birds and angels. By taking to the sky, he would be putting himself at the same level as angels. He did end up flying over 200 yards/meters.**

 **Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm going to try and work around school and my work for this.**


	89. Sorry and AFD

**Alright, so I got a review about the explanation chapter. Assuming that it's not an early April fool's joke, I did go back and fix that if you guys didn't get the notice about it. Guest, I will address your concerns in a moment.**

 **AnonChan1: Hehehe, yeah, sorry about that. Work's been pretty nasty when it comes to times. She does. I practically grew up on cryptozoology, so it's fun. I do too, but LL's gotten pretty used to it. Apparently it looks like a glowing dot in the sky and that one was basically the brightest ever recorded, but I've heard that one in the 1500s in China was celebrated more. They are. No, he didn't. HE FLEW. A MAN IN THE MIDDLE AGES BUILT WINGS AND FLEW. IT'S AMAZING. Yep!**

 **Guest: Alright, I am a little... eh. But I'm going to get to it. For your review on what was the explanation chapter, I did move that to the chapter behind it. I am aware about MA and there will not be any lemons within my story. If I _somehow_ wish to make a lemon for this, I will not be posting it on this site. For your review on chapter 3... I do bring this up, but we have to remember something. Yes, the brothers might not have lived together, but for the sake of this story, they do and another thing. They are shown interacting with each other before the other conquering nations come in and begin to try to take them over. I also address the issue that they 'don't' meet' until later. The problem is resolved in chapter 13. I'm largely going off the anime, but I will dip into the manga on occasion. I would prefer if you read my story before criticizing it, but I'm done being a jerk right now. Now, I would like to ask you something. Could you look throughout the story and tell me if I missed anything? I understand that I'm a bit of a jerk right now, but the most important thing to me currently is this story. I would rather it be more accurate than anything.**

 **Anyway, onto the story. There isn't a specific language unless said.**

* * *

Liberty breathed as she sat back down in her chair, Britain following suit. Romano grabbed her wrist in support, "It's-a alright now, Carina..." The tightness in her chest began to grow and she rubbed the crook of her arm.

China and some of the other countries looked over at her in horror,"Jun... Y-Your immor-"

"I know, China," The girl whispered, all but cutting blood circulation in her arm off, "I know... How are you holding up, Artie?"

He breathed, "I've been better... But what's done is done."

Prussia looked over confused, "What's going on?"

France breathed in shakily, "Belle just passed on her immortality so Carina could go back. She's just a normal mortal now. In about 60 years, she'll wither and die..." Many nations put their heads down in respect.

The albino slammed his hand down, "No, there has to be another way!"

"IF THERE WAS ANOTHER WAY, DON'T YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE DONE THAT BY NOW?!" Britain yelled over the wooden surface.

Liberty put her head on the table, "Can you guys be quiet? I'm getting a headache and my arm hurts..." She continue to massage her left arm, trying to get the ache out. Several different nations stared over in terror and Germany pulled out his phone.

"Hello? I need an ambulance..." His voice drained out as Romano pulled her into his lap.

"Carina don't do this to me... Don't tell me you don't remember the symptoms, you know what's going on," He whispered, kissing her forehead. Liberty laughed breathily as the soreness continued to move onto her shoulder.

"Roma, we all knew I couldn't stay for long... I'm going to miss you... Bury me in Antarctica, it's neutral territory..." She whispered and Prussia took her from her brother, but Romano still clenched his hand around her's. She kissed the men's foreheads before her vision went dark, "I.. love you..."

A moment later, she was starting next to the two countries as they bawled and some of the others began to cry at their seats, trying to get closer, or, like France, left the room completely. "So, it's time huh?"

"Sadly, Elizabeth, yes." She whirled around to Britain.

"You can see me?" He crossed his arms and she followed him around to go sit back at the table.

"Yes, why shouldn't I, Bess? We both see magical things, so why shouldn't ghosts be in there?"

Liberty nodded in understanding and looked over at her family sadly. Veneziano was bawling his eyes out, his body being supported by Holy Rome and Germany was rubbing his back awkwardly. The older of the two Germanys was slightly shorter, but his eyes were also darker, proving his differences from his successor. Spain patting Romano on the back as he looked at her body. Prussia was fighting to give her CPR and China was trying to bring her back as well. Russia and America remained in their seats, but they was looking down, frowning.

"You know, I've always thought about what happened after I went back in time and left the older me behind. I've also thought about when I'd die. In all honesty, I just want to be left in peace..." She whispered. Britain looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and she went to move a tear that dripped down the side of his face but her hand went clean through.

"I know... I can't tell them to stop though, they won't believe me."

Liberty sighed, but a memory bounced into her head, long forgotten, "I think I might know something. Where's Nova Roma?"

The blonde looked over to her in confusion, "Who?"

She grit her teeth and ran around, "Follow me!" Britain squawked and scrambled after her.

"What the bloody hell for?!" The ghost looked around desperately at the end of the table, where the mircos were comforting each other.

Spotting the familiar hair, she darted forward. Nova Roma sat there with tears in his eyes. Britain stared at him in wide curiosity.

"Britain, you need to tell him something, alright? He'll know it's me, but you have to hurry," She gushed. Britain nodded.

"H-Hey, Rome? Liberty wants the others to stop trying to bring her back, but they won't believe me, so we need you to do it..." He trailed uncertainly.

Rome looked at him, "How would you know? She's not here anymore. If she is-"

Liberty yelled over his voice, "Because you're part of this family and family keeps blood and tears away!"

Britain halted before leaning close to Rome, "Because you're part of this family and family keeps blood and tears away," he whispered. Rome's eyes widened and he leapt up.

"How do you know those words! She could have told anyone!"

The woman growled, "Damnit Rome! Now I know why Sasa broke your nose!"

The blonde pursed his lips, "I didn't know Persia broke his nose."

Rome paused and looked at him, "What?"

"She said that she knows why Sasa broke your nose." The ancient swallowed and looked over at the crowd and the loud ambulance whines outside.

"Damnit, Fortuna, you know all the ways to get us all wound up," He growled before heading up. He tapped China on the shoulder. "Qin, you know."

He shook his head, "I-I can't- I promised!"

Rome frowned, "Promised who?"

"You know who. I told him that she'd be safe-"

Prussia let his own tears slid down his face, "China." The asian looked up and dropped his head again, his hands falling slack. The Italian brothers were led out slowly, even if Romano fought tooth and nail to stay with her.

"LET ME GO! S-SHE CAN'T BE..." Spain threw him over his shoulder and the one ones left were Prussia, Rome and what had been Liberty.

Rome looked at the documents on the table and smiled. "Abra Esposito. It fits."

The albino laughed tearfully, "It did. That's what we all said when we were stuck in the mansion. We were signing the treaty, the one downstairs, when I had a heart attack. Amalia dragged me to the bathroom to take care of it, but I never realized that heart attacks aren't just healed."

"She absorbed it. You gave her her heart attack," The older man said gently.

"I know. I-If only I had been strong-"

"Don't think like that. I knew what I was doing, Gilbert," Liberty said as she kneeled next to her boyfriend. She rested her head on his shoulder as carefully as she could and he choked, almost as if he could feel her. "Don't you dare say it was your fault. I was protecting you the only way I knew how."

Rome smiled and put a hand on the man's shoulder, "She loved you and probably knew what she was doing. Other than a few occasions, my grand daughter knew exactly what she was doing."

Prussia nodded and grasped her hand and chuckled, "Even in death, she's smiling."

"That's the way she is, always gotta have the last laugh," The older confirmed and Liberty couldn't help the loud bark of laughter and the following chuckles. They seemed to echo around the room and they looked around. "See what I mean?"

"Jah. Hey, Gramps..."

Rome smiled and patted his shoulder, "Go ahead, you know she'd say yes now."

Prussia smiled and pulled a small ring out of his pocket and slipped it on her finger, "You couldn't sign it in any name, but your own, huh, Frau?"

Liberty smiled and fiddled with the ring on her other body's hand, "No. Romano would have throw a gasket, Mr. Beilschimdt."

He chuckled as if he could hear her, "Indeed, almost-Mrs.-Beilschimdt." He sat crisscross and pulled off his jacket and overshirt, Rome watching curiously until his eyes widened at what was going on.

"I-Is that...?" Prussia cried as he touched the white infinity sign just over his heart.

"It is. Frau gave me just enough to keep me alive, but now..."

"It's more than a piece of her. There's something behind it. Before you were born, before and after Fortuna even came into our lives, I learned many things from my people, some of it including spells. That's a message. Can I?"

The younger man nodded and Rome skimmed his fingers over the spot and Liberty smiled as her voice echoed around the room, "God, I hope I'm doing this right. Nonno, you need to keep your old book of spells better hidden. True, I only found it when they burned down your house, but under the floor? Anyway, Prussia, I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you about what was going to happen, but I partially figured one of the others would have told you, but if you're hearing this, then I'm dead. There is not short cut, no joke, no miracle, I'm not coming back. I know I told you that I... I never said no, but here's your definite yes. Yes, ok? I never told you, but I would say yes a million forevers before slowing down. I love you and... Good bye." Her voice fizzled out. Rome picked up her body and escorted her out to the elevator.

Prussia just sat there and cried.

* * *

The burial wasn't very typical. All the nations agreed that the woman be buried at the very bottom of the world and in a stone mausoleum. Inside, she was placed in a simple rowan coffin and in her white ball gown she wore all those years ago at the national christmas party. The walls were covered in country names and their human name beside it, but if one were to look up, they'd see a long list of names.

Abra Esposito

Carina Amalia Brewster

Fortuna

Jun Fu

Ragin

Alma

Annabelle

Elizabeth

Liberty Romano Brewster

Abra Esposito

Each she had held, each in the order of their creation. A simple, old oil painting hung in the back of the chamber, one that was older than many of the nations whose names lined the walls. The coffin was placed under a sealed glass box, and then the rest of the grave site was locked, the key thrown into the icy waters as the countries left. The crypt wouldn't be opened unless it was a unanimous agreement.

Regardless, on every September 21 there on out, fireworks could be seen as a large group of people celebrated some unknown holiday, but the area the next day would look as though nothing had been disturbed, other than a bunch of fresh flowers lining the circumference of the grave for at least three feet. It took visitors years to find out that they were all national flowers.

* * *

Romano growled as he came home from the dock. It was the first time he had been in his home since his sister and citizen died and he wanted to do nothing more than sleep. He slipped off his shoes and placed them carefully by the door and went to go change. A habit he had picked up when suits began to be popular, he had taken care to make sure they all last as soon as possible, he would change out immediately when he got home. Out of decency, he left his wife beater and boxers on. He flopped onto his bed and buried his face into his pillow, but something under the covers was jabbing his side.

"Damnit, what is-a it now?" He reached under and his fingers grabbed a small book. Pulling it out, he sobbed. 'How to make a true friend. An Italian fairytale.' The man carefully opened the front and smiled. A picture of Romano and Liberty grinning at some unknown photographer reminded him of the event. Their favorite soccer team had just beat the Germans in the Olympics and Germany and Prussia were sulking in the back. A small inscription in the cover of the book made him smile.

 _'Hey, Roma amoR. To all the ups and downs in life, never forget. We won that night. We p'owned the Germans and we can p'own life. Fuck you.'_

Romano laughed and began to look through the book, but quickly noticed that the crude hand drawing seemed to be of him and his sister as the prince and his friend. At the end of the book, a small sticky note said, _'Check your box.'_ His breath hitched and he looked at the small puzzle box on his dresser. He got up and pulled the top off. Pulling out the front side and a small hidden drawer, the man frowned at the fine powder lining the bottom of the box and a small letter.

Sadly, Romano never showed anyone else the letter, so its contents will never be known.

* * *

Prussia was in a very similar situation, but instead of a book, his eyes fell on the infinity sign on his chest and his fingers brushed over the bare flesh, a smile dancing on his lips. "Amalia... You're an odd one." China had approached him after the funeral and bowed deeply.

'She gave a tiny bit of her aura. She will always be with your soul, quite literally, in fact.' He had laughed sadly and went to scratch the area absentmindedly.

Presently, he did the same, and he could have sworn he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind. "I love you," The albino whispered, allowing tears to fall down his face. The new tattoo burned and it swirled into those exact words, but he could have been mistaken, the tears blurred his vision. When Prussia rubbed his eyes, it was back to normal. He laughed and fell back onto his bed, but a small, sharp pain alerted him that there was something on the bed.

A large golden ring, with a ruby and piece of amber side by side in it. A smile curled on his lips as he slipped it on and into sleep.

* * *

America didn't know how to react. Sure, he had lost people before, but he had learned his lesson! Growling, he punched a hole in the wall, or almost did. Allen took over enough control to stop him from hurting the two of them. ' _Idiot, Mom had to fix your hand once, don't let it be for nothin'_.'

' _Shut up, Lennie. Not right now._ ' Allen backed off for once and Alfred grieved, curling up on the floor and sobbing. When he would wake up, he would find Liberty's world flag quilt draped around him and the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen. Blinking wearily, he drew his small pistol and silently moved the blanket off of him.

Creeping around the corner, he spied a familiar figure, "Mom?" Native America smiled as she looked up and put some bacon on a spare plate along with some grits. "What are you doing here?"

She huffed, "Taking care of my son. I got a text message from you this morning asking for breakfast like Liberty made on cartoon Saturdays and after what happened, came over. You were just about as asleep as Liberty." America frowned and took the plate carefully. "Don't give me that look, you know it's true. But also judging from your look, you didn't send the message either, did you?"

America's eyes widened, "Wait, are you saying-"

Native America smiled and pulled her son into a hug, "She's doing the job I asked her to, to look after you. The blanket was already on you when I let myself in." Tears popped into his eyes and the woman pulled him into an embrace. He was rocked back and forth as he crumbled into his mother's hold.

* * *

 **Was this real? Was this fake? If both, what was true and what is false?**

 **Abra Esposito: Abra means mother of many and Esposito means "exposed" in Italian and denoted a child who was rescued after being abandoned by its parents. This couldn't have been more accurate.**


	90. Chapter 81

**Ok, Fanfiction is being weird again and comments can't come up when I'm first writing this. I'm going to post Anon's here with the response normally. Also, Guest, I apologize for my earlier conduct, I have no excuse for the way I reacted. THIS STORY IS IN A COMMUNITY OMFG!**

 **AnonChan1:Heya! Nice to see you again~ Well that must not be fun. I'm pretty sure my parents are gonna make me get a job over the summer or something, so I might share your pain soon.** Good luck! **Huh, really? It's never been something that's interested me, too much paranoia would come from it, but whatever floats your boat, I guess! Haaaa, I wish I could see I supernova... They sound so pretty~ And that's good, I don't want more dead people than necessary.** Oh my god, but true. **I THINK WE ALL KNOW WHATS HAPPENING.** THE END IS NEEEAAAAAARRRR. **Fuuuck, this is gonna make me cry.** HAHAHAHAHAHA. **And now Romano knows... She's gone.** Yeah... **Damn. England is sassy as fuck, even as his sister dies. Is dead? Whatever, not important. Oh man, the micros must be hurting.** She recognized them as a part of a nation and helped raise most of them, it's going to be sad. **If I'm remembering correctly, she's like Sealand's mom, right?** Yep **! Poor kid... Poor all of them... STOP BRINGING UP MY SHIP ITS ALREADY DEAD DREAMER.** NEVER. IT IS NEVER OVER. **And of course Prussia is getting smacked in the face with guilt. FUCK YOU STOP MAKING ME CRY ITS NOT FAIR. So what does "Abra Esposito" mean?...** **I feel like it's symbolic or something.** It means mother of many, and the last name marks her as a kid who was abandoned, but rescued. **Open Ending, maybe? Also, how does she know it's her name?** **When did she learn?** She remembers the day she was born and the hospital she was born in. Good thing she can pull a few strings. **At least there aren't any arguments...** It was very carefully planned out and the Italian family took care of most of it with a few ideas of the others. **He must not have a lot of energy right now... Not that it's hard to see why, of course. Roma Roma?** I heard that Roma spelled backwards is Amor which means love. They found out a while ago and it's just some small thing she calls him in private to mess with him. **Stop making this saaaaaaad... You secretive buttface. (Just kidding, your still making me sad, though.)** Hahahaha~ **Now I'm not sure who has it worse- Her brothers or her lover... Poor Prussia.** The stones represent their eye color, but I think that they'd have it equally bad. They had someone who never gave up on them. Not after either of their unification. **America noooooo don't cry! It'll be okay, I'm sure... I think. And I swear, "Mom" makes me think of Lady Luck. I was so confused. Native America will always be their first and true mom, and LL respects that. Native America needed someone to look after her kids in case her influence didn't Good luck writing!~ AnonChan1**

 **Hoppy854: I'm sorry, but then again, I planned it out that way. It was more of the fact that she had some unfinished business and is now just a ghost, occasionally running into a ghost ancient, but her interactions with the living world are limited now. Prussia and Lady Luck are (were) the only ones with infinity marks from 2013-2016, but after, it's just Prussia from when LL saved his life. Because she was right there, the mark warped when she wanted it to, but her grasp on the magic slipped and it returned to the normal infinity sign. The infinity sign is kinda just her mark.**

 **Old English**

Old French

Old Norse

* * *

Elizabeth sighed as she looked over Eilmer's notes on flight carefully. England was staring at some books from Ireland as well and looked up, " **Is there something bothering you**?"

" **Kind of. There was a prince born a day or two ago in France, but I can't go see the kid because the king is super fucking religious and he threatened to-a burn me at the stake. I really don't like him** ," She said, slamming her hand on the table and letting a bit of her accent through.

Oliver blinked as he took over, " **But Bethy...** "

She looked over at him startled, " **It's not the same with you two, don't worry, but I actively fear this man**." The woman clenched her fists and sighed. " **I'm scared of burning, Al**."

Arthur took back over and frowned, " **It hurts. It really does...** " Elizabeth looked over to her half-brother in worry as his gaze lost focus. She came around to his side in case something happened. " **You can't move anything but your head and shoulders, but they tie your chest and arms and legs down... They set you in the middle of a bale made of straw and wood and pile it tightly against you. They light it on fire and if you're lucky... The smoke chokes you before you burn to death. I got lucky...**

 **"I woke up the next day covered in soot and parts of my flesh missing, but a cloak covered me and I managed to make it home. I stayed inside that castle for a few years until I got over my fear of fire and my wounds healed... Then your sorry face showed up at the door.** " Elizabeth chuckled and ruffled his hair for a spare moment.

He paused again, " **I heard from my Mumsy once that she could sprout wings. She said once that Rome tried to burn her, but her wings sprung from her back and managed to break the ropes somehow. It's the same spell she taught me and I you. Rome managed to catch her and cut off her wings thought. 'The sky is only for angels'. Bastard.** "

" **I'm sorry. Al, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure you don't have to lose yours. I promise you that you won't have to go through the pain that Rome put on your mother** ," Elizabeth whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. England choked on a sob before leaning into her grasp. She rubbed his back as the boy cried for his lost mother and in his old terrors.

After he calmed down enough, England rubbed his eyes, " **T-That never happened...** "

Elizabeth smiled knowingly, " **What do you mean? Nothing happened.** " He threw a small rock as her and she laughed as she held her arms up, " **I surrender!** "

" **But still, send that bloody king a note just to spite him. Franceface deserves it** ," He quipped, going back to his small book.

" **Alright, but if they come marching their asses over here, you're hiding me**."

* * *

France blinked in confusion as the Imperial Eagle sat on top of the king's chair and Robert II was trying to wave it off with a sword, but the older blonde stopped him, "Hold on, I know who it is."

"Who in the world would send a bird of that siz... It's her, isn't it? What is she doing?" The nation shrugged as he took the note from the bird's leg and chuckled under his breath. "So?"

"She wishes Robert... Oh my."

The king snatched the note from France's hand, but paused when Henry shrieked, but read it anyway. 'Dear King, I wish your newborn well, but he's not going to be the nicest, and it's not surprising. He truly is your son. Without love, Heretic.' His face turned a bright red as he crumbled the note and through it into the fire and swiped his sword at the bird in anger. "GET OUT!" France and Henry exited the room and the nation chuckled as he was out of earshot.

"Annabelle, what the hell are you thinking?!" 1011 was amusing to say the least. At least Robert didn't know where she was. That was good.

* * *

Elizabeth growled as she glared at Denmark from across the room, but she continued to sneak Æthelred out of the castle. " **Come on. I'm going to get you to the coast of France, but after that, you're on your own**." The king nodded shakily as she led him out to two awaiting horses. Luckily it was only Denmark and a few heavily armed guards protecting Sweyn Forkbeard, but the group couldn't waste any time.

It was 1013 and English resistance to the invading Danes fell. " **Where will you have me going**?"

She sighed and looked around and carefully trotted the horse off into the night, Æthelred following her, " **I'm sending you to Normandy-** "

" **Why there**?"

" **Damn it, Æthelred. England might not like France all that much, but Frank has been there for him when he's needed it. France will take you in** ," The woman said, reaching into her bag and pulled out a small ring. " **Show this to him and it might help. Don't you dare lose it. I'm going to want it back**." The king carefully took the ring and blinked.

" **How will this help**?"

Elizabeth growled and pinched the bridge of her nose, " **It's a private thing, but he'll get it.** " He nodded and placed it in a small pouch for safe keeping. " **For the love of... Think of the people in your kingdom. Change something when you're getting ready to come back and don't let this happen again. Sweyn is old.** " Æthelred nodded minutely and they continued east. She left him in Normandy and returned quickly, just in time for Sweyn's coronation as king. It was Christmas, 1013.

Her brother, despite his past, was fairly accepting of Denmark, only frowning a little more than normal. She sat and stood between them as often as possible, and frowned when he stood eye-to-eye. "Rag, I'm getting taller than you."

"Shut up, Dan."

"You're short."

"Dan, I swear on your hair-"

The blonde yelped, "Not the hair again!" England snorted and Denmark sent him a half-amused look. "It was pretty bad."

"What did you do again?"

The taller nation grinned as he tried to recall it, "Oh yeah! I picked you up and wouldn't put you down!"

England shook his head and Elizabeth chuckled, "I can't wait for the next fifty or so years." The blondes hummed, but didn't question it. They trusted her enough.

* * *

Arthur sat next to his sister as Edward, son of Æthelred stood before the group of noblemen. He had a piece of paper in his hands, but he stood tall, not looking at it. " **Edward. What does your father have to say**?"

" **He greets everyone well. He has received your letter and says he will be a good and gracious king. My father will be willing to reform all it is that you hate. All he asks in return is your loyalty to him. With your help, we can force all Danish kings in England into exile. He also wishes to return a ring to a friend**." The child pulled a small piece of jewelry from his pocket and returned it to Elizabeth. She nodded as she picked it up and turned it over in her hand before placing it back in her bag.

The small nation by her side cast his sister a sideways look and frowned, but she nodded, " **He means it. He may be weak, but he means it.** "

Arthur sighed and sat up and looked at the remaining lords at the table, holding a silent conversation with many of them. Several had small side conversations going on, but they all seemed to agree. He turned to the young prince.

" **Tell your father to return as soon as possible. We have a war to fight**." Edward perked and nodded, darting out before Elizabeth smiled.

" **He's going to be an odd king someday**." The nation nodded and leaned on the table. " **Get some rest. You're going to need it. Nothing is going to be the same for you after 1066.** "

He looked at her wearily, " **Really**?"

She smiled with a similar countenance, " **Yeah. But you turn into a modern country. You'll grow. Just... Be ready for France. Things get ugly...** "

" **That's an understatement...** " Swyen had died eariler in the year and passed his reign onto his sons. One took the crown of Denmark, one took the Norwegian crown and the last son, Cnut, better known as Canute, took the English throne.

So in March, 1014, Æthelred returned to England and not long after, Cnut was forced to flee because of a surprise attack. He wouldn't be gone long. He returned in 1015 with a force that made the two immortals remember the days of Alfred the Great. Those on the ship included Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Poland. The last one was a surprise, but he stood opposite to her half-brother, so she would stay. It was now up to the British people. Sadly, Æthelred had taken ill and the soldiers wanted him to lead them, not his son, Edmund.

As Cnut ravaged his was through the countryside, England and Edmund were scrambling for support, including going to a nobleman known as Uhtred, but because their forces were too weak, they surrendered. Uhtred was slaughtered. Things took a turn for the better in April 1016 when Æthelred died, so the remaining nobles took Edmund as king. The several times Cnut tried to attack London under the new king, he was pushed away. Then, a key player decided to switch places. Eadric, who had been playing back and forth more than a short ping-pong game, switched to Edmund's side, only to pull the rug out right when the English king needed him.

When Eadric switched sides, he took more than his men. He knocked out Elizabeth and took her with him. Honestly, she wasn't surprised to wake up with Sweden and Norway standing by a small fire and chatting, watching over her. "Hello."

She growled and rubbed the goose egg at the back of her head, "Hey Norge, Sweden. Let me guess, it was that dirtbag Eadric."

Sweden hummed and looked into the fire, "Yes."

"Damnit. I'm going to kill him someday."

A knock came at the door and Denmark appeared in the room, "Cnut's not happy about the situation either, so you can have a swing at his head if you want. The traitor also brought your weapons and axe. I have got to teach you to use a shield!"

She winced, rubbing the place he had hit her a few decades ago, "No thanks. I'd rather have Sweden teach me, he remembers how Germania taught and that man helped me learn how to fight. Sweden, are you of with that?" The blonde shrugged and Ragin nodded, "Thanks. Anyway, when am I going to go back?"

The Dane paused, "Well, if Edmund keeps pushing, then probably sooner than later, but do you really hate me that much?"

"It's more of the fact that you are constantly invading my brother. He's getting really tired of it," Ragin growled, attempting to stand up. She looked around at the others and pouted, "You're all catching up on me. When did you guys get taller than me?"

Norway shook his head as his troll came up and floated by her shoulder and the woman stared at it blankly, "You're an ass."

Sweden coughed oddly and Denmark gasped, "Rag, you made Sweden laugh! How?"

The Norwegian looked over, "Probably because he though she was insulting you." Denmark pouted and .

"So Edmund's not giving up?" The woman asked, looking over at Denmark questioningly.

He shook his head, "No, and it's beginning to creep my boss out. He's trying to reach out to the false king-"

"Says the nation of the false English king," Ragin growled, crossing her arms. Denamrk laughed and ruffled her hair. She swatted the hands away, "Damn it, stop it!"

Things ended up having an interesting ending. England was once again divided between the Danelaw and Wessex, and the agreement was that whichever king died first would pass his side over to the other king. Edmund ended up dying unexpected dying November 30, 1016. Cnut was king of all England. However, he tried to settle in, marrying Æthelred's widow, Emma of Normandy. While Elizabeth never asked her, she thought that she married Cnut to save her sons' lives. It worked either way, but she couldn't stick around for the wedding.

Romano needed her.

* * *

 **I never realized how fucked up this time period was. Seriously, war is always going on, it's horrible! Peaches, help. Oh yeah! And the Governor of Alabama put AL in a state of Emergency because of a large storm coming through, but it's still sunny out in some areas! I love the weather.**


	91. Chapter 82

**I really shouldn't be doing this right now.**

 **AnonChan1: But it's the second time it's done that and I'm beginning to get a little... tense about it. Seriously, is that an RvB reference? If not, it's Our Lord and Savior Doitsu. Doitsuism is real. The name or the rings? Do what? Honestly, from what I've heard about you and your sister, I'm not even surprised anymore. No, but I needed to bring that up. Rivalry? Pretty much and Robert needs ta chill the fuck out. It's her 'signature' ring, the gold one given to her to sign stuff with in chapter... 68, labeled 62. It looked like a toddler took scissors to their sleeping parent's hair. We've all seen what happens. She would have taken it back, but it wouldn't cause an international incident. He genuinely is. He's defected more than NS Italy (Sorry if I offend any Italians, but in my history classes, Italy switched sides from the losing side to the winning in both WWs.) He does, but he kinda knows who took her. Hmmm. Minor SuFin, but I personally don't like DenNor, but I put up with it because, as someone once pointed out, it's pointless to argue over ships because we're all Hetalia fans, part of a 'dying fandom'. Considering some of the stuff other ships put out though, DenNor is innocent. I also do not ship the brothers or anyone else really in the N5.**

 **Hoppy854: The most the invasion has been mentioned was when Rome began to push against and kill Britannia. Sorry, but this story doesn't touch much before 79, and it kills me that I had to skip Boudica. Don't worry, the Italian Bros are too different for them to die on each other. If anyone looks it up, it was shocking because it looks like the North and South really do hate each other.**

Italian

 **Classical Latin**

 _Flashback/thoughts_

* * *

The moment she stepped into the home, she laughed. " **Get off-a me, you-a stupid wine drinker**!"

 **"But Romano~! I just want to love you**!"

The small child ran away from France without looking and his sister kneeled to pick up up, " **Let-a me go you bastar** -"

Fortuna laughed and spun around once with him in her arms, "Nice to see you too, Romano."

"Ragazza, you-a bitch, you nearly gave-a me a heart attack!" Romano yelled, punching her shoulder. France peeked his head in and chuckled.

" **Romano, isn't it rude to hit a woman**?"

He paused and looked down, " **Shut-a up, wine bastard**."

Fortuna growled, " **France, stay out of this. Romano, just keep being the little shit you are**."

The kid frowned up at her and slugged her in the arm, " **Whatever, Bitch**." France shook his head and walked off and Romano rested his head on her shoulder, "Sorella, I'm-a tired."

"I am too, Roma. Just relax. I won't let you fall," She whispered, kissing the crown of his head. He smiled and began to sleep on her shoulder. ' _I get sick of masks as well, Romano... I'm not going to let you fall, to let you die...(1)_ ' The Norman 'invasion' of Southern Italy had begun.

A new egg arrived with a letter and Romano sat next to her on the bed as he looked the oval object over curiously. "If you want a swing, get over here," Fortuna murmured as her brother gently held the eagle egg.

"What the-a fuck?"

She smiled down at him and flopped backwards, "There was a noble or duke or earl or something that switched his alliance between two fighting kings at _least_ three times. He was an important dude and really hurt England. Denmark, the other country who got hurt, offered me a swing at his head, but I'm doing ok right now."

He nodded and carefully rotated the egg in his hands, "Is this the same-a kind of bird you-a usually have?"

"Yeah. It's big enough to take care of itself easily and it lives longer than most mortals I know. I always name them Henry because by the time I normally get a new one, the old Henry is dead and dying and I'd be too confused with which name to call them, so it's easier to name them all Henry," The woman explained as she grabbed her cloak next to the bed and wrapped it into a nest on a nearby table. Romano passed her the oval and she put it down. "Roma, I want to ask you about something. Something about the future."

The kid frowned and crossed his arms, "Si, Ragazza?"

Fortuna sighed and kneeled next to the bed, resting her arms on top of it, "I have to adopt the future me, correct?"

"Yeah, where the-a hell are you going with-a this?"

She clenched her fists, "I want, kinda have to, to raise her away from all of this. I want her to have a normal life without having to worry, 'oh, if I forget this, how will it impact this?' When I have to adopt her, the government, including you are going to know about it." Tears popped into her eyes and her lip quivered as she took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Romano, but I want to raise her without her ever knowing countries exist."

He stared at her with wide eyes, "So you don't want-a me in her life? You're life?"

"Damn it, Romano. I remember seeing you a few times when I was a child. You pushed me on a swing when I was too little to know how to use one. You brought me back to my mom when I got lost in Rome once. You were there, but I didn't remember you when I saw you as an adult. You were there, but at a distance. I will not stop you from seeing one of yours, but I want her to lead a normal life!"

"And drop a huge amount of-a news on her? Are you-a insane?!" The child growled, tears appearing in his own eyes. Fortuna's eyes widened and she choked on a laugh. "D-Damnit what's so funny!"

Tears streaked down her face as she struggled to sit up, "You have the same fucking reaction when you're older. You never do chance. You did- HOLY SHIT!"

Romano jumped and landed back, growling, "What the-a fuck, Ragazza?!"

Fortuna laughed harder, "I'm really hoping you were pretending, but... Peaches, it would be so much easier to show you..."

"Then why not?"

"What?" She swallowed, staring at her terrified.

He frowned and stared her down, "Don't-a lie. England told-a me a hundred something-a years ago. If you weren't-a ok bring it-a up, and I can-a see why, that was your-a business. I haven't seen-a you do anything that lets you support the-a devil and I know how you-a feel about-a religion. So, show me."

The woman stared at him with wide eyes and her shoulders slumped. "R-Roma..."

"What?"

"T-Thank you..." The biggest two secrets she had were known by the most important person to her and the fact he didn't mind either... "I-I... T-That's"

The boy's eyes softened and he came over to slide off the bed and wrapped her in a hug, well as much as he could, "I-a know, Carina. It's-a ok. What where going to show-a me?"

Fortuna chuckled and wiped her eyes, "Y-Yeah. But first things first, I don't think you knew it was me, or it was some skit we came up with. When you first met me, at least."

"Oh god. I-a almost don't want to-a know," Romano groaned, edging away from his sister. "Whatever." Fortuna grinned and rested her forehead on his and whispered a few words. She dragged her brother into her memories and the one she was looking for popped into mind.

* * *

 _Romano stood in front of her and her mother and smiled gently as he looked over to the older. "Ciao, Ragazza. Ciao..." He cocked his head as he smiled charmingly, holding out a hand._

 _Carina held out a shaky hand, "I-uh, I-I'm Carina. Nice to meet you." A light blush dusted her cheeks as he bowed to kiss her knuckles._

 _"Beloved? It-a fits such a beautiful lady such as yourself," He soothed, causing the young girl to giggle. He smiled happily and stood as her mother took a step forward._

 _"Romano, back off my daughter," Liberty growled, crossing her arms, completely unimpressed. The man's eyes grew wide and he immediately took a step back._

 _"W-Wait, she's yo-" Romano stumbled, but quickly recovered. "What the hell, Ragazza! You never told us you had a damn daughter. Or is this-"_

 _Liberty huffed, "Romano, shut it. And yes, you's my lucky star. And one of yours." A small glint in her made Romano smile again as small blush crossed his face._

 _"R-Really? Well, Bella, what-a city, then? If you're-a from Roma, then-"_

 _The girl suddenly found her feet very interesting, and shrunk, "I-I'm from the Pompeii area of Naples." The country froze as a small 'oh' passed his lips. Carina noticed this and panicked. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I don't know what the hell I did, but I'm such an idiot sometimes and need to learn to shut my fuc-" Her face was now an uncomfortable peach pink._

 _Romano snorted and smiled at her reassuringly, "Bella, shut the hell up. It's fine, I just had a bit of a breathing problem before and after. And she sure is one of mine." His gaze turned to the other woman and his grin turned arrogant, "She has the language down alright, Ragazza." Liberty chuckled as the memory faded out._

* * *

Fortuna hadn't even opened her eyes to know that her brother was bright as a fire engine. Opening her eyes confirmed this and Romano pulled away, diving under the covers. She chuckled lightly and lightly scratched what she knew was his back. "I know that you might not be ok with it, but Romano, I want you to know that if you did know, it really did help me calm down then. I was a nervous wreck and I knew that I was going to be ok. I trusted you."

His muffled voice came from under the covers, "I flirted with-a my sister."

"You knew who I was and considering you now know about it, I don't think it was on accident," The woman replied, going to sit next to him. He remained quiet, but still leaned into the gentle scratching. The sun began to set and a small rumble came from under the blanket. "I'm going to go get an orange for you, Fratello." No reply came and she sighed. "Sorry, Romano..." She walked out and went out to the dormant garden. Two small orange trees grew in the corner and she gently picked through the leaves for one or two still growing in the December air. A small sound told her someone was there, but a small check for auras told her it was her brother.

"Yeah, Romano Italia?"

He came and sat next to her, "I don't know what to-a do."

Fortuna sighed and sat down, looking into the leaves, "Pack it away, but it's not going to go away. But know, for me, you helped calm me down that day when my mother couldn't. For me, you were a rock that I needed. Now it's your turn to find out how to go on. You're still going to be my brother, but it's your option if you push me away or if we just keep goin-" He latched onto her arm and leaned his head on it.

"You-a talk too much, Sorella." She breathed out a sigh of relief and ruffled his hair gently.

"And you will always tell me when to stop, Fratello. Come on, let's go make dinner. But one more thing," She asked, looking down at him.

He peeked up at her, "Hmmm?"

The woman smiled, "No more masks. If you want to say it, say it. If you want to smile, smile. If you want to do something around me, don't hide. You will always be my big brother."

Romano blushed lightly and nodded, "Ok, but right back at-a you, Carina." She stiffened, but nodded. Picking him up, they went into the home to make some dinner.

She would stay with the brother until Holy Rome would come in in 1022. Pope Benedict VIII had took a trip over the alps to seek help from the Emperor from the Byzantines, the whole reason the Normans were there in the first place. Even though it had taken 2 years, Henry II was now on his way. Romano rarely left her arms the whole time that Holy Rome was trampling his way over the ankle of the peninsula, but the Byzantines were stubborn in Troia.

After a while, Holy Rome appeared back in the home and he was coughing slightly. Romano glared at the invader and Fortuna gently set her brother on the ground, " **Holy Rome, are you ok**?"

He shook his head and looked at Romano, " **I'm sorry, but I couldn't get them out**." The older boy huffed and crossed his arms.

" **You-a tried, but get-a out**."

The blonde huffed, " **I can't get out of here fast enough, but my boss wanted me to tell you that we're taking Pandulf.** "

Romano raised an eyebrow, " **You're taking that-a traitor? By all-a means, if it will get you-a out of here**."

" **Remember who you support, Romano** ," Holy Rome said and sighed. " **Some of the territories were less than welcoming, supporting the Romans a bi-** "

" **THEY ARE NOT ROMANS** ," Fortuna growled, glaring down at the Germanic. " **They might still use his culture, but she is not-** "

"Fortuna," Romano snapped and she took a step back. " **Leave**." The blonde in the room nodded and left quickly and Romano sighed. "Sorry, but-"

She shook her head and sighed, "It's fine. I-I get mad when people refer to her... In the future, people have a jolly fucking fit over this because everyone swears up and down that because she took his culture after... but at the same time, they're different. For one-"

"Byzantine doesn't have Rome, that's for-a sure!" His sister chuckled and nodded.

"That's one way to put it, but yeah. Rome's capital was his heart and she has a different one. It's not unification yet, you can't just declare something you don't have as your capital."

Romano cocked his head, "What?"

Fortuna waved her hand with exhaustion, "Nothing, a story for... 840 years. PEACHES! I'm almost a thousand years old!" His eyes grew wide and he sat down.

"It's been that long?"

"Shit, where did time go? Last time I remember, I remember you and Feli were just curled up, listening to stories. That... Shit, I've fucked up my life."

He snorted, "You're just now realizing that?"

She laughed, "Well thanks, but yeah. I can't even visit France, his king will burn me at the stake, I just came from England and have to go back soon, Holy Rome needs time to rest and Feli... I need to pay him a visit, Henry managed not to fuck him over for once."

Romano stiffened, "What did he do?" The woman deflated and clenched her fists.

"His soldiers burned down Pavia. Only a few things in the house survived. Feliciano was ok and Henry left him alone after that. I'm going to have to teach you two how to use a sword when you're a few inches taller," She said, looking over the weapons she now carried. "Fucking blades."

Her brother did the same and ran his hand gently over the Persian sheath, "I can take one or off your-a hands, Ragazza, but don't make-a this a fucking habit. Your old-a Roman sword is under the-a bed." Fortuna swallowed and gripped the sword tightly and a familiar grin popped into her mind. "Ragazza?"

"Sorry, I'm just trying to let go..." He looked into her eyes and nodded patiently.

"Take your-a time, Fortuna. No one's-a rushing you."

She half choked on her laughs, "How is it that you-a always know?"

The boy smiled crookedly, "I'm fucking magical, Ragazza."

* * *

 **So done, so tired. 37 years until she's 1000 years old. And guys? I really kinda hate to admit this, but... I'm starting to slow down, I'm starting to lose a bit of inspiration for this. Do you guys want an easter basket? It would have a bit of Pirate England and Spain, meeting Teutonic, and (You know what, fuck it. Just in case I do lose completely, I want this up) Carina's first few days. I just want 2 reviews for the easter basket. Seriously, I can be two words :Easter basket. I don't care.**

 **(1) This entire time, when I've been having LL say 'I won't let you fall'? She won't let their country fall. She's seen the fall of Rome, Germania, Sasanian Empire and the Huns. She'll be damned if she lets her family fall.**

 **(2) General spew about the Byzantines, if I haven't brought it up before. First off, I do acknowledge how in history, people consider the Byzantines Romans because their culture continued, but guys, seriously, a nation cannot keep customs the same always. It turned greek again. They shifted their capital to Constantinople after Rome split. They shifted their official language from Latin to Greek in 610. They did not hold the city that they're named after. It's not the Italian unification, guys, come on. (FYI, I'm going to cover this, but when the brother united, France held Rome and Venice, but they declared Rome capital anyway. You go guys!) Onto the other side of the argument. Basically... ALL OF THE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND THEM CALLED THEM ROMANS BECAUSE IT WAS A CONTINUATION AND CALLED THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE. Some people in Europe (Sorry if I'm butchering your guys' history!) do consider Byzantine as Rome, but I don't agree with this. Make your own choice or look it up.**


	92. Thank you and Early Easter

**Ok, just for an early easter. It's really in 5 days. I'm part of the US who's only in it for the candy and the presents in the baskets. So there's this (if y'all review in time). Prussia's first appearance will be in 1230. And y'all, you guys are so sweet! Because of school and work, I am slowing down and I'm losing the spark that made me write this, but I've stated it once, I'll state it again, you guys are keeping me going. I want to share history an** **d little tidbits of history mentioned in hetalia that are more hidden, but by no means am I stopping this completely. I might update once a week or two, but I'm still going, to see this through to the end.**

 **AnonChan1: SLEEP BRO! But yeah... Its getting weirder. Again, not surprised. Of the Millennium. Look** **at his current hair and imagine it almost to the scalp. She probably would have just showed up 'hey can I have it back?' and everything would have been fine. Basically and those relationships are kinda funny. He wasn't, mostly screwing around? Kinda yeah, but it's mostly annoyance, but people have always kinda had a foothold in S. Italy. She had to put up with that and with her kill count, it no longer disturbs her. Henry is Pierre 2.0. Basically, but Romano is actually extremely understanding when it comes to his sister. TRUE. That would be a lot more awkward. They would both know though. Basically. Ok! And really, thanks, but if I take a break, I'm just going to lose more. Maybe I just need to watch the film that got me the idea: Jason bourne.**

 **Guest: Thank you for sharing your opinion on it and sorry if my previous chapter to Guest put you off. I have seen the headcanon where Romano wad the Byzantine Empire ONCE, but that's one reason I'm doing this story. The whole point was to teach Hetalia fans about the small jokes hidden inside, as well as teaching history and letting off some steam. The Gothic wars were a mess and I covered it a little bit, but only the beginning with the death of Amalsuntha, one of Justinian's diplomatic friends. It was the Lombards who invaded at the time. I do have a definitive ending for this (The death chapter) so I just have to get there. For unification, I'll try to do a mix. I don't remember the man's name off the top of my head, but he will unify the two and I'm going to have them discuss unification as they did in my hetaoni sidestory.**

 **Hoppy854: Trust me, I'm just as surprised. I'm just slowing down. I'm going to see this through and even if I look back at my old stories and cringe, I don't delete them. I never delete a story. Thank you so much, by the way!**

* * *

Amalia stretched her arms above her head as she looked over the letter again. Germania had sent it requesting her to travel up to the Baltic sea and he'd meet her there. It was a long walk, but it was always quiet. A familiar icy blue aura was up ahead and she flared out her aura. The other pulsed in reply and she ran up to greet her old friend, "Germania! It's been too long! What's going on?"

The blonde smiled and looked at his feet, "There's someone I want you to meet." A white, fluffy mass shifted so it hid further behind him and the woman's lips curled gently.

"It's not a rabbit, is i-" A small child looked up at her, his red eyes boring into her amber eyes. Both sets widened and without missing a beat, Amalia threw off her cloak and went to drape it over the kid, but he screamed and ran away.

"VATI!" Germania watched in faint amusement as his newest ward attempted to outrun the Italian. Key words were attempted, outrun, and Italian.

Amalia growled as she vaulted herself at him and twisted so she landed on her back and the boy rested on her stomach. "You're a little shit, you know that?" She panted, turning the hood up on the cloak. The small albino blinked at her in confusion and carefully moved a hair out of her face. "Let out your fucking aura." A gentle lilac or pink emerged from the kid as she slowly sat up. Putting the kid back on the ground, she walked over to to the large blonde. "What the fuck, Germania? I thought you were more responsible than this! What the hell are you doing letting him run around without a cover on his face, he's going to be redder than a rose if he's not careful-"

"His name is the Teutonic Knights, but call him Teuton, it's easier," Germania grunted.

Teutonic growled and bunched the extra fabric in his hands, "Vati! It's Teutonic! Who are you, Lady?"

Amalia chuckled, and kneeled so he could see her better, "Just an old soul, Teutonic. How are you doing?"

He grinned, "I'm doing great! Mein big bruder let me sleep in today!" Amalia cocked her head in confusion.

"Big brother?"

"Jah! The Holy Roman Empire!"

"Shit! He's here?! Germania, you-"

A battle cry cut her off and a small body mass barreled into her. Teutonic sat on her chest and the blonde child on her knees, "Take that, Amalia! I told you I could take you down next time!" She wheezed and Teutonic laughed. "Glad this is amusing to you to, but can you get off? Teutonic, take the cloak, it'll keep you out of sun for now."

He blinked and looked at the thick cape wrapped around his shoulders, "Sure, I guess." The two brothers climbed off and Germania pulled her to her feet.

"It's nice seeing you again. Do you want to...?"

She grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, "I was waiting for you to ask. And take better care of Teutonic, his skin burns easily and he can't see very well, isn't that right?" Teutonic frowned and kicked her in the shin.

"I don't have to say anything I don't want to!" She smiled and ruffled his hair roughly. He blushed and went to hide behind his older brother.

Amalia turned back to Germania, "The thing...?"

Teutonic turned to his brother, "They're not going to make out or anything like that, right?"

Germania snorted, "No, we fight. How long has it been?"

She shrugged, "It was back around Theodoric, so... 700 years?" Teutonic gagged on air and Holy Rome slammed his open hand into his back. The albino looked at his brother in amazement.

"She's immortal?" The woman laughed.

"I thought you could read auras! I'm about 1170 years old, at least until September. So you've been around for about 40?" He nodded with a bright face and Amalia smiled, "If you ever need anything, just let me know, alright?"

"Amalia." She looked up and barely managed to draw her blade and defend herself and the small organization behind her as Germania swung. The woman growled as she pushed back, swinging her own sword, twisting it around back towards him so it managed to cut off a few hairs. "You've gotten better."

"You've been inactive, that's all," She replied, stepping back. He nodded and his shoulders relaxed. The woman knew that look and sheathed her blade. "What is it?"

He put up his own sword and looked at his wards, more specifically, the youngest, "I need someone to train them, but I'm done, Amalia. I can talk to Teutonic-"

"Vati?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "His eyesight is useless, but his ears are sharper than a dog's. I want you to teach him how to see and how to use his sword. You know more about his condition than I do-"

Amalia smiled, "It's fine, Germania. Teutonic, are you alright with that?"

The child behind her jumped, "How did you know I was right there?!"

She grinned, "Because I'm better than you are."

He shook his head, "No, I'm better!" Germania and Holy Rome shared a blank look before the latter headed inside. The former disappeared.

* * *

Liberty cursed as her neighbor that normally lived above her screamed in pain. The human was sweating horribly and clenching the chair tightly as the doctor insisted for her to push one last time. A final scream ripped its way through the expecting mother. "C'mon, Roxanne!"

A baby's wail echoed around the room and the tired mother sighed with relief and turned to her friend and neighbor as her heart monitor began to decrease. It wasn't enough for the doctors to panic, but Liberty knew better. Judging from her friend's smile, she also knew.

"Take care of her for me, please, Liberty? I know you're good with kids and you'll look after her like your own, but please..." A nurse came by and asked for the child's name. Roxanne smiled wearily, "Abra. Have her take my last name. If my friend and my child's new mother want to change the name so be it..." The heart monitor flatlined and the baby was passed onto Liberty so the staff could help the dead mother.

Placing her finger in the baby's hand, she smiled with tears in her eyes, "Hello little one. Long time, no see." She walked into the hall to make a phone call.

He had been nervous and she knew why. Liberty explained the situation and the man bobbed his head as he smiled and played with the baby "I don't know how I'm going to do this! I've been preparing for the past three years, but now that it's actually tim-"

"Liberty Brewster? It's being processed, but you should be able to take the child home. Is she going to be keeping her name?"

The woman shook her head, "I'll tell her when she's older, but I was to change the name to Carina Amalia Brewster. I'd rather not have to answer questions as to why we have different names." The nurse nodded and went off to input the information, so Liberty returned to the male. "How are you doing with this?"

He shrugged, "It's-a weird, but I know everything is going to-a be ok. You do-a know that the-a others will be part of her life one way or another, Liberty."

The new mother sighed, "Yeah and it's weird looking back in my memories and realizing just how much the countries were invested in my life."

Romano chuckled, "What did you-a expect?"

* * *

England glared out at the ships as his Queen did the same. "Bess, what do you think?"

The two Elizabeths looked at him blankly, "Which Elizabeth?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, Sister, what do you think?"

"Romano's going to kick my ass for this, but Spain needs to calm down. The way he's treating Native America is not ok," The older woman growled.

The Queen nodded, "I am not going to let you get married to that Pirate."

The other laughed, "Dear Lizzie, you know-"

"Ellie, please," The monarch quipped and the other chuckled. "England, if you could."

He nodded and bowed to the woman and turned to his uniformed sister, who nodded, "After you, Brother." He gripped his gun and his sister grasped her own tightly, heading down to their own ships. England had a trusted crew, but Elizabeth had to captain a crew that neither knew her or trusted her.

The highest member on deck frowned at her, but she stared him down, "Does this crew know how to sail in a storm?"

He frowned at her, "And who sent you?"

"Good Queen Bess and England himself," Elizabeth snarled, gripping her fencing blade in one hand tightly. The man continued to glare at her and she sighed. "For fuck's sake, if a woman can lead a country, an immortal can lead a crew for the dozenth in her life!"

"Fine. Where do you want us _ma'am?_ " The crew member spat.

Elizabeth growled, "We're going to sneak behind them and run them into the cliffs. We know these seas and the winds better than they do." He nodded and began shouting orders and the woman set to help out. It surprised the crew, but she continued on. A ship sailed next to her's and she grinned to see her brother.

"Bess, what are you doing?"

"We're heading around! Remember Alfred's fleet and Denmark? And you need to make it storm! You sure as peaches know how to!" It was difficult yelling over the waves, but thunder crashed. "Show them what you're made of, Al!"

The man grinned and Elizabeth shivered to see such a look in his eyes. It would skim the surface in Oliver's eyes, but nothing like this.

"Carina! How are you doing?" Spain yelled, shocking the woman, but she remembered how quickly the small English ships moved.

"Is Romano on board?"

The brunet cocked his head with a dangerous grin that almost didn't belong on his face, "I would, but he all but demanded to stay home. I was just this once, so I wonder why?"

Elizabeth roared at him and raised her gun, taking aim. The bullet skimmed his jaw and the speed removed some of his long hair, "Turn around Aragon! You're going to regret it!" His wide eyes turned into a nasty snarl and he raised his sword.

A canon ball launched off and it landed uselessly into the water. "Carina~ You know I'm not going to leave Philip and I want England! They're false children of god!"

She laughed and faced the crew, "Continue the round!" The woman turned back around and snarled, "I was never a child of God in the first place! Let us remember who had my wings cut!"

Spain frowned and raised his own gun, taking aim, but his men's cries alerted him to an incoming danger. "Cliffs!" His emerald eyes widened and suddenly, she saw her brother standing by the man and shouted a spell, diverting the waves in a different direction and in the opposite direction of the cliffs, back towards his country.

Green eyes met amber as she sighed in relief as he took note of the way the current moved before his eyes widened. His lips moved, but Elizabeth couldn't hear him, but the Armada soon turned around, a third of its original size gone and destroyed.

When she would see Spain next, the dangerous look was completely gone and Romano told her about Spain's version while munching on a tomato. The fruit was new to Europe, but her full brothers took to it quickly. After Romano went to sleep, Spain approached the caretaker.

"Carina? Is it really true? All that stuff I've heard? You're a witch?"

Carina huffed and crossed her arms, "I don't worship any devil or try to turn christians amd catholics away from god, try to make anyone fall for me, or cause any kind of disaster. I use it when I have no other option. Have you ever turned 'pirate' on Romano?"

He looked at the tense glare she sent him and shook his head, "Roma is my little friend, I don't want to scare him. I don't want to give him any reason to go to the Ottomans."

"Alright. I'm going to head off to bed. See you in the morning," The auburnette whispered and headed back. Spain caught her wrist and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Gracias, Carina," He whispered. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him and he chuckled. "Aww! Your curl is turning into a heart!"

Carina yelped and pushed him away, "Shut up, you asshole, no it's not! I'm going to bed!"

Spain laughed and watched as she ran off. "You're just like Romano..." He murmured.

Carina huffed as she closed the door and Romano peeked at her, "What did that bastard do now?"

She shook her head as she bent over to catch her breath, "N-Nothing. H-Have you used the bathroom yet? You're going to wet the bed."

"N-No, I'm not!" Her brother protested, even though he slipped out of bed and around a curtain to use the 'toilet'. She chuckled and crawled into her bed. Romano later crawled in that night.

* * *

 **I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to let this story fall.**


	93. Up to changes but snapshots' chapter

**Sorry, but I don't fall for stuck up billionares. The past makes us what we are today. Wouldn't change a thing. True though. Truuuuuue! Yeah. Thanks Anon. You're the best. Thanks and have this.**

* * *

America gave his brother a confused look as the man once again began yelling at him for one thing or another at a meeting. "Dude, Iggy, why do you have such a massive stick up your ass? When's the last time you got laid?" The Englishman blushed and frowned at the loud American.

"I'm not saying in front of a lady!" He said, looking over at Liberty. Half the room raised an eyebrow and America snorted.

"Dude, Liberty's got more balls than you any day, now 'fess up. A hundred years ago? Two hundred? Have you ever gotten laid?" He asked, laughing.

"Well, I-"

"DUDE!"

"America," Liberty said, standing up. The dirty blonde backed off a bit, and looked at her. "Britain, even if he's never gotten some, is, by far not the oldest virgin in the room," She finished.

America laughed, "Dude, China, seriously?!" The 4000 year old nation began fuming.

"Not me, you idiot! I have known more women than you can dream of!" America looked over at Russia who shook his head pleasantly, and skipped immediately over France, and looked to the woman who helped raise him.

"Liberty, n-no way!" He laughed, and a few other nations looked over at her, France in wonder.

"Belle, no, how?" He asked.

Liberty shrugged, "Never really found the time, and if I form those kinds of attachments, things will either be weird between us, or I'll have my heart broken within the next fifty years," she justified, and the others sat in awkward silence. "That and I made a promise."

"Well then. We should move on, da?" Russia said, breaking the silence. Liberty nodded, and opened her folder.

"Alright, onto our next set of business..."

* * *

 **Spanish**

Italian

Carina was walking around Spain's house on a whim and heard a bit of yelling. Walking over to the room she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Spain was all but beating the board trying to teach Romano Spanish. " **Um, Spain**?" She crept in with with a huge grin hid behind her hand. Romano frowned and shook his head.

" **Yes**?" He looked over to her, " **How do I go about teaching Romano Spanish, he's being really stubborn about it...** " Carina snickered and it quickly escalated to full blown laughter and Romano pounced on her.

"Don't you-a dare tell him! He'll-a never let me-a hear the end of-a it!" He yelled, pounding her shoulder roughly.

Carina shook her head, "Too bad, he has to know this!" She laughed and looked up to the very confused Spain. " **He's being stubborn because he already knows it.** "

Spain blinked and grinned, " **This I got to hear** ," he said, crossing his arms. Romano huffed, crossing his arm and sat down betrayed.

"Romano, I just want you to introduce yourself and tell Spain your favorite red food, that's it," She said gently.

Romano peeked at her from behind his bangs, "And if I-a don't?" Carina tapped her chin thoughtfully and her eyes settled on the carefully-listening Spain. She knew he had been listening to every word exchanged.

She grinned and looked him dead in the eyes, " **Then I'll kiss Spain**." Both men's eyes went wide.

" **C-Carina- you don't-** "

"F-Fortuna, y-you-a can't be serious!" Romano and Spain both protested, but both of their faces were a bright red.

She stood to her full height, and looked down at him, wiping her face clean of emotion, "Am I? You tell me."

Romano looked down and seemed to be weighing his options, "I- ugh, alright..." He took a deep breath and looked at Spain, " **I'm Italia Romano and I like tomatoes!** "

Spain huffed a joyous laugh of empty air and jumped, " **R-Romano, y-you actually speak fluent Spanish?!** "

Romano looked down with a bright red face, " **Y-Yeah, Fortuna t-taught-a me centuries ago...** " He got up out of his seat and ran off. Spain and Carina stared after him.

" **You really taught him a long time ago? That must have been rough** ," Spain remarked.

Carina shook her head, " **Not really, but I have to go make sure he's alright. I just made him do something he really didn't want to do. But, realize this**." Spain looked at her in confusion, " **He's also understood everything you've said in Spanish. Think back and see if there's anything you regret. I taught him in the mid-3rd century**." Spain looked down and nodded ashamed. The auburnette, once proud of her work, began to jog out of the room.

Spain caught her arm, " **W-Would you have a-actually kiss me, though, if he didn't?** " Carina shook her head and Spain's face fell minutely.

" **I knew Romano wouldn't have let me do that. It was rigged from the start, now I need to go find him** ," She said, pulling her arm back. Spain nodded and began to head back into the classroom. " **Hey.** " Spain looked at her out of the corner of his eye. " **I think I'm too serious for you**." Spain smiled and nodded.

* * *

"Oui, but may I remind you that I helped you when you were younger, Visigothic Empire," France mocked. Spain laughed, "Oh, so you're bringing that up, hu-"

"Wait, Spain that was you?" The room's eye shifted over to Liberty. Her eyes were wide and she was tense. Romano grabbed her hand in support.

"Si, why? I was around a long time ago. Maybe not as old as Liberty or the Italy brothers, but I was around for a lot of stuff! The Gothic wars, the Huns-"

Hungary and France looked over at Carina in worry and the brunette woman growled, "Spa~in, shut ~up..."

Spain looked between the two and saw France looking over at the auburnette, "Why are you two looking over at Carina, she wasn't there." Romano looked over to his brother who was breathing heavily.

She leaned over, "Romano, take care of your brother and ignore anything you hear, please?" He raised an eyebrow and nodded quietly.

England cleared his throat, "Well, history says that the huns went undefeated from 445-451, but Elizabeth was with me until 446 or '47, but..." His eyes went wide, "Bess, what happened after you left?" Liberty swallowed and looked down. "Bess?"

France stood up, "Can we please move on? Annabella doesn't like to talk about it."

Spain shook his head, "France, I just want to know. Calm down. Whatever happened to her can't be that bad!" He looked over at Liberty, "Chica, it can't be that bad, right?"

She let out a shaky breath, "Fine, you want to know? Remember me?" Liberty made a cross motion with her hands. "Remember me?"

His eyes went wide as he remembered the battle of Chalons. Many of the other nations looked at each other confuse, but Estonia and Lithuania shared a small look of remorse. "Chica, that... That was you strung up from the cross, half naked and bleeding infection and blood?" Several growls crossed the room and Romano and Veneziano looked at her with horror.

"Spain, I would have wished for that to remain a secret, but you really can't read people, huh? Yes, that was me, ok? Four years in a dark room or having my legs sliced open and watching people be massacred. It's why Sealand called me 'tiger lady' when someone stole all my clothes but a FUCKING bikini the day we went swimming. If I ever find out who that was, they're going to get the ass kicking of a lifetime." Spain froze in horror as she snarled at him and the meeting room was silent.

She huffed, satisfied with the silence before turning on her heel, "I'm going to go to the gym if anyone needs me." The brown-haired man got out of his seat and rushed over, trying to grab her shoulder, but missed horribly.

Romano growled, "Spain, leave her-" A gasp echoed in the room as Spain's hand landed on the back of her neck. Romano left Veneziano's side and France came up as well, pulling a ponytail out of nowhere.

"Bella, come over here, I've got you," The blonde whispered, bringing her to a secluded and divided off alcove. He had found out one day when she came over for a haircut. It had been less embarrassing than Spain's, but it still wasn't good.

Romano growled as he gripped his old caretaker's shirt, "Seriously? You bring up the-a WORST part of her-a history and then mess with her-a curl? What the-a fuck?" Spain shook his head.

"No, I-I didn't mean to!"

China went to see his old friend, "Jun, are you ok?" He looked and blinked at the medium curl sticking out of the high bun. "Is that-"

She slid to the floor, propping her knees up, resting her head on top of them, "Yeah... Found out about it in a pretty embarrassing way five hundred years ago... France, Spain and Romano were the only ones who knew, but the whole room must know by now... Can you bring Prussia back here? H-He needs to know..."

China nodded, but squeezed her hand in a comforting way, "Alright, hold on one moment." Liberty nodded and France returned to comforting her. The ancient peeked his head out and waved over at Prussia. The pale haired man cocked his head, but got out of his seat. He came behind the divider and his gaze set on his girlfriend. His contacts let him see the curl on his embarrassed girlfriend and smiled. He came over and sat next to her on the floor and put his arm around her waist.

"Amalia."

"Teutonic."

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Nice hair," He whispered, putting a kiss on the crown of her forehead. She smiled and leaned against him.

"Thanks, but as much as I love showing who I am, it's a weak point. Romano and Veneziano agree on it too and they don't blame me-"

Prussia hummed and straightened his legs so he could pull her into his lap, "It's part of who you are and it's beautiful."

* * *

"Mom, why don't you go on any dates? I don't mean drinking with your 'history friends'. I mean actual dates, romantic ones." Liberty looked up from the TV to see Carina looking at her. The sixteen year old was staring blankly at her.

Liberty hummed, "I don't know... Never really found the time." Carina hummed and put down her pen. Liberty knew the teen didn't believe her, but there was trust between them enough not to get Carina to follow her.

"Yeah, but why don't you go out there and meet anyone? Time isn't waiting for you. What?" She acted as her mother burst out laughing. The older woman laughed her head off, wiping a tear from her eye. "Speaking of which, how old are you again?"

"Too old. Now back to your review. 498?"

* * *

Liberty smiled as she looked at the large house, "It's been far too long, old friend. Time to go cockblock myself." She laughed and shook her head, but entered the party nonetheless. Her young appearance didn't alert anyone, she did still have the body of a twenty year old. Her tight black leather jeans, tight black turtleneck and leather studded jacket set her out, but everyone seemed too drunk to care. Zoning in, she saw her baby sitting in a corner, slurring words together to an equal drunk boy. The boy's arm around Carina set off alarm bells in her head and she stepped in.

They leaned in and Liberty grit her teeth, "Not today." She raced forward and pulled her away.

"Wha? Mom?"

The boy's eyes grew wide, "Duuude, this is your mom? She's hot." He tightened his grip on Carina's waist again.

Liberty snorted, "Yeah, I'm hot and I'm ready to beat both your asses in. Carina, we're going home."

"Bu' Muuuuuum! I only go' he'e!" The teenage girl's shirt was stained in alcohol and her companion snorted.

"Yeah, lady. Lay off."

Liberty frowned and leaned in. The kid blushed, but smiled. The immortal flashed a dangerous grin, "Look here kid. I know how to turn your dick inside out and take your balls off in the most painful way ever. Doctors wouldn't fix it. They'll have to cut your sad little friend off and turn you into a girl so you can wince like the little bitch you are. Carina, we're leaving." With that, she heaved her daughter onto her back and carried her home.

Carina got so much shit the next morning, and swore never to drink again. Liberty laughed.

* * *

The woman smiled as she carried the small toddler over to Nova Roma's home in Maine. After his rebirth a month ago and causing a small freak-out, things calmed down quickly. The man grinned as he saw the car pull up. "Fortuna! It's been a while!"

She smiled and nodded, "I know, I know. And YOU know that I go by Liberty these days, there's less confusion. I brought my little darling over for a small visit to see grandpa, and thanks for letting us stay over."

Nova Roma smiled, "Anytime. I'll get your bags if you get the little one. You can bunk down for a nap as well, I'll watch Carina."

She smiled, "Nova, you're a godsend. I haven't gotten this little sleep in 50 years." The two winced lightly, but ignored it. "Seriously, Nova, you've done so much..."

He smiled and gestured her to the car, "Girl, get your child and head inside. The sleep deprivation is getting to you head."

Liberty rubbed her eye as she came out of the bedroom a few hours later and smiled over at the two. Carina was taking a small nap on the man's shoulder and he was resting his head on hers. The woman smiled and tip-toed back to her room to grab her camera. One small picture wouldn't hurt.

* * *

A small rattle from downstairs caught her attention and Liberty grabbed the gun she kept by the nightstand. Quietly making her way downstairs, she looking in various mirrors around the house and saw an unfamiliar form entering the home. She rushed forward and held it up. "Freeze. Don't move and don't speak. My baby is sleeping through the night for once and I swear on my peach trees if you wake her up-"

"Liberty, chill, it's me."

The auburnette lowered the gun, "America? What the hell are you doing here?"

He scratched the back of his head, "Long story short, I was trying to impress this girl who was a florist and I may have bought a shit ton of flower seeds and bulbs and was wondering if you, me and Gil could plant them. Maybe Turkey could come over? That dude likes bulbs, right?"

She laughed quietly, "Goddamnit America! I almost shot you and you want me to invite some of the guys over? Carina's growing up fast, and I want to keep this stuff from her as long as I can. You know that. You and Nova are the only ones who really know about her."

America hummed as our his hands in his pockets, "Right, sorry, mom, and you know everyone knows about her... But still, Nova Roma can take her for the weekend and we can all plant? Maybe you and Prussia can get it-"

"Shut up," Liberty said, re-cocking the gun.

* * *

Liberty yawned as she stretched and slowly got out of bed. She looked at the clock and winced, grabbing her turtleneck and jeans. Changing in her closet, the woman remembered she had a small meeting with her neighbor and growled. The bitch next door kept inviting her over and being a nosy little shit, trying to set her up with her nephews.

Carina was still just a small thing at four years old and it was the middle of June. After waking the toddler up and getting her dressed, Liberty set her in front of Pimpa (1) with three sippy cups and some small snacks and left. It was still early in the day, but she knew Wilma was up and awake. Time to face the music.

After morning coffee, a loud crash next door made Liberty jump. Wilma looked at her in worry, "Hun? Is your daughter ok over there?"

An old memory made the immortal snarl and sprint of of her home and unstrap her gun. Her foot connected with the door and her ears were pounding as she saw the tall robber pointing his gun at her daughter. With a single shot, blood splattered her walls as the bullet launched into his temple. Carina blinked in confusion at the loud sound and began crying. Holstering her gun, Liberty picked her up and shushed her.

The woman went to her kitchen and pulled the receiver off the wall and dialed 911, "Hello, I'd like to report a robbery and a gun discharge at 617 Daryl's Road. The attacker is going to need a body bag." The dispatcher was silent for a moment before sighing.

"Your name ma'am?"

"Liberty Brewster. My young daughter was in the home, but she's fine, I'm sure you can hear her. Please let officers know I have a permit to carry under the US government and if you want to check, call it in. My middle name is Romano."

The dispatcher was silent again and then came back on, "They have been notified-"

A scream muffled the dispatcher and Liberty sighed stressed, "I'm sorry, ma'am. That's my neighbor. I think she just walked in. I'm not hanging up, but I am going to check on her. We're going to be on the front lawn."

Not giving the woman on the phone another chance, Liberty went back into her foyer and wrapped an arm around Wilma and pulled her out of the house, "Oh my god, Liberty! What happened?! Did you kill that ma-"

"Mama!" Liberty looked as three cops cars showed up and Allen, decked out in bulletproof vest, pulled the short woman into a tight hug. "Mama, you're ok! I-Is Carina ok? Where is this bastard, I'll kill-"

"I already took care of it, Lennie. Scared the shit out of my neighbor and Carina, but we're fine," She said calmly, pulling out of his grasp. He sighed in relief and ruffled the sniffling Carina's hair. "She's strong and young. Carina's going to get over it."

"Liberty, what in the world is going on? Who is this man? How are you ok?"

Liberty growled as she turned to Wilma, "Wilma, get the fuck of my face and stop being so fucking nosy. He is sure as hell not the first person I've killed and sure as hell won't be the last. Allen is my son and I'm hell of a lot older than you think I am. Almost 2000 years old. Now get the fuck off my property." Her neighbor paled as she ranted and ran into her house.

Allen snorted, "She seems pleasant."

(1) Pimpa is an Italian kids cartoon.

* * *

Amalia felt a small hand shake her awake and she looked up, "Teutonic?" He had tears in his eyes and was lightly shaking, "Fuck, what happened?"

"I-I can't sl- Can I stay here? I want to protect you!" Amalia smiled at the lie.

"Come here, I want to talk to you about something." The albino flushed and he sat on the edge of the bed, "Oh, for fuck's sake, Teutonic, I'm not going to do anything! You can sleep in here for the night, but get over here!" Teutonic sputtered as Amalia pulled him closer. "I know you don't interact with women much, but you're getting too old for this! You're going to have to adapt, but this isn't the time for that lecture."

He looked down as Amalia pulled him into her arms, "What happened? And believe me, it's fine if you had a nightmare or a night terror. Every nation I know has gotten them and I've gotten them before. I'm here for you if you need it." Teutonic nodded and wrapped his arms around her and cried into her shoulder quietly. After a while, he quieted and slumped against her figure. The auburnette smiled and pulled him under the covers.

"Sleep well," She whispered, putting a kiss on his forehead. Curling up under the thick blanket, the immortal soon fell asleep.

She never noticed that Teutonic opened his eyes and smiled.

* * *

Liberty sighed as she carried Holy Rome into the woods. He stared at her blankly and tears filtered out of his eyes. "I'm sorry, Holy Rome."

He shook his head and leaned his head on her shoulder, "The states can't survive if I live or vice versa. I'm just confused as to how I'm still alive..."

She swallowed, "Because time has a different plan for you. A large group of nations, reunited in a landmass that is as large as Charlemagne's. There were plans for the United states of Europe when I got sent back, but... Either way, you will come back. I'm sorry I had to do it like this."

"I trust you to wake me up. Maybe not like sleeping beauty or snow white, but..." Liberty chuckled and stopped in front of a tree. It was draped with small red berries and was large enough she could hug it without her fingers meeting.

The woman smiled, "Hello, old friend."

She shook her head and placed him at the foot of the tree, "You're going to be disoriented when you wake up and I'm not going to know who you are. The spell I'm about to do will remove all of my memory of the last two days with you in it and I _will_ believe you are dead. Are you ready?"

Holy Rome swallowed and looked down, "Tell Italy I love her."

Liberty smiled and cried, "Of course. And one more thing, Holy Rome."

The boy looked up at her sly grin, "Try not to freak out too much." With a quick chant, his eyes dulled and the tree began to grow around him. As the wood warped around him enough to protect him, her memories seeped into the wood and soon, a branch dipped down and blacked her vision of where he hid.

A moment later, Liberty stood and blinked in confusion, "What am I doing out here?" With a shrug, she walked back, leaving behind a faint blue aura that would lie dormant for nearly two hundred years. Prussia would be heartbroken, but a new little brother and a new war kept him busy.

* * *

Prussia toddled next to Amalia as they headed into town to trade in a few furs they had made in the past few weeks. "Amalia, when are we going to be able to go back?"

She shrugged, "I don't know Teuton. But let's hurry..." The looks the villagers were giving the small boy set her on edge and her only comfort was her sword. "I don't want you to leave my side." He looked up at her, but nodded, holding onto her cloak. They entered the market place and found the closest stall selling furs and she began to haggle for a good sale price for the good furs when the man caught sight of Teutonic's red eyes.

"Demon! Burn him!" He cried, stumbling backward. Shouts sprung up and Amalia dropped the furs in favor of Teuton and ran.

"Amalia, what's going on?!"

She growled and looked behind her as a few men ran after them with torches, "The middle ages is what's going on." A man on a horse came around and cut them off and she growled. A spell popped into her mind, but she would really rather not use it, especially if it would be her first time using it.

"Stop, heretic!" Amalia growled and a sword at her neck made her pause. Teuton looked at her, terrified. "Give us the boy and you shall go unharmed."

She looked down at the boy, whispering, "I'm going to do something. When I do, run. Ignore me and run." He nodded and she put him on the ground. Looking back up, she stared at the villagers, "What proof do you have that this child is a demon?"

"His red eyes are enough!"

Amalia frowned, "Then if he is a demon, then I am the devil himself." She began to chant faster than she had ever done with her half-brother and pain erupted across her back. Two black as night wings opened with chains draped across them and the villagers gaped. She looked down at Teuton, who stared at the wings in amazement, "RUN! RUN HOME!" He shakily nodded and took off. Amalia sighed and moved her new appendages and flapped hard. She shot into the air and pivoted in a giant circle before heading towards the nearest lake. She knew Teuton would find her there. The woman landed in the sand and passed out as she felt the wings evaporate.

Teutonic huffed as he ran from his friend as his mind tried to wrap around what he just saw. Amalia had wings. Wings! They weren't the heavenly white he had heard of, but the opposite. A large thud to his right caught his attention and he looked into the grove. A patch of red was a stark difference in the tan sand and he cursed his bad eyesight. Approaching it nervously, he saw Amalia laying in the sand with blood running down her back. He took a small rag and went to the lake to wet it.

Coming back, he began to clean her back off. The back of her dress seemed to have been ripped apart and he was careful not to let the tears come off her back to much, but he was shocked to find scars lining her back. Three tattoos were prominent on her back and his breath caught when he saw the black chains. He nervously touched a scar and Amalia tensed, but remained asleep. He flipped his cloak over his head and resorted to waiting for her to wake up. He wouldn't tell her he and cleaned off her back or about the scars.

Amalia blinked wearily as she woke up slowly. The moon was high in the sky and a weight on her side alerted her to another presence. Teutonic slept as he leaned against her, a sword tight in his grip. She smiled at him and carefully picked him up to walk back home. She was still shaky on her feet and felt drained. Germania was not happy when they got home, but one look at the sleeping boy, the worn out woman, and her bloodstained clothes were enough to get him off her case and she changed into a nightgown before crawling into bed next to Holy Rome and Teutonic before passing out.

The two never told anyone what happened that day, other than England, who got a large black feather. He frowned and gripped the object with care, knowing his sister finally got her wings.

* * *

Fortuna held her brother tightly as they watched the marriage proceed. Spain stood on the groom's side whereas the Italian stood next to where the bride would be and Romano's hands clenched her dress tightly. Nothing was said the entire procession, but his aura was shifting awkwardly the entire time. When the priest finally closed the book, "I declare you man and wife," Romano's breath hitched and his sister looked at him in worry. A part of his aura seemed to tear off and warp itself into another color and her eyes widened.

"No..." Fortuna moved her cloak so it covered her brother's head as the new country took over. She saw his hair shift to a pleasant blonde and reddish eyes opened to blink at her wearily. "Good morning, but can you stay quiet for a few minutes? I'm sorry, but-"

"It's-a fine, Neylan." She swallowed and looked at him with wide eyes. The boy looked up at her and smiled. "It's been a while."

The auburnette's gaze didn't break, but she held a finger in front of her lips, which the boy repeated. After the entire group left, Spain hung back for a moment. "Romano, are you ok? I saw your-"

The boy, still mostly hidden, looked up at Fortuna in worry and she nodded, "Romano's just a little tired, don't worry about him. Go on, get something to drink, enjoy yourself." The Spaniard nodded happily and bounded off towards his rulers and she sighed, sitting on the ground. Romano's aura was flaring all over the place, but her brother's outward appearance didn't shift and she frowned. "First off, Romano, calm down. I know for a fucking fact that you know about Luciano, so don't lie to me that you don't what's going on. Second, I'm sorry if I've been a bit stand-offish, but-"

"It's fine, I've seen you madder at Sasa," He said, smiling.

Fortuna swallowed and frowned, "If you're sharing Romano's memories, you've only met him once. How the hell do you know about Persia?"

The boy pouted and rubbed some of his blonde hair between his finger absentmindedly, "I understand why you don't remember me, but now I see why you named me Flavio. I never did learn what that word meant."

Her breath caught and she tensed, her eyes watering, "F-Flavio? T-The horse?"

"Si, Ragazza. I don't know how but-"

Fortuna latched onto him and sobbed, "Y-You're ok! Flavi..."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her own as best as he could, "Si, it's nice to see you again, but it is a little sad not to see Persia next to you. I'm going to let the wine-grower back so don't give Lovino a hard time."

She chuckled and nodded, "Believe me, I've never given anyone too hard of a time on their alternate personalities. You are each your person, just sharing a body. See you in the future, Flavio." He nodded, pulled out of her grasp and bowed. As he was coming back up, Lovino took back over, crossed his arms, and stared her down patiently.

"What the-a hell, Ragazza. I never knew any of this. You risked your fucking life out there! Against who, but Rome! Why? And why the-a fuck did you let a horse give you fashion advice?" Tears appeared in his eyes and she sighed.

"I was really hoping I could tell you some other day, but... Nonno... He took the old peach ring I gave you and gave it to Feliciano and got some help in making you and your brother forget each other. It was a slap in the face to everything we had done the centuries we had spent together and I lost my fucking mind. Persia was there and he offered revenge. Also, Flavio was a smart horse and I needed to cut my hair anyway. He just gave me a length. But Lo Vino? The Wine?"

"S-Shut up! But... You never told us anything that happened over there. And so what?!"

She sighed, "Roma, I did tell you. Those bedtime stories, remember? And you know Grandpa wasn't perfect, but he damn well tried. I told you about Flavio, I eventually told you what happened with my back, I told you."

Lovino huffed and nodded, "Alright, let's go and get some food, I'm hungry."

"Welcome to the family, Flavio. Let's go get some food, you two." Romano smiled and let his sister pick him up. So, with the marriage of Peter III of Aragon to Constance of Sicily on June 13, 1262, gave the groom a claim to the crown of Sicily and -by extension- Romano. It wouldn't be until later that the title would be tied together with the crown and be labeled completely as an independent, but from this point on, Aragon would have a hand in Romano's future.

Peaches be damned if he was going to hurt her brother.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

"NO, DON'T PASS IT- YOU GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT!"

"GO BACK TO THE BENCH YOU FUCKING CHILD!"

America popped his head into the living room in alarm and stared at the scene in front of him.

"No- YEAH!" He watched as Liberty gave Romano a high-five and Feliciano roared in rage.

"What the fuck were you doing?! You had a clear chance to block that!"

The youngest siblings laughed, "You fucking wish!"

"Want to take this outside, Sorellona?" Feli responded, crossing his arms.

Romano grinned and slapped his brother's shoulder, "You're fucking on, Fratellino."

Luciano came out, "Really, want to chime in, Fratellino Flavio? At least I didn't come out in something as girly as a wedding!" Flavio emerged and grabbed his brother's tunic.

"Want to say that to my face, you war mongerer?"

"Sure, we're going to kick your ass as always."

Flavio growled, "At least we're not going to get caught drugging."

America began to exit the room when Allen chimed in. ' _They're going to break something, dumbass. Mama's going to step in soon, but unless you want blood on your carpet, do something_.' Alfred sighed and picked up Liberty. Flavio and Luciano growled and stormed after him.

"Ass, get back here with Liberty!"

"Sorellona!"

She growled, "Pause the fucking game then get your ass out here!" Flavio paused as Luciano shot him a look and the blonde nodded, running inside. Luciano pulled out a throwing knife and strapped its sheath on before throwing it. It landed under Alfred's shoulder blade and bounced off. "Luci, knock it the fuck off! Fred, lemme go!" He did and bolted back for the door, barely dodging Flavio, but either way, he learned not to fuck with the Italians when it was football season. Either way, Lovino, Liberty, and Veneziano came back in covered in bruises but laughing. They settled back on the couch and went back to the game and began yelling again.

* * *

"Hey, Venie."

He cried as he faced her down, "R-Run Sorellona. Please..."

Liberty shook her head, "You know I can't do that and you know Austria isn't going to accept that. One of us can't leave unscathed."

Feliciano shook his head, "You know I can't-"

"Then Austria is going to try to hurt you so much more. You're going to get there, Veneziano Italia. That's why this needs to happen," Liberty said, lowering her gun. Veneziano shook his head and cried.

"N-No, Sorellona, I can't-"

"SHOOT!"

"NO!"

"SHOOT!" A yell and footsteps charged his way, making his reflexes and instinct take over as he clamped his eyes shut and fired. The shot echoed in his ears as he refused to look. A thump in front of him made his fall to his knees. "Shit, went straight through. O-Okay. Veneziano, I need you to run. I-It'll be a race. Beat me this time, ok?"

He cried and shook his head, his cap almost flying off his head, "I-I can't..."

"I'll be right behind you, Fratellone."

Fratellone

Big Brother

Oh the irony. One of the ones supposed to protect her ended up hurting her. Standing up on shaky legs, he turned around and left behind his sister's aura... even though it faded. _His_ miss ended up hitting _her_ target. He killed her. Feliciano just killed his sister.

* * *

Carina's breath caught in her throat as she swore time stopped. Romano stared her down across the platform, barely four feet away from her. "S-Sorellona?"

"Romano, what's going on-"

Her arms were bound tightly to her sides, leaving her back open, even as she kneeled. Her hair was sliced to a length shorter than his own, but the curl stuck out. When they had tried to cut it... it refused to shorten itself. The guards holding her brother in place took their stationary stance, but continued to hold the older child in place.

A loud voice next to her made her flinch and an angry brunet in the gathering crowd was helpless to do anything. "Carina, citizen of the Kingdom of Naples, you are being charged on the violation of heresy and sharing the sky to which only angels belong in. How do you plead to these charges?"

Romano's eyes widened and he tried to lean forward, "Innocent! She is innocent you ba-"

Carina never broke eye contact with her brother, "Flavio, keep him quiet. I don't want my brother hurt. I p,eade guilty to these charges. Of which is my punishment?" Tears sprang to Romano's eyes as his sister hung her head. He tried to open his mouth, but it was sealed shut.

'Damnit Flavio, of all times why are you listening to her now?!'

'Because I agree with her. She's trying to keep you safe!' The other half's argument was decent, so he remained silent. Oh how he hated his other half's argument.

The head Inquisitor held his head up to its full height, looking down on the small girl at his feet, "The skies belong to Angels only. Your sentence is to have your wings removed."

Carina choked and she bowed her head, "I-I-I don't have the energy to bring them ou-"

A gasp in front of her made her look up and her eyes widen. A blade was pressed to her brother's gut and he was looking at her desperately, mentally begging her not to give in. "Find the energy, or your brother shall die, over and over and over again until you bring them out."

She stared at her brother in remorse and quietly whispered the spell. Black wings draped in varying chains sprung from her back. Cloth ripped and blood leaked as they forcibly made their way into the world. The whole time, Carina's gaze never left her brother's teary hazel orbs.

His eyes widened in horrified awe as a silence swept over the crowd and the Inquisitor ran his hands over the closest one, none too gently. She moved it away, but the man grabbed up and slammed it over his knee. The hollow bone snapped easily, but the scream that ripped from the owner came easier.

"Stop it! Stop it! You're hurting her!" Romano cried, thrashing in the captors' grips.

The torturer frowned at him, "She must learn not to stray from God's divine path." The man went to her other side and began plucking out a few feathers here in there, making the woman's cries louder. Another snap echoed around the square as her other wing was broken, both now slumped on the ground uselessly. The ring of an unsheathed blade echoed in her ears before a single cry rang out.

"For God!"

This pain made choking to death on smoke a walk in the park. Blood gushed out of the open wound and the head Inquisitor raised his blade again to continue to hack at the wing.

It took 13 swings in total to completely remove both of her wings and when he was done with her, he wiped his blade on her arm, sheathed it and faced the crowd. "This is the road that heretics take, and this is what happens to those who stray from God's path!"

Carina sobbed openly as she pitched forward. Her face landed with a thump, but she moved her head to see one of her wings lying there, completely useless and blood continued to gush from her back. Romano was finally released and he kneeled by his sister in horror, "Sorella!" He untied her restraints and removed his vest, pressing it to the bare muscle that was now exposed, causing her to scream.

Spain came up beside them and put a hand on Romano's shoulder, "Roman-"

"You bastard, shut up and get away, you let this happen!" Spain's breath caught and he frowned, but Carina reached an arm out before blacking out. She wouldn't know it, but Spain would have to restrain her brother using the rope that held her moments ago to get her home safely before she died again.

For the next two weeks, Carina had to wear no-back dresses. She mostly stayed in bed, sleeping the day away. Romano rarely left her side, and only let Spain in to bring meals. After the 17th day, she woke up with Romano in her arms and smiled passively, kissing his forehead, "Grazie." She swung her legs out and winced. Her back stretched and there would bound to be two large scars on her shoulder blades as she stood and sat by the window, watching the birds.

As much as she wanted to go into the garden, the woman knew her brother would be terrified if he woke and she wasn't there. Spain knocked as he slowly entered the room and grinned when he saw her up. "Chica! You're up!" He rushed her, prepared to get her into a hug, but a small mass threw him off course.

"Bastard, you would've hurt her! Don't touch her!"

Carina smiled at the sight and leaned on the windowsill. "Roma, Spain, calm down. Please." Romano looks up at her and nodded coming up to her side. She sighed and sat down, "Sorry Roma, but I don't think I can lift you up as I don't want to risk dropping you." He crawled into her lap and frowned.

"It's fine, Ragazza. You've slept long enough," He said, crossing his arms.

His sister smiled, "Thanks, Lovino. I'm fine, but I'm sorry. Thank you, Flavio." The burgundy aura flared in acknowledgment and she smiled. "Spain."

He sat up quickly from his place on the floor and his eyes focused on her back- more specifically the two newest scars on her back. "Si, Carina?"

She peeked over her shoulder so he only only saw her looking out of the corner of her eye, "Keep Romano out of this. Got that?"

He frowned and nodded, "I didn't even know they brought him there. I didn't even know that they would come for you." She nodded and leaned on the wall.

"Hey, Romano. Want to go for a walk?"

He hummed and got up, holding out a hand for her to take, "Sure, sure, whatever." Carina smiled and took his hand, and pushed herself up. She didn't let go as they walked outside, following behind closely in case she fell. The small vegetable garden in the courtyard drew their attention and they sat in between the small rows of tomatoes and spinach. "Buono tomato buono tomato, buono buono oo..." The boy sang under his breath, carefully rubbing a bit of dirt off of one. Carina smiled and gently picked up a ladybug.

"I love it when you sing Lovino. Flavio, your flute is amazing..." The boy let out a hmph! and crossed his arms, blushing lightly.

"Your singing fucking sucks," Romano said. After a moment he lowered his head, "You tell decent bedtime stories though."

Carina chuckled ad kissed the top of his head, "Love you too, Fratello. This has been a pretty emotional past 125 years, huh?"

He laughed bitterly, "That's one way to put it. Can't you stay away from the church for one century?" She joined in and kissed his forehead. "But you heard about-"

"Yeah. The building just so happened to have been destroyed a week later. What they did was not ok."

Romano nodded and clenched his hands, "If I had-" Carina frowned and wrapped her arms around him gently.

"Romano, you were days away. Even if you had known, there was little you could have done. Veneziano is as ok with it as he can be, but he is dedicated... I'm scared about how he's going to grow up though..."

He hummed and Spain looked at them, "What happened?"

She sighed and looked at Romano, who nodded, "The Castrato. The men whose voices never grew. Eunuchs. The practice is sick, but..."

Romano took up the sentence, "If the singers become famous, then it was worth it to them. The church allows it because women aren't allowed to sing."

"I haven't really had a chance to talk to him about it, but... Roma, what's done is done. I don't know if I can do anything. We just need to stand by him if he needs us." The boy nodded and they fell into silence, but Spain pushed it.

"What did they do?"

Carina swallowed thickly and Romano looked down. She knew she had to explain it. "Sit down first. It's not pretty." The teen did and she sighed again. "They... They essentially cut... something down there, so his voice doesn't develop, but his growth in general is also affected. Their limbs are awkward, they begin to look a but like a girl and they don't, um, develop unless it happens when they're a little older."

Spain swallowed and nodded and shivered, "Thank you telling me to sit down. I-I think I'm going to be si-"

"Not in my tomatoes, you bastard!"

She sighed, wondering how the hell her the younger brother was going to get out of this one. May his God help him.

* * *

Liberty smushed her face into the mattress, "Carina, I'm begging you, go to sleep!"

The small child grinned, "Mom, I'm not tired."

"Carina Amalia Brewster, for fuck's sake, go to bed!"

"I don't want to!" Jumping off the bed, Carina dashed out the door and her mother sighed.

"Don't break anything!" A giggle came from the hallway and a moment later, the child came stomping back in.

Holding up a book, Carina pouted, "Please?" Liberty looked at the small book that Rome had written and illustrated. There was only one issue.

"Bambina, it's in Italian," Liberty cooed as she sat on the bed and picked Carina up and placed her in her lap. "Alright, but I want you to read it too."

Carina smiled and leaned against her mother, "Grazie, Mom."

The woman smiled and opened the book. She cooed in her younger self's ear and occasionally pointed to a word, "What is that one?"

"Vero amica!" Liberty smiled and nodded.

"Si. So what's the name of the story in english?"

Carina cocked her head and looked at it, "H-How to make a true friend?"

Liberty let a wistful smile cross her face, "Yep. It's a family favorite." The entire time, Liberty shifted her voice to match any of the characters' and she answered any questions that her daughter interrupted with. It both terrified her and made her proud that they were the exact same questions that Romano and Veneziano had asked. Carina eventually fell asleep at the end and Liberty tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, Bambina."

Getting up to close the door, Liberty almost ran into Nova, who wiped tears out of his eyes, "You're raising her right, Fortuna."

"Peaches, I hope so. I have so little time to teach her so much..."

Nova rested his hand on her shoulder and smiled, "You've done it once, you've done it dozens of times. Now, remember what you told me? Have you done everything you've wanted to do?"

Liberty let a tear fall out of her eye, "I want to go visit my family." He smiled knowingly and grabbed the car keys and led her out to the vehicle. The green jeep sat waiting and she crawled into the passenger seat. Nova Roma got in and drove them to the small cemetery and Liberty went to a private back corner where three graves sat in a wall.

Roxane Espositio

Cyrano Espositio

Franco Espositio

Liberty sat in front of the wall and sobbed, "Hey Mom, Dad. Hey Little Bro..." Nova cast her a sharp glance and she chuckled, "I was a twin. Roxane died before Franco could be born. Cyrano found out and out of respect named the child. He didn't want kids, but he ended up dying three years after her. He had slipped in the shower after a night of heavy drinking. He never got up."

Nova was silent and put a hand on her shoulder, "He did care about you in some way. He could have taken Carina away and this wouldn't have happened."

"True, but... In some way, I just wanted to know I had someone else growing up that I knew wasn't going away. I had never known how much the countries were in my life before I met them, but I did. Belgium babysat for me once when I was 13 and taught me to make real waffles. Netherlands played monopoly with me when I was over there for a little bit and I was waiting out a storm and my mother was nowhere in sight. America was one of my big brothers growing up and you... You were the closest thing I had to a dad when I was a little girl. Romano played a role in my life before as well. Veneziano too, when I was about 17. He would pose as a cab driver for me and Liberty on occasion and make me laugh, but... I had a family, but..."

"But nothing can replace a blood family. This is a pain that none of us will ever understand. It's the curse of being human. But Liberty... If you ever need to talk..." He smiled encouragingly and opened his arms. Liberty let a happy sob echo around the graveyard and she stepped into his embrace.

"Thanks, Grandpa." He smiled and rubbed her back as she sobbed. A little less than a thousand years ago, she would have killed to be hugged like this. Only three, four if you include Germania, were grown enough to wrap their arms all the way around her and there is nothing as comforting than a hug and someone telling you everything is going to be ok.

It's comforting knowing someone loved you.

* * *

"Again."

Romano and Veneziano growled in front of her as they swung their fencing blades in unison. Their sister deflected them and frowned. "You both need to be faster. Romano, you're going to trip and hurt yourself if you keep stepping that way. Veneziano, put more force into it. It's not a paintbrush, it's a sword."

They huffed and the woman got into position again, raising her blade. "Again. Unless you two can disarm me or nick me, we're not heading in until dark." The brothers looked at each other and whispered to each other. Fortuna smirked and took a few steps back, watching their movements. Veneziano opened his eyes and she nearly shivered under their predatory gaze, but Romano's look also unnerved her. They each took a different direction and she pursed her lips.

The classic 'two fronts' move. One or both would attack and the other would ambush from behind her. Unless she ran, she would get caught, but the brothers were fast learners.

A scuffle behind her caught her attention and she ducked under Veneziano's swing. Using her shoulders and back, she heaved them under his chest and flung him, pushing him towards Romano. The younger rolled a few times, but got up with minor scratches. Romano took his chance and charged her himself and put anger into his swings. Fortuna grinned and pushed back as much as she could, but Romano was madder than usual. She was pushed back against the courtyard wall and the blade was placed at her neck.

"Yield," He huffed.

The woman smiled and dangled her foil between her thumb and forefinger, "I yield. Nice job."

He chuckled airlessly and collapsed onto the ground, staring up at the sky, "Thank you Jesus!" Veneziano laughed and came to lay down next to his brother. Fortuna smiled and took her own spot.

"That's enough for you today, Romano. I'm going to work with Feli and Luciano for a while after lunch and if you want, you can join me after dinner. You two are doing well so far." The brothers nodded and she put kissed on their foreheads. "I'm going to make lunch. Bolognese sound good?"

"Try not to overcook it again, Ragazza," Romano said weakly. Veneziano hummed in agreement and she left. "Fucking insane."

* * *

"...Even your woman are more robust than I am~ Yahoo." Germany paused as he finished listening to the translated song and reached behind him to grab something metal. Liberty watched from her place on the floor with an exhaustion that he didn't understand from the woman who helped raise him, but he would regret this. He offered her a hand with his free, which she carefully took. Her brother watched happily, smiling at their interaction. While the blonde felt there was some hidden threat underneath, he believed it was because of his general distrust.

He carefully lead Liberty over to the table in the room and with a swift movement, latched the handcuffs onto her with a swift movement, "Germany-"

"Forgive me," The blonde said as he placed her into a choke hold. The woman was caught at an unlucky moment and she didn't have any air in her lungs, so she very quickly passed out. The guitar from earlier was slammed down on his head, but the soft wood splintered uselessly against his head. A headache came up as he turned around- if he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that Italy's hair and eye color changed- and glared at the Italian. "You're going to regret that."

The man yelped and cowered back and Germany grabbed the closest useful thing. The large box in his hand gave him an idea and he shoved the Italian in with a spare full canteen and meal bag. Taping it shut, he picked it up to take it out to his truck. He'll take care of Liberty later. Leaving a note on the door, he left for the post office to take Italy home. Romano would take care of his brother.

When he got back, a new note claimed that Liberty had been taken to the nearest military base without incident. However, it did note that two guns, four throwing knives, two vials of different poisons and three switchblades were found on her person. He didn't expect anything less from his older sister. After all, she would do whatever it took to protect herself or her family. Realizing this, he hopped into his jeep again. If it was one thing that Liberty and Prussia had taught him, it was that if someone is willing to lay down their life for their family, that family is usually willing to do the same. If word got out that he had Liberty, he could forget having allies.

He arrived at the base within a logical amount of time and one of his soldiers saluted him, "Germany, sir! The prisoner has been placed in the interrogation room for questioning!"

The blonde nodded wordlessly and stalked towards the room in question and prayed she was awake. His prayers seemed to be answered because her wrists were strapped tightly to the metal table, and she was struggling against them, "Liberty."

"Germany. Can you please tell me what this is about?" She snarled. He sighed and removed his cap.

"I'm sorry, but I'm under orders from my boss, but I don't think he understands how much influence you have over the world."

She pursed her lips, "As much as I hate to admit it, I do. But what about it?"

"I can get you out of those straps and get this door unlocked, but that's as much as I can help without getting into trouble. I need you yo be careful, ok? I don't know what my bruder would do if you got hurt." Liberty nodded and Germany carefully undid her restraints. "I'm going to leave and I want you to wait two minutes before leaving. Get out without being seen and get somewhere safe. You need to dye your hair, it's too much of a defining figure."

The auburnette nodded and smiled, "Thanks, Deutsch. I would recommend dropping the leader. He is not a good man." The blonde pursed his lips, but left without saying anything else. She sighed and began to count to 120. When it passed, she crept out into the cold metal hallway and began to head out the way she remembered.

"Where are you going?"

A shiver went up her spine as she opened the final door. An arm grabbed her's and she was pulled back. "Trying to escape, huh?"

"Let me go or you will regret it," Liberty snarled, trying to pulled her arm away. Icy blue eyes bore into her as the owner dragged her off and passed the normal cell. The next room was the same as the other and with her extra chance, Liberty used a trick her brother taught her and stole his keys. Placing the cold metal into her bra, she winced and was thrown roughly into another room. "Last chance."

"Odd. The mother of nations begging like a little girl. What an odd thought..." The German soldier said as he slammed the door shut. It was, again, a door with an inside and outside lock, but she decided to wait. It might not be long until he realized his keys were gone, but there was an equal likelihood that if she snuck out now, the soldier would be there again. This room didn't have any furniture in it, but a small toilet and a bed attached to the wall. Going over to the bed, Liberty bunked down for a nap. She curled her fingers together for warmth and an emptiness surprised her. Romano's ring was gone. Her eyes sharpened their glare at the wall.

There was going to be hell to pay.

Her next escape didn't go well either. They found the keys and they traded her clothes in for thin white underwear that left little room to hide things. They also shifted her to a new room. A solid concrete room with a toilet and a single blanket in the corner. She would then try to choke out the guard that would bring her her meals with it and stuffed his head in the toilet, just to make sure he was dead, but he came with a partner and she was again escorted to a new room on her fifth day there.

From what she gathered when she first saw it, it was a medium sized room with black foam lumps all over the walls and ceiling. She realized also, that the room was heavily cooled, even underneath the foam, so it would be useless to rest on them. "Welcome to your new room. I hope you do realize that after this... You do know who Harry Houdini was, correct? Remember that performance that almost got him killed, his Chinese water torture and how he stuck the key under his tongue? That's where you'll be next, only without the key. Have a nice stay." The same, cold German soldier shoved her into the room and Liberty instantly realized what this room did.

This was psychological torture.

The room was pitch black, noise cancelling and freezing cold and she doubted she would be getting meals on a regular basis with her latest stunt. Deciding to risk it, she settled herself in what seemed to be the warmest corner and kneeled. "Peaches, what mess have I gotten into?"

After what seemed to be forever, the door opened and light poured in. Footsteps approached her and she looked up to her new torturer. "How are you liking your stay so far?"

"It's nice and toasty. Reminds me of Russia," Liberty retorted and the German didn't blink as he spit into her face. Liberty carefully wiped it off and flung in away. "Thanks, I needed a shower."

"Shut it, you invalid. Do you honestly believe that anyone is going to save you?"

She grinned, "I sure as hell know they're going to save me. You do realize that I had one of my brothers with me, correct? And personally, he's the scariest of my brothers, no offense to the oldest. They will raise hell."

"Then why haven't they come for you yet?"

"All the greatest things take time. I have to wait and I'm pretty good at waiting," The woman snapped.

The soldier grinned, "We'll see. You'll snap before that happens." With a snap of his heel, he left the room and locked it behind him. Enclosed in darkness and white noise ringing in her ears, Liberty began to hum to occupy herself.

"Girl?"

Several hours later in the silence, Liberty snapped her head up at the familiar nickname, "Sasa?"

"Yeah! It's been a while, huh?"

She smiled, "Yeah, it has. Why are you here, or how?"

Persia grinned, "I'm just here to talk. Have you missed me?"

"Of course, but... I'm sorry, but I moved on. I found someone else." He was silent for a moment, "Sasanian?"

"How could you?" Her heart shattered and she scrambled to her feet.

"I'm sorry, but you died! Or did you forget that?! I moved on because..."

He snarled, "You abandoned me."

"No! I would never-"

"You did and I just want you to know. I never loved you." She sobbed and crumpled to her knees.

Rested her eye sockets on her knees to try and prevent tears, Liberty snarled, "Peaches, what the fuck have I done?" It was 1936, and her brothers had yet to sign the Rome-Berlin pact, but he would not be hard to convince. An ally is an ally, and Germany could tell him anything to get him in the alliance.

Deciding not to dwell on it, she let herself fall into a chilled sleep.

A bucket of ice water landed on her, making her gasp and sit up, "Oh, good, you're not dead. Good morning."

"W-What the f-f-fuck do you want-t-t?" She grit, rubbing her arms in a frantic attempt to stay warm. Her stomach rumbled and her skin all but froze to cement floor, but it didn't matter.

"I want to see what happens when I take one of the oldest people in the world and break them. Will you become increasingly violent or will you fall into a pit of despair?" The soldier grinned. The light form the doorway made his grin seem all that more malicious and her icy figure shook for a different reason. He kneeled in front of her, "So, what will make you tick?"

She snarled, "Try your worst, bastard."

The man smirked, "Gladly."

And he did. For the rest of the week, he gave her nothing to eat and only a small cup of ice water every morning. If she fell asleep, she would be woken up by cold water the next morning, so she stopped trying to sleep. It just made the hallucinations worse.

"Damnit, Ragazza, can't you do anything for once with fucking it up?"

"Sorellona, why are you shaking?"

"Who's Liberty? All I know is worthless sack of shit who claims to be my citizen."

The harsh, imaginary words slowly got to her and as her days drew on, she eventually found that she could hear everything going on. She could hear her lungs expand with each shaky breath, her heart pound as it kept her in this hell, and her eyes move as they stared into nothing.

Germany came to see her on the seventh day. She curled up even more as the door opened and harsh light poured in and she expected the harsh footsteps of her tormentor, but the heavy thunk of a familiar gait made her squint against the light. "Liberty?"

"What the fuck do you want?" The auburnette snarled behind chapped lips. The nation winced and reached into his coat pocket and drew out a warm roll. He broke off a piece and stuck it in her face. Without hesitation, she bit into it and swallowed. Her throat screamed in hoarse agony, but the bread warmed her. He continued to feed her until there was nothing left and he stood. "Danke."

Germany paused and looked at his feet, "I'm sorry. I can't do more. I can try to sneak in milk ice cubes for you to suck on next time, but my boss can't know I come in here and feed you."

"Then I won't bring it up. S-see you..." She trailed as she passed out for the first time in four days. Germany sighed as he saw this and walked out. He was really hoping Italy didn't believed him when he said she went to Canada for a break. Walking out, he hoped something would happen so his sister would get out.

He would find that within a year, she would eventually stop crying, but kept saying the same word over and over again. He had heard her say it often in his childhood, but it never meant too much. Within the three years that followed, Liberty stopped trying to sleep altogether and looked to have just given up and reverted to something in a near feral state. She came to trust him, but Edmund continued to break her down. She still said peaches, but now it was a hoarse whisper.

After prompting from Edmund and his bosses, he had to find out what it meant. He knew just the person to talk to.

Germany cornered Italy in training one day, "Hey, Italia, may I speak to you about something?"

The oblivious fool smiled at him and nodded, "Sure, what do you need?"

"Can I ask what a word means to you?" Again, the Italian happily nodded and walked inside his home. Germany followed and each took off his shoes. "What does the word 'peaches' mean to you?"

Time stopped for Italy.

"What? Where did you hear that word?"

Germany struggled to come up with a good excuse when something popped into his head, "You said it in your sleep last night. You do sleep talk."

Italy began to back away towards the door, "Germany, I was with Fratellone yesterday." Germany paused and began to stalk back towards the older nation. Veneziano turned tail and ran towards the kitchen, Germany hot on his trail. Without wasting a beat, Veneziano's figure seemed to shift in color as four knives made their way into his hands and Germany paused, "Italy?"

"Back off, Bastard. I need to call Romano so he can clean up your fucking mess."

The blonde was shocked and his hand slowly reached for his gun, "And who exactly are you?"

The alternate Italy snarled, "I'm Luciano, a pleasure. Where the fuck is my sister?"

"In a bad place. I can't get her out, I'm under orders-"

"Fuck that! And put your gun down on the counter and get the phone!"

Germany huffed, "And why should I do that?"

Luciano grinned, "You know, Feliciano really says that he would hate to do this to Prussia's little brother, but after hearing where his girlfriend has been for the past nine years..." A knife flew at Germany and a small trickle of blood came from his cheek. "I wouldn't put it above you to know about Gilen or have heard about me, but fuck, you're ignorant. Now get the fucking phone and call Romano!" The blonde reluctantly did so and tightly gripped the hand-piece as the phone rang.

"Pronto."

Luciano growled and snarled in Germany's ear, "Tell him the word you told me."

Germany swallowed as Romano heard the sentence, "Luciano, what the fuck- Germany, I'm going to kick your fucking ass if you did something to my brot-"

"Peaches."

The line went silent for a moment before a dangerous whisper echoed through, "What did you just say?"

Germany swallowed and suddenly, he remembered something about Liberty. Almost everything useful she learned, except for martial arts, she taught to her Italian brothers. They knew how to throw knives, fence, shoot, poison, and manipulate people. They were not above doing it to allies because to them, there was only one true ally-themselves.

"I said peaches."

"Where is she?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Romano laughed, "Because, I know you're a fucking _baby,_ but Liberty _raised_ the modern European and North American world. She raised your brother. You remember freaking out about if Veneziano or I were Rome's true heir? She learned everything she could from him. She's the true Roman. She knows everything about us and after raising the world, the world kinda sorta gives a shit about what happens to her. So, I fucking repeat, where the fuck is my sister?"

Germany swallowed and one of the knives pressed itself into his neck, "Meet me at the training ground. I want to get her out of there. We break her out tonight." The phone hung up and the blonde winced and the cold metal was taken off of his neck.

"Was that so hard?" Feliciano snapped as he sheathed the blades. Germany swallowed as he saw this side of his friend.

He met Romano in the training grounds and winced as he noticed the places where he knew Romano kept various weapons on him and his hair changed color as cold red eyes stared at him, "You have some fucking nerve."

"You too?!"

The figure laughed, "Of course! Almost all nations have second personalities! Liberty knows about all of them and doesn't judge us for it! Get your ass in gear or I won't be able to stop Lovino from taking back over and killing you." The German winced and nodded, leading him to the building where she was stored.

Flavio looked around, horrified at the unforgiving atmosphere and froze when he saw Germany stop at a door with a wheel lock with a light switch next to it. The blonde paused before opening it, "...I would be careful, she is far from safe right now."

Lovino took over as he entered the chilled, room and heard a small shuffle in a far corner, "Sorellona?" The movement stopped and he caught a glance at the small blob in the corner and nearly threw up. Her limbs were sunken in as well as her face, her eyes dead and wild as she struggled to all fours and lunged at him.

"Go away! It's not real!" The light turned on and she screamed, ducking down to hide her face. Romano growled.

"Turn it off! You're hurting her!" The light switched off and the man turned back, kneeling next to his sister. "Buono tomato, buono tomato, buono buono oo!"

Liberty stilled and huffed, "Peaches?"

He smiled, "Tomato."

She laughed lightly and held up an arm, "Romano, i-is that really you?" He pulled her up and nearly sent her flying. "Oh my god, this is real... Romano, you have to get out of here!"

The man chuckled and picked her up bridal style, "We're getting out of here together. Do you have your ring?"

"I don't-" A small thing object landed on her stomach and she smiled, "-I do now."

"Hurry up. The next patrol is coming soon. Run like you mean it." Romano nodded and took off. He was barely three steps out of the cold room when Liberty fell asleep. Smiling, Romano gripped her tighter as he continued to run home.

Veneziano was nervously pacing when three sharp thumps to the door drew his attention and the worry wart threw up the door. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw his sister and opened his mouth to freak out, but Lovino shot him a sharp glance. 'Later', He mouthed. The younger brother reluctantly nodded and they went to the bedroom.

"Get her dressed and I'll go lock the doors. Can you do that?" Veneziano thought it over and heard the small, secret request. 'Check her for bruises.' He nodded and Romano walked off.

Feliciano grabbed a spare silk tank top and a soft pair of shorts and pulled them on, looking over her arms and legs for any discoloration. To his relief, there was nothing other than deep bags under her eyes, pale skin and her bones poking out. They'd have to be careful feeding her.

Romano returned quickly and they carefully tucked their sister under the covers before climbing in on either side of her. Hopefully, she could warm up more.

They woke to screams, "Let me out! Let me out! I'm sorry! I-"

"Fortuna!" Romano grappled for her flailing arms as Veneziano grabbed her waist.

"Please! I'm sorry! This isn't real, stop it!"

Romano's eyes widened as he realized what the problem was, "Let her go!"

"Are you ins- You better know what you're doing, Romano," Luciano said as he took over. The older brother swallowed nervously as he looked and swallowed, nodding. "Now!" She shot out of bed as her brothers released her.

Liberty slipped and collapsed, but managed to crawl over to a window and forced it open. Birdsong filtered in with sunlight and fresh and and the woman stopped as the warm blanketed her and she looked over at her brothers in a daze, "I'm really out, aren't I?"

"Si, Sorella. Do you want to go outside?" Romano asked as he got up and kneeled next to her. The fidgety grin slowly covering her face was enough of an answer and he picked her up. "We have roses and daisies and cornflowers and lilies all over outside. It's beautiful."

Liberty hummed and lean on his arm, "I bet. Thank you, Romano."

"We missed you and wondered where you were. Luciano said after he hit Germany, he heard that you got sent to Canada, but we couldn't get ahold of him. But whenever we saw another country, ally or not... There was a question on their face every time, but each time, we would shake our heads. You had dropped off the face of the planet." Romano opened the door and Liberty hissed as the sun hit her eyes. Romano walked closer to the porch rail where a large sunhat rested and she picked it up and put it on.

"He helped me, you know. He brought me food and milk when the hallucinations were too much. There are some truly horrifying things when you can't see or hear anything..." Liberty whispered as Romano brought her in front of the lilies. He sat down and put her next to him.

A pink aura showed just beyond the fence and Liberty looked up. Romano smiled at her and got up to open the gate. A tall puff of hair came around and after her brother glared and shared a few words before letting the visitor in. She flared her aura weakly and before she knew it, Prussia was pulling her into his arms and into a gentle kiss.

She tapped his shoulder and pulled away for air, "Hey."

He grinned, "Hi."

"It's been a while."

Prussia chuckled and rested his forehead on hers, "You've gotten shorter."

"That's great. Can you put me down? I'm not feeling too good," Liberty said, shivering lightly. The albino looked her over and nodded.

Romano came up on his left, "I think all the noise is making her dizzy, but we need to talk. We're going to need to call together a secret group meeting. Get your brother and Japan and France if you can. I'll call America, Soviet, China, and that tea bastard. We're meeting in Greenland." Prussia nodded and carried her inside.

The meeting was surprisingly easy to pull together and the near void land was just right for the secret meeting. Liberty was kept in a wheelchair with a thin blanket kept over her to block out cold, light, and too much sound, but she could still roughly see. As Veneziano wheeled her covered figure in, the temporary peace treaty nearly flew out the window.

"Mom! Where have you-"

"Annabel!"

"Liberty."

Her eyes darted over everyone and she winced at all the sounds. With adrenaline pumping in her system, when she shot out of her chair, she went and crawled under Germany's, she made the occupants go silent. All but the German.

He got out of his chair and kneeled in front of her holding out a hand, "Liberty, it's ok, they'll be quiet. You know they don't mean any harm." She trembled and nodded, taking his hand. America and England watched this with sharp eyes, but relaxed minutely as he sat and Liberty curled in his lap.

Luciano took over very quickly as he took his seat, minding his sister when he spoke lowly, "First of all, what the hell happened in there?"

"Something that I should have tried to stop to begin with. It was sensory adrenaline mixed with verbal and temperature torture. It happened when she tried to escape, but failed several times."

Romano nodded, "It was bad. How long was she in that room and how much did she get to eat?"

Germany swallowed as he knew he was digging his own grave, but Liberty beat him to it, "If not for Germany, nothing but half a cup of ice water each morning. Otherwise, a small bread roll and two frozen milk cubes every four days. He did his best to get me out of there."

"He could have tried harder!" England roared, slammed a fist on the table. Liberty flinched and hid in Germany's stomach and he rubbed her back. Prussia's aura reached over and intwined with her's. Germany took the hint and passed her over and Prussia cradled her gently.

"If I tried to get her out again, it was the water cage next. I had no idea they would take it that far, but..."

"We cannot excuse this, Germany. There will be some consequence," America growled, clutching his wounded arm.

Romano huffed, "Trust me, I don't like it either. Veneziano-"

"Do whatever," The younger said and nodded to Germany.

The elder brother nodded and got up and walked over to the other side of the table, the allied side, "Do you have a seat I can have?"

England, America, and Russia spared each other a look and the former nodded, "Of course."

Liberty looked up and at her boyfriend, "Teutonic?"

"See you on the other side, Amalia," He said sadly. She lowered her head and nodded.

"Remember what I told you. Never give up where you came from, Teutonic. Don't abandon them," She whispered. Prussia nodded and smiled. He picked her up and brought her over to America, who wrapped his bomber jacket around her thin form. The albino returned to the axis side and spoke about a few issues before retiring the meeting. All that was left was to end the war.

* * *

English

 **Latin**

Liberty whined as her phone went off and she pulled up the antenna, "Hello? Who the fuck has the pleasure of calling me at this un-fucking-godly hour?"

America chuckled nervously, "Um, yeah, Mom, hi. Can you drive up to Maine? There's some dude her with a sword at my neck threatening to castrate me in latin."

"And what the fuck does this have to do with me? Knock his ass out," She grumbled and flopped back over in bed.

"He keeps insisting, saying the word Fortuna and Italia. I thought you might want to know-"

 **"Where is my granddaughter and grandsons! I want Fortuna and Italy**!"

Liberty sat up quickly as the adrenaline yelled again, "America, I want you to repeat this very carefully: Nova Roma. I want you to tell me what his reaction is."

America hummed, "Um ok? Nova Roma?"

" **Yes**?"

Liberty laughed, "America, put me on speaker phone right now!" A clink on the other side let her know and she laughed, " **Nonno**!"

" **Fortuna**?"

" **I go by Liberty, but welcome back! How are you**?"

" **I'm fine! I might not be a part of land, but... I can't complain, I have some way of everyday life now**!" Liberty laughed.

" **Happy birthday, Grandpa**!"

America gasped, " **It's your birthday? DUDE! We HAVE to go out, come on, I know the BEST 24 hour place**!" Liberty chuckled and shook her head. Of course America knew latin. He probably learned from his early religious days.

Rome hummed, " **Liberty, who is this guy**?"

" **Your great-grandson. One of them at least**."

Next thing she knew, those two went on to be inseparable whenever America went to Maine. They also had a group costume as the mini figures from Night at the Museum. Those two had a lot of fun, especially arm wrestling.

* * *

Liberty grinned under her cloak as she watched Prussia walk around after his grandmaster shifted to Lutheranism from the classic Roman Catholic. His eyes eventually settled on her figure and he approached her, taking her by the hand and leading her outside. "Teutonic-"

"I'm Prussia now, remember?" He said, grinning over his shoulder.

She smiled, "Of course, but don't forget about your roots." He groaned, rolling his eyes, and continued to march her out to the garden. He let go of her hand and she watched him for a moment when he stopped.

"I trust you, Amalia," He said, just loud enough for her to hear.

"I trust you as well, Prussia-"

He shook his head, "I can't believe I'm telling this to a married woman, but-"

"Teuton. Are you trying to-"

Prussia looked up at her with a kicked puppy look and she looked around the garden with lost eyes, "Yes. Yes I am. I trust you with my heart, Amalia. Will you do the same?"

She swallowed, "I do feel the same, but I want to get someone's blessing. This is going to sound odd, but go find me any flower in this garden. Any flower, please." The albino blinked in confusion, but set off regardless. She collapsed onto the soft grass and when his black shoes showed up, Amalia nearly had a heart attack. "W-Where did you find that?"

"It was hidden in the tulips and my hand just grabbed it. Why?"

Amalia took the ancient wooden tulip carefully into her hands, "Sit down, I have to tell you about someone. Someone I knew very well..."

Prussia nodded and laid down on the grass and put his head on her lap, "Who was it?"

"I think it's better if I show you then anything. Just remember... I've moved on," She murmured as she whispered the spell. Prussia's pupils dilated as he was thrust into the vision.

 _The dark-haired figure shook his head, "I'm scared, Ney-"_

 _"Carina." The man pulled back a little bit in confusion, but she smiled, "The name I went by as a child was Carina Amalia Brewster." More big, fat tears came out of his eyes as he crumbled. Neylan smiled as she kneeled beside him and rubbed his back in comfort. "Everything will be ok, Persia." The man continued to cry, but he simply needed her presence. He clutched the tiny woman and if she hadn't been so comfortable with him, his tall figure would be terrifying for her._

 _His breathing began to even out after a while and she decided to poke the bear, "Sasa-" Persia's grip on her loosened and his hands trailed up to caress her jaw. Her breath hitched as he lowered his face and placed a small kiss on the crown of her head._

 _"I'm going to miss you, Carina Amalia Brewster." With that, Persia stood suddenly and quickly threw himself into his room and shut the door. To further make his point, his aura disappeared and Neylan looked down. A single tear came out of her eye and she reached into the depths of her bag. Pulling out a single small pouch, she looked at the lumpy form and concentrated on the wood inside it._

 _Placing it down, Neylan walked out of his house and away to join a ship crew. A small, tiny blip of aura remained behind, encased in a small, wooden tulip that held so many memories in it._

She pulled away and looked away, "He was the man I loved before I knew it. He died less than three decades later. I've moved on, but I want to make sure he has. If he gave that up, then he has. It was the last interaction we ever had. I'm go-"

A pair of hands reached up to caress her jaw and her breath caught in her throat, "Prus-"

"You talk too much," He whispered, kissing her forehead. She cried and clutched his shirt and the albino chuckled, "I bet you regret marrying that man, huh?"

An old chuckle caught their ears and Nick stood by the path, "Fool, it was only a title. It was barely a marriage in the legal sense since we never consummated it and I'm old anyway. I'm not going to hold her back. Lady Luck, so long as you still fight by me, you are free."

"It's nice to know, Nick. Thank you for everything," Amalia replied and Prussia wrapped his arms around her as he sat up. Her husband nodded as he walked off and she leaned into Prussia's hold. "Time to set some conditions?"

"Yeah. First off, I don't bring up Persia and you don't bring up Hungary," The man said as he looked her in the eye.

Amalia frowned, but nodded, "I trust you two. Agreed. Next?" He chewed his lip nervously and she poked his forehead, "You know I'm not going to judge. This is time for talking things out-"

"I'm not comfortable with sex. I can't with my religion. I have to wait until marriage," He blurted. She blinked and nodded.

"Understandable. No sex until we're both ready and I wouldn't agree to any less. So, I agree. But, here comes the same problem that we faced when I first married..."

Prussia looked down at her, "You want to keep this secret?" Amalia nodded and he huffed, "I disagree. We need to tell one person." The look he sent her said enough.

"Romano. Agreed. Let's tell him together. Is that all?"

"I think we covered all of the issues. What to go kill something?"

Amalia laughed, "Of course!"

"Awesome! Go get changed!" The woman shook her head as Prussia got up and helped her up before running off. They would both remain virgins for another 422 years.

* * *

Liberty winced as she pushed her half-brother off of her, "What the fuck happened last night?"

"I don't know, but my ass hurts," England groaned as he fell off the couch. Scotland mumbled as he got up to head to the kitchen and Ireland continued to sleep. Liberty looked down at her brother as she stood and something caught her eye.

"Shit. I think I know why," The auburnette whispered, giggling lightly. He sent her a bleary look as his eyes continued to adjust to the light streaming in from a window. "Nice six string tattoo."

His eyes widened and he jumped to his feet and ran off to the bathroom, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE BLOODY KIDDING ME." Liberty's own lower back burned and she stumbled for a different bathroom and pulled her turtle neck up. A faint tattoo of Italy sat on her hip with a small star marked at Rome with a larger white star outside of it. She sighed in relief that it wasn't something stupid and got up. It could have been a lot worst.

* * *

Annabelle clutched Joan's hand as the door opened and three guards entered with a priest. Everything was silent as the women were led outside and a list of their sins tied around their necks. Annabelle's was noticeably longer than her friend's and the auburnette shot the young warrior a look.

"I'll walk you up there, but I have to come back. I have family to look after," She said.

Joan nodded and stared forward with a stony gaze, looking at her pyre with determination. Annabelle just hoped she would choke to death first before the flames got anywhere near her body.

A quick look around showed that France and England were in the crowd, one with a look of horror and the other with a mask of indifference. A throat being clear caught her attention and the priest listed off their charges. Annabelle huffed as her several dozen items- all of which were true- were read off, but it didn't stop that she was going to burn.

They were read their final request and Joan wished to have a bible passage recited. Annabelle asked for a message to be passed to a man in the crowd that her brothers come to see her. They were then tied and the pyres lit.

This is where Joan got the second best death when it came to burning. Because the stakes were set up so high, she ended up choking to death, even if her body burned later on. Annabelle got the same fate and she barely felt the flames lick the bottoms of her feet when her vision faded to black.

It was the exact same place, but her soul was separate from her body and she looked around to see Joan standing next to her own pyre, watching her body burn. "It's unsettling, I know. Joan? Your job is done. Feel the peace that you did what you needed to do and let it consume you. It will lead you where you need to go."

Joan nodded and smiled, "Take care of Frank for me and don't be afraid to smack him for me if needed. Take care of yourself and we'll be watching."

"We?"

The blonde blinked and looked behind Annabelle quickly before smiling, "Never mind. Its not time yet. I'll see you later, oui?"

Annabelle grinned and nodded, noting the pull towards her body again, "This is where I leave you. I will keep an eye out." Joan nodded and simply faded.

Next thing Annabelle knew, she woke up in bed and tears leaked out of her eyes because of the sharp pain. France popped into her field of vision and smiled in relief, "Thank god, Annabel. You're looking better than yesterday-"

"How long ago did I die?"

"That was yesterday, but your brothers are here. Your wounds are somehow nearly healed, but..." France trailed and she knew why. Wounds may heal, but the scars would still remain. She looked at her arms and winced and she noticed a distinct lack of hair on her head.

Annabelle lowered her head, "I want to see my brothers." France nodded and went to open the door

"How long ago did I die?"

"That was yesterday, but your brothers are here. Your wounds are somehow nearly healed, but..." France trailed and she knew why. Wounds may heal, but the scars would still remain. She looked at her arms and winced and she noticed a distinct lack of hair on her head.

Annabelle lowered her head, "I want to see my brothers." France nodded and went to open the door. They enter quietly and Veneziano gapped at her.

"Sorellona! Who did this to you?"

Romano looked away and she held her breath. "We did this to her. The Catholic Church tried to kill Sorell-"

"They did," France whispered, cutting him off. Romano's breath caught and the boys clutched their sister as they cried. The salt in their tears burned some of her still open wounds, but she didn't care at the moment.

"We lost you?" Feliciano whimpered.

Annabelle nodded and kissed the crown of his head, "Si, Fratello, mi dispiace-"

"YOU DON'T GET TO SAY SORRY!" Romano yelled, pulling out of her grasp. Angry tears poured down his face as rage and betrayal glinted in his eyes. "Don't lie! You could have gotten out of there, you always could!" Annabelle's throat began to tighten as a rising sense of dread began to cut off her air. "The black winged angel, draped in chains! I've heard the stories, you could have gotten out of there! You wanted to die! How can you call yourself one of my citizens?!"

Annabelle's eyes filled with tears and her air supply was completely cut off. Romano had said it. He had actually said it. Romano had just rejected her.

With a feeling similar to being a child lost in the world, she felt her citizenship tear away from her and she passed out.

Romano''s eyes widened as he felt the connection to her fade and watched as she lost consciousness. The single person he could look up to, one of the only connections he had left, he had disowned. "I-I-I'm sorry-"

"Get out," France snapped as he got up to pick up his friend. Romano stared at the scene before him one last time before running outside.

 _What had he done?_

Annabelle whined when she woken up and shivered. An empty feeling in her heart was the first thing she noticed. She sat up and nearly knocked Venezianoff the bed, "Venie, where did Romano go?"

He hummed and looked down, "F-France ran him off. He didn't want Fratello near you after-"

"I know. Where's Romano?"

He sighed and rubbed at his watering eyes, "I-I don't know..." Annabelle growled and moved him away. "W-Wait- FRANCE!" She ran out the door faster than the blonde could get there and hid her aura. ' _Where would he be? Probably by water... The Seine_!' She continued on and found a familiar mass staring at the water.

Annabelle plopped next to him and he offered no acknowledgment other than leaning on her arm. She smiled and kissed the crown of his head. He bowed his head and laughed. "I-I-Is that-a it?" He asked. His voice shook and the woman frowned, but made no movement to comfort him. He needed this. "We-a just pretend nothing fucking happened? We-a pretend you-a never willingly died and you-a pretend I never rejected you? We-a just go back to being a fucking-up family?"

Annabelle let a few tears fall, "Of course. We have nothing otherwise. We stay close to each other because no one understands you and your past than those who lived with you through it. I stay close to you two because you're a constant and a model for me. No matter what happens, I'll always- used to be-"

"Still can," Romano snapped and she smiled in relief. She couldn't feel the lost feeling anymore and knew she was one of his again. It had a deep, indescribable pain of not being tied to a country, but when it came back, it was the greatest feeling in the world.

"I'll always be able to walk in the front door and have you waiting patiently. You don't try to start wars. You say it like it is in a world where I need that. I died because I wanted to help Joan. She was slowly crumbling no matter what anyone says and she needed someone to walk her to the door. But Roma..." She whispered.

He looked at her with big eyes, "I'm getting tired. I don't know how long I can keep this up. I've been going for almost 1500 years and I'm still human. The only reason I think I haven't died yet is because of you guys. I have people waiting for me to come through a door. I can't leave you the-" Romano sprang on her, wrapping his arms around her neck. She froze as her neck almost instantly grew wet and returned the hug.

"B-B-Bitch, don't do-a it again," He whimpered. She smiled gently.

"Come on, Venie's waiting for us." Romano nodded and let her go, but still held onto her hand. Family breaks and breaks more, but if love prevails, it heals itself.

When they returned, England was sporting a few cuts and Veneziano was still clutching the knife, "I'm telling you, I can help!"

"Venie, what's going on?" Annabelle asked as she warily looked at England. Romano clutched her hand tightly and she knew if she let go, he would attack the superpower.

"Bess, I know it's not much, but I can give you your face back, I promise!" His eyes were an honest and desperate green and she sighed, looking at Romano.

"Romano. Thoughts? You know there's only one way it can be fixed."

The boy clenched his empty fist and looked up at her before turning his gaze to Britain, "You better know what you're fucking doing or I will have you excommunicated."

Britain let out a sigh of relief and nodded, "I wouldn't dream of doing anything more to Bess. Elizabeth, you know this is going to hurt more than when you actually burned."

"I was already dead before that so... This is going to hurt a lot," The woman said, shaking. Romano squeezed her hand and frowned.

"We're not going anywhere, so try not to break our eardrums," He said. Veneziano nodded and Annabelle smiled.

"Grazie..."

Britain looked at her, "Bess, you know that it's going to take more than one person to hold you down and I need to have my hands free. Do you remember that one spell...?"

She lit up and looked up at him, "Do you mean that one?"

Veneziano looked between them, "What spell?" The blonde's eyes twinkled as he looked at his half-sister and she nodded.

"It's a temporary aging spell. Babies become teens, kids become young adults, adults become old people, but only for a certain amount of time before it reverses-"

"Fuck it, whatever," Romano voiced and Veneziano nodded in agreement. Britain passed over a small book and Annabelle took it.

"Frank, do you have any clothes they can borrow? Those aren't going to grow with them," The Brit asked and France nodded, darting off. "Are you two ready? You might want to hide behind something and strip." Romano flushed and he ran behind the bed as his brother did the same and the witches began chanting. A moment after the spell ended, France came back in and tossed the clothes over. With the sound of rustling cloth, Annabelle noticed she began to feel faint and gave in. Her grown brothers' expressions were seen for a moment before she black out, but seeing them the way she had all those years ago... It made her smile.

She woke to excruciating pain and screamed as much as her lungs would let her. She was on fire, that's all she knew. Her face felt like it was bubbling as the rest of her body smoked. Veneziano coughed as he held down one of her arms, but Romano was used to the smoke of Vesuvius, so he motioned for his brother to take over for France at her feet. The younger brother nodded and Romano grabbed both her arms, ignoring her screams as best as he could. He was unused to his strength, so he only hoped he wasn't hurting her.

It felt like it went on for days, but the entire process compacted the pain of burning for hours on end into three minutes as the spell was recited. She was unburned, but her sensitivity to heat was nonexistent. She curled into the embrace of Romano after it was over and he now realized why his sister enjoyed Spain's hugs as much as she could. Spain, England, and France were the only nations she knew that were alive that could wrap their arms all the way around her. He rubbed her back carefully and Annabelle curled up more. He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Is this how you felt when you first became our sister?" He whispered, thinking she was asleep.

"Yes. You're so small and it's so easy to hold you. I used to believe that if I held onto you and Veneziano, nothing could happen to you two. When you two get a little older, I'm going to teach you two to sword fight. There's a particular style I want you to learn," She mumbled, yawning. Romano huffed and sighed.

"Go to sleep. Life goes back to normal when you'll wake up."

"It usually does, Romano."

* * *

Spain smiled as he lead Carina on a tour of the home. "And this is the courtyard! If we take a left here, we get to the armory and the bed rooms..." His voice trailed as she focused more on the ancient sword outside the armory door. Romano looked over in confusion and snorted when he was what she was looking at. Spain turned around at the sound and came over to look.

He brightened when he too noticed what Liberty was looking at, "Oh, that ancient thing? Romano gave it to me a while ago! And he called it trash!"

"It is..." Carina whispered, running her hand over the blade, letting every nook and nick glide under her fingers. She carefully took it off of its rack and Spain growled.

"Put it back, Chica. It's not yours. It belonged to a warrior who served many a war," He grit as a dangerous aura overtook him. Carina smiled knowingly as she looked it up and down.

Romano stood in front of his caretaker, "Oi, Spain, calm down-"

"Romano,you gave it to me! That blade served its owner well and I demand that it be properly cared for!"

Carina chuckled, "It did served its user well, but it's still in the same condition, only..." Her eyes sharpened as she glared down at Romano, "Why is there a new scratch in it?" He pursed his lips and Spain relaxed a little bit. "Roma?"

"I had to fight the Byzantines and there wasn't anything else, ok!" Romano yelled, twitching in anger as tears popped into his eyes.

His sister sighed and kneeled, "Romano, if you had written to me-"

"I know ok! I wanted to see if I could handle this on my own!" He spat as he walked towards her and fell into her embrace. Carina let the Roman blade on the ground and wrapped her arms around him.

"Romano, I'm not going to lecture you on the issue. You learned and that's all I ask for. I'm going to put my old blade up and we can go have a nap like always.

* * *

Liberty pursed her lips as she ran through the streets of Paris to her friend's home. The city of lights was in chaos and she knew France was going to be in pain. She threw open his front door and slammed it shut immediately after entering and breathed heavily. The streets were true anarchy.

She slid down when she felt the presence upstairs and chuckled, getting up slowly. She walked up the stairs and knocked on his bedroom door. "France or whoever is in control-"

The door opened and the unshaven man seemed to be an exhausted replica of her friend. He had bags under his eyes, his stubble had grown out of control and a cigarette hung from his lips, "So you're Annabelle."

"I go by Liberty, but yeah. How's your head doing?"

He grunted again and let her in, "It's still on my shoulders, which is more than I can say for earlier. Is this what you meant by a late bloomer?"

Liberty snorted and looked around the dirty room, "Yeah. The French Revolution was the time I thought you would come out, so... Yeah. America and Canada already had their alternates, so you're one of the last countries to get the second personality. Consider it a compliment."

"Hmmm... I'm annoyed the people didn't uprise earlier," He said and hissed, grabbing his head. France's wine splattered on his shirt and he growled, "I know. Shut up."

"Frank, calm down and both of you look at me," She snapped, crossing her arms. The nation raised his head in irritation and she huffed, "I've given this lecture once, I'll give it a million times. You two need to get your shit together and learn to work together. If you two ignore each other, it will not end well. Share control or work out some deal, but you're going to end up giving yourselves a bigger headache than you probably going to get. I'm going to be downstairs and come get me when you two get your lives together."

Liberty stomped downstairs and plopped down on a wicker chair. "This is some bullshit."

"You're telling me. Francis gave me a name at least," The nation said as he came in a second later.

The woman raised an eyebrow, "That was fast."

"We agreed we're going to disagree on some things and to talk it out on others. I'm lazy, so he'll be in control the most unless it's some weird shit. I'm now Francois."

* * *

France chuckled across the table, "I'm sorry, Italy, but you Italians are not smooth." Romano scoffed as his brother grinned.

Liberty rolled her eyes, "France, we can be smooth if we want to be."

"Prove it," He grinned. Romano grinned and looked at his brother.

"Fratello, I dare you to make Germany a blushing, bumbling mess," The older said.

Feliciano's face shifted so he had an 'innocent' look on his face, "I have no idea what you're talking about~! I just talk to him. Why don't you go talk to Spain?"

Romano frowned, "You know I don't like him that way." Veneziano nodded and left it at that, walking off. The three watched as Veneziano bounced up to Germany and pulled him away from his brother. A quick look sent him towards his siblings.

"What's going on?"

"France said Italians aren't smooth. Watch this." Prussia turned to his brother and chuckled darkly.

"This is going to be good."

Liberty nodded, "Damn straight. I bet you 20 euros that Venie spends the night."

Prussia raised an eyebrow, "You're on."

"Shut up, you two! It's happening!" Romano snapped. Liberty looked and put her hand on her hip.

Veneziano was grinning up at Germany and standing up on tip toe. Germany looked at him in confusion and her brother chirped something back. The blonde leaned forward and Veneziano whispered something in ear. It looked like someone put too much red powder on Germany's face and Feliciano circled around him, dragging a finger around his chest, arm, and back. When he came back, he was still grinning and whispered something again. Germany looked down and nodded. Veneziano took his hand, looked back at his group and winked.

Liberty held out her hand and Prussia gaped as he handed over the money. France blinked in surprise and shook his head, "What just happened?"

Romano chuckled, "It's not hard when you have a sister who teaches you what women want and want to hear. In return, Veneziano and have told Liberty the same."

"I have got to see this," France said to Liberty. Romano raised an eyebrow at Prussia and he did the 'come at me' motion.

"Bring it on."

Liberty sighed and put down her punch and brushed her hair out a little so it fanned out around her face with a few loose strands, "Hello."

Prussia cocked his head in confusion, "Hi?" She circled Prussia in a similar way to her brother but frowned as she did so. When Liberty came back around the front, she cocked her head.

"I thought it was you. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. Women don't see men like you anymore..." She trailed. The albino cocked his head, a little confused.

"Like what?"

She smiled sweetly, "A man who isn't afraid to a woman what it really is to be a man. Tall, handsome, caring, and strong." She circled him again and instead of putting distance between the two of them, she leaned into his ear, "Why don't you show me how much of a man you are?"

Prussia swallowed and looked down. He grabbed her hand and walked her out. She shot France a wink and he shook his head.

* * *

She met 'her leader' twice. The first time, her brothers were sitting anxiously by the man's side and the king was by hers. Liberty remembers looking the commander in the eye and saying a single sentence the entire meeting. "You're not my leader." She stood when the business was done, bowed to the king and looked him in the eye, "My king."

The second time, he was hanging outside a gas station next to several other friends of his, all dead. Veneziano stared at the man and spoke to his sister without looking away, "Sorellona, can you pass me that rock right there?" Liberty looked down and noted the sizable rock and grabbed it and another. She passed it and watched in fascinated horror as her brother chucked it at the body. The crowd cheered and jeered at the action and some others joined in. The woman turned to her brother and huffed, "Not my leader." She chucked the stone and walked away. The asshole who had pulled her brothers into this mess was dead and hanging by his feet like a piece of meat.

Benito Mussolini was dead.

* * *

Amalia smiled as she looked at the weaker man, "Hey, Germania, are you feeling better?"

The man shook his head as he looked at something hiding behind his leg in his shadow, "I've been better, I have a few wards that are keeping me busy."

She smiled as she saw a small tuff of white hair peeking out from behind the man's cloak, "Germania, that's not a large rabbit, is it?"

"No, he's not. Teuton, come into the light," He said as he pushed the child by his side.

He rubbed his eyes in pain, "Vatti, I told you not to call me that! It's Teutonic! Who's this?" The child looked up and the two froze as they looked at each other. Amber met red. Amalia dashed forward as she swept off her cloak, but the small albino screamed and tried to run away. "Vatti, help! She's going to kill me!"

The auburnette winced and tackled the boy, "No, I'm not! Germania, you better have a fucking good reason for not letting Teutonic stay in the shade!" The boy squirmed and screamed as he writhed and kicked.

"Vatti!" The boy screamed. Amalia pulled him into a hug and he beat on any place he could land a hit. "Vatti, help!"

Germania sighed and finally decided to step in, "Teuton, Amalia means no harm. She's actually trying to help you. And Amalia, I feel like I should let you know that-"

"Holy Rome! Help!"

She stared down at him with wide eyes and rose to her feet, taking him with her, "Shit, Holy Rome's here-"

A battle cry cut her off and a small body mass barreled into her. Teutonic sat on her chest and the blonde child on her knees, "Take that, Amalia! I told you I could take you down next time!" She wheezed and Teutonic laughed. "Glad this is amusing to you to, but can you get off? Teutonic, take the cloak, it'll keep you out of sun for now."

He blinked and looked at the thick cape wrapped around his shoulders, "Sure, I guess." The two brothers climbed off and Germania pulled her to her feet.

"It's nice seeing you again. Do you want to...?"

She grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, "I was waiting for you to ask. And take better care of Teutonic, his skin burns easily and he can't see very well, isn't that right?" Teutonic frowned and kicked her in The shin.

"I don't have to say anything I don't want to!" She smiled and ruffled his hair roughly. He blushed and went to hide behind his older brother.

Amalia turned back To Germania, "The thing...?"

Teutonic turned to his brother, "They're not going to make out or anything like that, right?"

Germania snorted, "No, we fight."

* * *

Germania pinched the bridge of his nose after he found out about one of Teutonic's battles, "Child, you are too wild."

"No I'm not!" Teutonic whined, shifting his weight to one foot and swinging the other.

The blonde kneeled and brought Amalia over. He grabbed the albino's shoulder's, "You are going to get hurt. If Amalia hadn't deflected that arrow, you would be in a large amount of pain right now. She will be your shield, but only if you attack for her. Be her sword in battle. You're going to need to trust her later in life."

"Whyyyy?" The child whined again. Germania growled and drew his dagger and was about to attack the child, but a sword at his neck made him pause.

"That's why. She can see the things you can't. Trust her."

Teutonic nodded and looked down, "Ok Vatti..."

* * *

Bess sighed as she stepped onto the soil and breathed in the fresh air, "It's been so long..."

"Indeed it has," A voice grit. She whipped around and smiled.

"America, is that you?"

The woman 'nation' nodded and adjusted the child in her arms, "Indeed, but be careful. This one has been responding to that lately..."

The younger woman nodded, "It's what the English are calling the new land. He's probably going to represent the colonies that the Europeans found."

"So I will not have as much power or strength as I do now?" Native America asked as she looked steadily at Elizabeth.

She lowered her head, "Your position in the future is lessened greatly, and not all of it if by European hands. A good portion of it is by his hands." Native America sighed and looked at the giggling baby.

"In case something happens to me, would you be able to take over and keep an eye on him for me?"

Elizabeth frowned, "You will always be his mother and I was going to-"

Native America shook her head, "Then be his mother too. If he is my future, then I want an outsider I can trust." The auburnette fiddled with her dress and nodded.

"Alright. But he will always be your son first. You will always be his mother first. I am an outsider helping raise America."

* * *

Germany watched the strange man attempt to teach him about the Roman Empire, but it was nothing his brother hadn't covered when he was growing up. A door opened in the back and the stranger went quiet. Germany turned around, and Liberty was standing there with tears pouring down her face, "R-Rome?"

The man smiled shakily and nodded, "I'm right here."

"You asshole, when were you going to wake me up?" She asked and took a running start into a hug. Germany watched the interaction between the two with a dumbstruck look.

"It's really you?"

Rome looked up and pet the girl's hair, "Yeah. Fortuna, I didn't know where you were, but it's so nice to see you again! Did you know this punk eats things that come out of the ground?"

She laughed and gripped him harder, "Yeah. You're still an ass though. How's... wherever?"

"It's been good, I may have had to tie up God to get out again, but..." He shrugged and she pulled away.

"Sounds like you. Germany," Fortuna said, turned and leaning against the old empire, "This is the Roman empire, even though he died several centuries ago. He's the closest thing I have to a dad or Grandpa." The blonde's mind seemed to be frayed at the information, but he shook it off.

"Seriously? Then were did he go? Why did you leave?" Fortuna looked and Rome and he looked at the door.

"Can you go check on Venie? I need to go," He said in latin and Germany blinked at the odd language. She nodded and left the room. "I left because..." She didn't hear the rest, but didn't need a reason. Rome fell because he had to.

* * *

"But Moooooom! I wanna go!" Sealand begged, tugging on her arm.

Elizabeth smiled and looked down at him, "I know, but this is for bigger nations."

"But what about San Marinooooo? She's only five times bigger than Seborga, and she gets to attend!" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but she's been recognized. I can ask if you can get into the meeting, but you can't say anything though, and you might have to sit next to Gilbert. Would that be ok? You could bring your colors if you can be silent."

Sealand whined wordlessly, but sighed, "Fiiiine. Thanks mom..." Elizabeth smiled and removed his hat to ruffle his hair.

"Sure thing. I'm going to go talk to England for a few, so why don't you go take a seat?" He nodded and zoomed off to go sit by America. Elizabeth smiled and walked off to find the British nation.

Sealand played with the edge of his shirt and looked at the superpower, "Excuse me?"

The man blinked and looked at the kid, "Hey, little man! What's going on?"

"Why does Mo- I mean, Elizabeth get to go into meetings? I thought only nations could get inside."

America blinked and cocked his head, "Well, she's a special case. She isn't human, but while she isn't a nation, she's... I dunno, she's Mom!" Sealand blinked.

"You call her that too?! So do I!"

"Nice bro! But anyway," America said, leaning down in a whisper, "I don't think we get as much done without her. Otherwise, we'd all just waste a bunch of meetings arguing. Other than Germany, and myself on occasion, she's the only one who can shut everyone up. It's really cool!"

Sealand's eyes grew wide, "Whoa, really! She's trying to get me into the meeting!"

"Sweet little bro!"

(skip)

Sealand quietly colored in Germany as he lectured on... and on... and on. East Germany looked over once in curiosity, and started snickering at the picture. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and Germany shouted at the two, but his gaze was drawn to Italia in the back. He began yelling at them, and the auburnette's head fell onto her arms. Gilbert took the paper was for a quick moment and folded it over. "Hold on, and watch the awesomeness unfold," He whispered, and held it up so the real Germany's head was covered and they snickered.

"Flip it over, flip it over!" Sealand urged quietly. The albino did and they burst out laughing.

"Brother, Sealand, is there anything you want to share?" They ignored Ludwig's question to completely losing it in the middle of the conference room.

Elizabeth looked at the picture and snickered lightly herself, "Sorry, Germany, I was just telling them a joke. What do you call-"

"We're all good, Liberty. Can silence please be kept?"

"Right, sorry." She cast a small look over at Gilbert and Sealand and gave them a subtle thumbs up.

* * *

Amalia smiled as she tapped he foot patiently in the doctor's office. Prussia was in the chair and looking through the eye gear nervously. "Ok, one or two? One? Or two?" The eye doctor asked, flipping the sides back and forth.

The albino swallowed nervously, "Um, two?"

He nodded and wrote something down quickly, "Ok, again. One or two?" This process repeated several times and liberty gripped his hand.

"Gilbert, calm down." Before switching to German, she cast a glance at the doctor, "He's not going to take out your eyes and even if he tries, we're gone before he picks up the knife."

Gilbert nodded and took her hand, "Danke, Amalia." The doctor chuckled and turned to the woman.

"Don't worry. I'd actually like to get a look at your eyes. You've said its been a while since your last visit."

She nodded and gripped Gilbert's hand, "Um, yeah. Do you know about-"

" About the nations? Of course. When was your last visit?"

"About forty years for me personally. I've been for others."

The man nodded, "May I? I just want you see how your eyes are doing. How old are you?"

She leaned back in the chair an thought for a moment, "What year is it again? 1990? Then I'm... Gil, a little help?"

"You're 1937, going on 38 soon."

Her eyes widened, "Oh shit! It's your 800th birthday coming up!" The doctor chuckled.

"I'm sure you've heard this before, but that's quite an age gap."

The immortals chuckled, "There was a moment when our siblings were 'dating'. Their age gap is almost 1900 or 2000 years." The doctor whistled.

"Ok then. But your eyes?"

Liberty nodded and let the doctor look into her eyes and he sighed, "Your eyes show your age. My some miracle, you can see, but you're going to start losing your vision soon if you haven't lost some already."

She could feel Gilbert's eyes on her as she lowered her head, "I am starting to lose a bit of vision, but it's not enough to be a problem. Just... Blurriness on occasion."

"I can get you some glasses as well-"

"I already have some. We're just here to get Gil some glasses. He's hated the thought for years, but he's starting to need them more."

The doctor nodded and smiled, "Well, luckily we can get some glasses for him in two weeks, but hopefully it won't pass too long. Go check some out and bring me the pair." They nodded and Liberty lead them out.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She sighed and lead them to the glasses room, "Because I didn't want to worry you and I was taking care of it. It hasn't shown up except for the past twenty years or so. Romano knows, but you're the only other one."

Prussia pinched the bridge of his nose, "Alright... I'm mad you didn't tell me, but..."

"Thanks. Now, let's see what they have..."

Gilbert ended picking out a pair of black thick frames with white on the inside.

Prussia burst into the house with a small package in his hand, grinning like a maniac. "Amalia! They're here!" She gasped and got to her feet, grabbing the small polaroid. "This is going to be so awesome!"

"Hurry up!" He all but tore into it and removed the glasses case and popped it open. There sat the strong prescription glasses and he carefully set them on. He blinked as his eyes refocused and he looked around the kitchen in surprise.

"Holy... This is awesome... I can't believe-" He spun around and his breath caught as he looked at his girlfriend. "Wow..."

She smiled at him, "Hello there." He grinned and tears popped into his eyes.

"Hi there. Do you come here often? I didn't see you around here before."

Liberty laughed as tears came down her own face, "No, but I think I can. What about you, handsome?" Gilbert chuckled happily and pulled her in for a kiss.

"I can't believe I can actually see you like this for the first time..." She leaned against him and buried her head into his chest. "You're more beautiful than I thought."

"Hush, you flirt. You look really good in the glasses. They show your eyes better." He flushed and stuffed his face in her hair, or tried to. He blinked in confusion and she chuckled. "Glasses take a while. You constantly have to push them up or wipe them off or do some stupid shit. That's why I usually carry mine somewhere on me."

"Can I see them?"

His puppy dog eyes put her new puppy to shame as she reluctantly pulled them out. "Promise you won't laugh..."

"Never." She put the dark brown glasses on and looked at him nervously. "You look good. They accent well with your eyes and hair."

She chuckled, "Alright, I'm going to take mine off before something happens, but if you want to watch something-"

"Let's watch a horror movie. I want to see why everyone always freaks out."

She shot him a look, "Alright. I'll be there if you get scared later."

Liberty wasn't surprised when Gilbert slipped into her bed that night and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

* * *

It was an almost unspoken rule when Halloween 2000 came around. Everyone was going to wear clothes from their oldest point in history. Many of the mirconations, except for maybe Seborga and Rome, would have the joy of modern clothes, but it was a time where the nations could enjoy making it to a new millennia, one way or another. It also displayed just how OLD some of the nations were to the others. There would be the first generation, the nations whose fundamental roots were around pre-500 AD, many of whom would dressed in Roman togas, or in Liberty's case, a stolla. Then there were the second generation, post-500 to early 1500s. The North American brothers were excluded, but their true mother was thrown into this group. After this, it was everyone after.

Liberty put Carina in her crib and whispered sweet nothings in her ear, soothing the four-year-old. It was almost eight, when the party would start and she smiled at the large German Shepard sitting next to the bed. "Nick, can you watch her? I need to leave. Press the button if she wakes up." The dog huffed in response and she rubbed the dog's head. Shifting her stolla and double-checking her braids before walking out. It took a bit of planning, but they managed to hold the party in America this year and she clamored into a taxi. "Pennsylvania Ave. please."

He raised his eyebrows, "Lady, no one is getting in there."

"Don't worry, I have ID and I'll pay extra." The driver huffed, but didn't question. It took a while, but eventually, they got to the white house. A guard stopped them and Liberty smiled, turning her head to show her curl. The worker's eyes widened and waved them around the back and the cab driver whistled. "I told you didn't I?"

"That you did..."

She chuckled and pulled out a small clutch and pulled out $100. "Keep the change. Thanks for the ride." He nodded and stepped out, pulling open her door. Liberty nodded to him and held up her head. Walking off, she cleared her face. Her stolla dipped down to her lower back and showed her scars proudly. Walking into the party, she quickly took note of what groups were doing. They were playing the family game and linking hands with the person who raised them for a good part of their life and who they took care of. She hated it.

"Ragazza, we were-a waiting! Get your-a ass over here!" Romano yelled, looking over from his place by Rome. She smiled and took her brothers' hands, making Veneziano smile. The brothers, as well as Rome, were wearing matching togas. Rome, China and Liberty shared looks because their true roles showed. France and Spain were dressed in the roman attire as well and arguing over a place next to Rome, but Portugal ignored them, stealing the spot. Chuckling, the Italian looked over at them with large smiles.

The second generation were also hanging around each other, but it was mostly Germania's kids dressed up in their earliest form of clothes. The third generation though, were some sorry motherfuckers. America, Canada, and Germany were the only fully grown 'adults' in the group, the rest being children except for maybe Molassia. He and America were getting into a headed basketball argument and Canada was speaking to Germany about christmas or something. Regardless, the Italian Peninsula family held their heads high, similar to the Asian family. The second generation looked over and were whispering, looking at the groups in their original glory.

"Alright, dudes, let's get this show on the road! First off, group pictures before anyone's costumes get messed up!" America's puritain outfit stood out in the crowd and brought her back to harsher days, but Rome quickly went to sit in a grand chair.

"Romano, sit in front of me, you too, Veneziano. Fortuna, behind me, and France and Spain, by my side!" The group got into their positions and a very... regal air surrounded them as they stared into the camera. It was a no nonsense mood that the family only pulled off if united like this, so it only happened once or twice.

"Next, Asia!" The family was replaced by the asian family, and China took the center seat. Liberty stayed out of this one, but while she waited, a hand crept into hers. Smiling, she leaned against the person and sighed happily.

"You look like you stepped out of a history book, Shield. You look amazing."

The woman looked over and her breath caught, "Y-You're still wearing that. You're not supposed to."

Prussia shrugged, the ancient white cloak rising and falling with the action, "No one knows and I wore it after that, so it still counts. Are you going to be ok in that?"

Liberty grinned, "Of cour-"

"Germanics and Eastern Europe!"

They shared a look and the necessary countries stepped forward. "Because Germania or Holy Rome aren't here, I vote we keep the seat empty."

Austria nodded at Liberty's suggestion, "I agree. Germany, you sit in the front. I'll stand in the back. Liechtenstein and Switzerland, stand beside one side, Prussia and Liberty on the other. Hungary, join in somewhere." They managed to get into position without too much fighting, so all went relatively well.

Pictures continued for a while and eventually, a game of stories began. The immortals sat in a circle and if someone asked them to tell a story, they had to tell one or remove a piece of clothing. Of course, this put the Romans in a disadvantage. Liberty sat next to Prussia and leaned on his arm. It got around to Romano, "Hey, Uncle Mano, what's the worst thing you've ever seen?"

He looked at his American nephew and sighed, pulling off a sandal, "I'm not telling. It's not only my story to tell." America pouted, but Spain took next turn.

"C'mon, Roma, what is it?"

The Italian frowned, looked at his sister. She sighed and nodded, and Romano closed his eyes. "1478 Or 1861."

Spain's eyes widened and he raised his hands, "Ok, Roma, thanks for sha-"

"No, vhat happened. Its my turn anyway," Germany piped in, looking at Romano. Once again, he looked over to his sister, but this time, she looked at England.

"Do either of you two still have one of them?" The blonde nodded and reached behind his ear, a pitch black feather sat In his hand. "Thanks Al. Romano, do you want me to tell them?" He nodded and she spun the feather in her hands a few times. "Ok, this used to be mine. I used to have wings. Spain, are you going to be ok?" Nodding, Spain actually cut in.

"Si, but Carina, I'm still sorry. I didn't know the Inquisition would target you."

Some nations' eyes widened and she nodded, "I've gotten used to it. At least it got rid of that huge tattoo on my back. Anyway, sometime in the late 1470s, the Spanish Inquisition got ahold of my religious in-affiliation and wanted to send a message. I never found out who told them, but I did used to have wings. It was one of the freest feelings, flying among the birds or with someone in my arms, but... it all came to an end. The Inquisition didn't appreciate that I shared the skies with angels, so this asshole got Romano and ordered me to bring them out or..."

"They would have gut me over and over again in front of Fortuna. She had to and she did. They were solid black and draped in chains. They broke her wings in front of me and then began to cut them off. To have Ragazza's freedom cut off like that..."

"I used to have three tattoos. Two infinity signs and a black circle of chains. After they cut them, I noticed I didn't have the chains anymore. The funniest part is, I was free from that damn thing." She went to sit back down and Prussia's fingers traced her lower back.

"I always wondered where that went."

It was Rome's turn to ask and he turned to Liberty and Prussia, "So, Fortuna, what is your relationship with this young man?" Prussia gulped and she grabbed his hand with her own. With her other hand, she went and pulled her braids out of the bun and faced her grandfather (1). He looked over her face and nodded with a casual smirk and looked at the albino, "You're lucky."

"I'm aware!" He said, grinning back. Rome laughed and looked back at Liberty.

"I like him!" She grinned and went to try to out her hair back up, but Prussia beat her to it. Being careful of her curl, he carefully wound her braids back to the back of her head. Liberty looked back around the room and everyone was looking back and forth confused, but Romano and Veneziano were respectively frowning and grinning wildly.

The older looked at her boyfriend, "Don't push it."

"Ignore Fratello, he's just-"

"Shut up!"

France looked at Rome, "Uncle, what exactly did she do?"

Rome shook his head, "If you don't know, then you don't know."

It was Liberty's turn next and she hummed, looking around the room. Settling her gaze on England, she grinned, "Al, the BBC April fools joke. What was your reaction?"

He coughed into his hand with a bright face, "I called to ask how to get one..."

"I don't blame you for wanting to get a pasta tree." Her brothers snorted and Veneziano dissolved into giggles. America wasn't far behind. After a while, they transitioned to party games and dancing. Liberty and Prussia went off on their own and returned with a small stuffed animal for each other, swapping them before going to dance.

Sadly, her nokia went off and Liberty wasted no time answering it upon seeing the number. She spared a glance at Prussia, Romano and America before heading off. The first ended up leading her home through the packed streets and lead her inside. Nick greeted them at the door, smothering the albino in kisses while Liberty ran upstairs to the crying three year old. Shushing Carina gently, the woman bobbed her in her arms, smiling when she went back to sleep almost instantly.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

Liberty looked up and smiled, "Of course. You know where everything is, so..." He nodded and went back into the hallway. When she deemed Carina asleep enough, she was put back into her crib. Liberty went back to her room and grabbed some pajamas, noticing the large lump on the bed. After she changed, she crawled next to it and they wrapped their arms around each other. "'Night Teutonic..."

"Guten nacht, Liberty..." Prussia yawned as they both slipped into sleep.

(1) I read that unless the woman was young, Roman women kept their hair up except around basically their husbands. I heard that paintings of Venus were similar to porn. (Mmmm, that hair).

* * *

Romano sighed as the mafia leader looked over a contract, but looked up as a few gun shots echoed through the halls and he reached for his gun. A white aura traced through the halls and he chuckled, putting it down. His boss took note of this and relaxed into the chair and waited.

Soon enough... "ROMANO! Your receptionist is shit."

He snorted as one of the front guards was thrown at his feet, beaten and his face sliced up, "Grazie for not killing this-a one. He's new."

"Yeah, no shit. He didn't know who I was. I thought I talked to you about this. At least this time, I only got hit once," She commented, sitting down next to hit and pulling her turtleneck off, leaving ehr in her tank top. Romano pursed his lips as he got up to grab a first aid kit. Pulling a dagger out of his pocket, he carefully cut into the healing over wound and got some of the tweezers out. His sister hissed when it unwillingly came out and Romano poured some scotch on the wound. "Shit, that hurts like a bitch."

Lovino chuckled, "Yeah, its sunshine and roses, Ragazza, what the-a fuck did you expect?"

Liberty rolled her eyes and looked over at the mafioso, "Is that your new boss?"

He looked over at the staring don and nodded, "Yeah, but Luciano is still a little pissed that his choice lost. No surprise there."

She laughed, "That dumbass he chose couldn't trust the right people to save his-Shit!" She winced as her brother began stitching the wound shut. "Fucking tell-a me, Fratello!"

The mafia head's eyes widened, "You're his sister?"

"I told-a you yesterday who she was! Ragazza he can't listen for shit either," Romano quipped, switching to greek for a quick moment. Liberty snorted and leaned back when her brother finished stitching her arm. "Stay the fuck out of fire fights and try not to cause too much trouble. I don't want to pull your ass out of anything."

She raised an eyebrow, "Coming from you? That's rich. How's Blondie doing?"

He leaned back in his own chair and moved so his hand blocked his eyes from his boss's view. They shifted to a familiar red that danced happily. Even though they were two different people, Lovino and Flavio shared the same voice, even though Flavio spoke in a slightly higher pitch, but he lowered his voice. "He's doing well. A little lonely, but he's hoping to meet up with an old friend of his."

"He should go for it. Blondie doesn't go out with friends much." Lovino took back over and nodded. "So your opinion on the kid?"

"Thinking of heading over to your loud kid soon. We're trying to shift to somewhere with more opportunities," Romano replied in greek, looking around the room. Liberty did the same and began toying with one of her throwing knives. "Don't do that. You look like Luciano when you do that."

His sister smiled as she dropped the blade into her hand, "Fine. Do you still have your blades?"

"Fuck it, why not..." He got up and stepped over the still man and Liberty followed. Romano looked over some of the bullet holes in the walls and winced, "Jesus, Ragazza. What the fuck did you do?"

"Not much. Don't worry, I didn't do anything that would out them out of commission for more than a week. One asshole has a broken arm though."

He passed the room where his men where being treated and peeked in, leaning on the doorway. The range of Italians looked up and raised their guns when Liberty leaned on the other side. The siblings grinned and Romano looked at her, "Fuck, Sorella, you did fuck them up."

"I fucking told you, didn't I?" The goons lowered their weapons when they saw the two relatively relaxed around each other. Romano huffed and smacked her on the back of her head. "Shit, Roma!" He jerked his head towards the men and she sighed. The woman sighed and crossed her arms, "Look guys, sorry, ok? I told you I wanted to talk to my brother-"

"Bitch, you didn't say your brother was-"

"What did you just call my sister?"

Liberty frowned and grabbed his arm, "Romano." He nodded and they continued down to the training ground. Romano opened a trunk in the back of the room and grabbed two thin fencing swords. "Are you ok with the old fashion way?"

Lovino scoffed, "Why the fuck not? First blood?"

"Yeah." She took a sword from her brother and they took their stances. Tapping them together, they launched into a rapid whirlwind. Several footsteps came in, but neither sibling stopped. After at least half an hour Romano nicked the back of her hand and she turned her blade down. "I yield."

Romano nodded and wiped his forehead, "You're getting old, Ragazza."

She chuckled, "Coming from the one three hundred years older than me and aged to adulthood in the past 400 years."

"Ragazza, you're 1800 years old, it's ok to-"

"Damn it, Romano, I'm still human. You remember that right?" She yelled, turning her arms outward, looking at her brother in exhaustion. Shaking her head, Liberty put her blade up and stormed out the door, passing the other associates. Romano's aura shifted from behind her and traveled up and she blindly followed it, all the way up to her brother's room. An extra, pullout bed underneath her brother's gave her a place to sleep and she curled underneath the covers. Tears poured out of her eyes and she looked up. Small white dots lined the ceiling from a certain spot in Italy and she smiled.

A few hours passed and Romano finally came back up. He stripped down to his boxers and wifebeater and stepped over his backboard. Climbing under his covers, he reached his hand down and she gripped it. "I'm sorry, Sorellona."

"I'm tired, Roma amor. How's business?"

He chuckled, "Tiring. Are you going to stay?"

"Planning on it. Got anything for me to do?"

"You can beat in the new kids. Your boyfriend know you're here?"

She shrugged, "He trusts me enough not to make any dumb decisions. Has anyone else found out?"

"No, but I think France and Veneziano are starting to pick up on it."

Liberty sputtered and turned onto her side, "I-I... Shut up!"

"He's better than Spain. He knows when you're in a bad mood."

* * *

America looked over at his mother from across the room. She had her arms crossed as she looked at him and nodded. "Elizabeth, would you like to sign as well?"

She blinked at the fat, tubby man and shook her head, "No thanks, Benjamin. Just being here for my son is enough." Franklin nodded and he turned to America.

"Don't you have something to say to Elizabeth, America?"

He cocked his head and frowned, "That her name sounds too British?"

"America!" Washington snapped and he scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry! Thanks for helping, Mom!"

Elizabeth chuckled and ruffled his hair, "It's fine, just don't get any taller, ok?"

Samuel Adams stood, "If she were here, shouldn't she be an American citizen?" Several cries went up in agreement and she snarled quietly when America looked at her hopefully.

"I am a citizen of Romano and never should have been in this room. Several of you agreed with the sentiment when I first came in. I shall not stray from my brother!" Elizabeth roared as she slammed her hand on the table. America swallowed and tears welled into his eyes and he looked over to Jefferson.

"We'll talk about his tomorrow. Can you bring him tomorrow?" Jefferson nodded seriously and Elizabeth pursed her lips and stood.

"I'm leaving for the day. America, make sure to eat a healthy dinner, I might not be coming home tonight."

One of the senators (she didn't remember which, just that he didn't like her) grabbed her arm and she pulled out a dagger to his neck, "Is that really a wise decision?" He let go and she threw open the door and stormed out. Her hair was styled in such a way to make her look enough like a man, so her suit didn't attract many looks as she stormed out to the woods. She pulled out her old flint-lock gun from Albion a while ago and began target practice on some pinecones. It was sundown when she took a break and rested against a tree. "Goddamn you America. I'm Italian..." She wouldn't go home that night, but showed up the next day at the conference.

The first thing she was met with when she entered the conference hall was a fist. It hit her hard in the eye and Elizabeth snarled as she grabbed her eyes, "Damnit Ragazza!"

She gasped and looked up. Romano frowned as he stared at her. He was currently at her height and she growled. Clenching her a fist, but covering her eye with her other hand, the woman huffed, "Romano, what the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Fighting for my nephew! Veneziano and Prussia are over here, but they're running late. America said you made him cry yesterday, what was that about?"

Elizabeth pursed her lips, "I see he left out a few details. He wanted me to be one of his. I said no."

"Rather venomously, I might add," Benjamin cut in, looking at the two with a raised eyebrow.

"Benjamin, you're great, but please don't get into this right now. Romano, I'm not going to be one of America's citizens-"

"Why not? I can share," America said as he entered the conversation.

Romano looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"

The teen smiled, "Well, she'd have more influence with you, but she'd still be one of your citizens as well as mine! We share!"

Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose, "If Romano's ok with it, fuck it." America looked at his uncle with wide eyes and Romano frowned.

"Whatever. But she'll always be my citizen first." Elizabeth had a sharp intake of breath as she felt a new connection to America and shivered. She really was his citizen now.

"Alright. But Mom, I'm not getting you as my citizen until you change your name from Elizabeth. It still sounds too British," America said. Romano rolled his eyes.

"Fine! I'll be Liberty Brewster!" The now dubbed Liberty cried, raising her hands. Her brother looked down and she sudden knew why. She had an 'American' and 'German' name, but a thought popped into her mind. She cast a look to her son, "I'll be Liberty Romano Brewster."

"Ragazza, did you seriously just fucking steal my name?" Romano asked as he looked at his sister. Tears well into his eyes and she grinned.

"Damn fucking straight. As Prussia would say-"

"-Your name is too awesome not to steal," Liberty said as another voice joined in. She jumped and turned around. Prussia and Veneziano were standing behind her and grinning.

Romano looked at them, "You're late."

"Sorry, Fratello! And Liberty!"

Liberty chuckled, "I guess it works. I'm on my last name."

Romano blinked, "You mean this is your last name you pick up?"

She nodded and crossed her arms, "I actually begin to go by it by 2000."

* * *

Carina growled as she burst through the door. "WHERE IS HE?" She yelled, her voice echoing throughout the household. A tall brunette head popped up from around the corner and a sword appeared in his hand.

"Where is who, miss? I think you have the wrong house," He said, stepping more into the hallway.

"ROMANO!" She roared, and Spain raised his sword higher.

"What do you want with Romano?" He challenged.

"HE'S MY-"

"RAGAZZA!" Romano screamed, and rammed into her stomach. Carina laughed as she swung him around.

"Romano! You've gotten so big! And why the fuck are you wearing a dress? It was if-ish a thousand years ago, but now? What the hell?" Spain lowered his sword in confusion. Romano wasn't yelling, and he looked genuinely happy.

"Ask Bastard-o, he's the one who-a dresses me," He said, looking at the man. Carina gave him a blank stare.

"Seriously?"

Spain fixed her with an odd look, "Romano, who is this lovely lady?"

"I'm not available, and I'm Romano's older sister, nice to meet you. Give me a minute, it'll make more se-"

Spain lurched forward, "YOU'RE Carina?! You're that older sister? Romano won't shut up about you! You're the reason he behaves like- Oh." Understanding washed over him as he sensed the aura surrounding her. He looked between the two smug siblings and they laughed at his face, but Carina's face twisted a bit more.

"You told him my name?" She said, looking to Romano. He paled slightly, and suddenly his hands became very interesting. "And you-" She said, turning to Spain. She placed Romano back on the ground and drew her Persian sword. "-What do you mean he behaves like...? Behaves like what?" Romano quickly ran out of the room.

Spain paled himself and began walking back, his sword abandoned by his side. This chica sailed the Mediterranean before he was born! He didn't stand a chance! "I-I, uh, didn't mean that!"

Carina grinned and continued advancing anyway. "The great Spanish kingdom, scared of one little girl. I wonder what ever- Oh, Thanks Romano!" She said, looking at the kid who threw a peach at her face.

"Whatever, bitch," He grunted, leaning against her leg. Spain frowned and pulled his curl.

"That's no way to treat a-"

"What the fuck are you doing?!" She cried in horror. Spain looked at her as he continued to pull the boy's curl. She punched him in the stomach as she picked her brother up.

"What, I was only pulling his curl! It's not like it does anything!" He protested, curling up on his stomach. "Now I see where Romano learned to hurt people."

"Yeah, no shit," She snapped, and turned to the blushing boy. "Now I see why you wear those dresses," She whispered, grinning as he began beating on her shoulder. "But does he not know?" Romano hid his face and shook his head. "Want me to tell him? It's better than him finding out on his own," She said.

"No, I don't want him to know," Romano whispered, and clung to her, embarrassed.

Spain finally sat up, "Know what? Romano?" He asked. "Is this something I should know?" He questioned, looking at them, concerned.

The two shared a look before shaking their heads, "Nah, it's nothing," Carina said, taking a bite out of her peach. Romano reached out and took it from her hand, but paused.

"You-a still have this old piece-a of shit?" He asked, looking at the peach pit ring. Carina looked at the century-and-a-quarter-old piece. It had nicks and was aged with time, but still sat proudly on her finger.

"Yeah, why in the hell would I get rid of the damn thing?" Romano shrugged and took a chunk out of her peach. "Do you have your's?" A groan drew their attentions and they watched as Spain flopped over.

"Great, I have two Romanos in my house. Oy vey..." He said. Romano and Carina just grinned at each other.

"But is there a certain reason you let him pull your curl-" She whispered and her brother's face turned bright red.

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

Liberty sighed angrily as she watched over her son's shoulder at Trump's victory, "What the fuck has happened?"

"I don't know, Girl."

She smiled as she looked over her shoulder, "Hey. Did you finish checking over Turkey?"

Persia nodded as he leaned on a wall, "He's going to be alright. It may take a while, but he's strong. How's your boyfriend?"

Liberty looked down, "I haven't gone to see him in a while. I'm scared as to what I'd find."

"I'll go with you. I want to see how Germania's protege turned out and how his successor is handling the present world," He said, holding out his hand. Liberty smiled and took it, casting another glance at America.

"See you, Freddie."

The blonde looked over his shoulder subtly and his face fell, "See you, Mom," he whispered. She was already gone.

Holy Rome was sitting next to his little brother, "So this is a Television?"

Teutonic nodded, "Yeah. We have things called movies and TV shows and they're mindless entertainment-" A sudden chill crawled up his neck as he looked around. A very faint amber and dark brown aura showed up and he went silent.

His older brother cocked his head and poked the albino, "Prussia?"

"Don't call me that. It's not my name anymore. We need to catch you up," He whispered as he got up and pulled out a few documentary DVDs that Germany had gotten his successor to help. Putting in the first about WWI, he left the room to go to basement living room. Persia pushed her towards the door and Liberty nodded and followed her ex-boyfriend. "I know you're there and with him."

"I'm not with him, Gilbert-"

He whirled around and looked at her, "Amalia... Please show yourself. I... I can barely feel your aura and I feel alone..."

She tried not to cry as she took a step forward and tried to wrap her arms around him, "I'm so sorry, Teutonic."

The albino shook his head, "I'm sorry... You need to move on, don't you?"

Amalia growled helplessly, "Not when you still need me!" Gilbert shook his head and took a step forward-and straight through her.

"I have someone to take care of now. I understand how you felt, but I'm not going anywhere, Amalia, or Carina, or Abra. Whatever your name is."

She swallowed and with as much willpower as she could, "I love you, Teutonic."

He paused and cried, "I love you too, Liberty." The ghost laughed and watched as her love walked back to teach his brother about history.

* * *

Fortuna sighed as she waited outside the church. Service was currently going on and the choir, as always, was beautiful. Her brother's voice soared above the others and it filled her with warmth. She had noticed that whenever he sang or prayed, he almost seemed to radiate a calming aura to all nearby.

Then again, all nations seemed to have a special 'power'. America, whenever he was smiling carefully and holding his arms out, had the ability to make anyone feel like everything was going to be ok and he would give you another chance. England's christmases could make you believe that your toys would come to life at night in a real-life nutcracker. Australia, for whatever reason, could make someone feel insane enough to deal with the craziest ass animals (have you seen his place?) and could do anything. Romano...

Romano was weird. He was nostalgic. Anytime she stepped into the south or he began to sing, she would remember the countryside and would be sent back to the happy times she had. It maybe been because he was her country, but it was the way he made her felt. Their relationship is weird to other Nations, but they had never had an immortal citizen. They were brother and sister, nation and citizen, but had a deeper trust from their ability not to drift far. He trusted her opinion and she would always come back. They trusted each other. They wouldn't let each other fall.

* * *

Amalia watched negotiations get thrown back and forth between the Prussians and the Poles, specifically the nations themselves. She had long ago forgot the issues at this point and looked between the two. They were both tense, Prussia's grin was savage and Poland's smile was a little too forced. "You two need to calm down," She yelled across the table. Many of the humans looked at her, she didn't speak up often, but it was usually after meetings between the nations.

Prussia looked to her and relaxed, "Ve are calm, Fräulein(1)!" She growled at the man and stood.

"Are you suggesting I need a man in my life, Teuton?" The albino's grin faltered, but he quickly picked it up.

"Jah, me!" Poland huffed.

"You're totally not good enough for her!"

She slammed her fist on the table, "Damnit, you two, it was bad enough a hundred years ago. Is there any way to calm you two down?"

The room was silent for a moment, but Prussia grinned, "How about you join me, Fräulein?" Amalia growled and came around several of the court members and stood over him, a hand on her blade.

"You know I cannot marry a nation."

"So, Amalia, why don't you marry a human then?" The court looked over to Poland, twisting a piece of hair in his fingers. "I mean, it wouldn't be weird it was just a political marriage or something like that." The albino growled and slammed a fist on the table looking absolutely livid.

"Jou're just saying zat so jou can have her on jour side," He growled.

Amalia looked between them and swallowed. Placing a hand on the duchy's arm, she looked down, "What if it was someone who had connections with both of you?" The two nations looked at her as the auburnette looked resigned.

The germanic sighed angrily, "Fine. If zat's vat jou vant."

"Teuton, don't you dare push this back on me. I don't want you two to destroy each other," She growled. "I want it to be just a marriage in name, nothing more." Murmurs erupted around the hall and she slammed her fist on the table. "If anyone has anything to say or anyone volunteers, let me know now or so help me, I am leaving and not coming back until all of you are dead and gone."

Silence reigned and a quiet man stood. The three immortals recognized him instantly. Nicolaus Copernicus was the nephew of one of the men present, unmarried, and a man of religion, but would be a peacekeeper in favor of Poland, but he was born in Royal Prussia, even though it was under the rule of Poland. Amalia looked between the two nations and they nodded, standing. Waving the man with them, they all walked into the hallway. The moment they were out of earshot, Prussia drew his sword and pointed it at the man's throat. Nick took a step back and not a second later, Amalia had drawn her sword, stepped in front of him and pushed Prussia's blade away, "Yield."

A single look from her sent him back to his younger days when she was teaching him to sword-fight and he lowered his weapon, "Fine. When will this happen?"

Amalia looked behind her and sheathed her sword, "Do you know who I am?"

He bobbed his head, "You're Lady Luck, Uncle speaks of you often. I came to court today on his suggestion, but I'm going to be sent to Italy for-"

"Take a few years there. We can figure something out down there," She said. Switching to Old Polish, the auburnette looked back at the two, " **If anything, could we have it down there and with a few others**?" Prussia huffed and shrugged.

" **Fine, but no one weird**."

She cast him a smile, " **Do you not want to come? I need someone to catch the bouquet**." He cracked a smile and ruffled her hair carefully.

" **Fine, fine, I'll come, but only for the food**!"

(Time skip)

France tugged her hair into place gently, strand by strand. As her request, she didn't have any bridesmaids, except maybe Feliciano, if Luciano swallowed his pride, but France was the one helping her with her dress, hair and makeup. "Annabelle, are you absolutely sure about this? You know what will happen-"

"It's nothing that hasn't happened before. I don't plan on it going any further than a friendship at most, and I hope this doesn't reach too many ears. Being a black widow is the last thing I need," She said dryly, shuffling the mixed bouquet, she swallowed dryly. "Frank, what am I doing?"

He smiled sweetly and pulled her into a hug, "You're protecting one of your own, no? You do not want to see anyone hurt."

The woman breathed deeply and nodded, "Right, thanks, France. I never though this would happen." Looking in a nearby mirror, she lifted her hand to ghost over her face, not to ruin her makeup. "70 years ago... I really cannot thank you guys enough for what you did."

The blonde let his smile fall as he also looked in the mirror, "We only did what we knew was best for our little sister, Annabelle. Angleterre may have not gotten it perfect, but he got it close enough." After being scarred deeply that one day in 1431, she had been scarred to the point if made Venie flinch when he saw her. I may have been because of his lack of interference, but it still worried her. England had felt guilty and spoken to her small family about casting a spell. They had been reluctant about it, being Catholics and believers in god, but they didn't want her exiled for the rest of her life. So, England ended up casting a spell that undid the damage that had been done in the past 24 hours. Most of the damage was repaired, but his spells never quite work out and her face was lightly altered. Fun.

"You went against your religion-"

"And you burned to help Joan with her's."

They sighed and Amalia let her arms fall, "I think it's time, Frank." He smiled and held out an arm.

"Romano is walking you, no?"

"He is. He'd pitch a fit if it was you, no offense," Amalia quipped and France chuckled. They walked out and Romano was tapping his foot and frowning, "What-a the hell, Ragazza, I get a stupid message inviting-a me to a wedding, you-a don't say who, and it's-a YOUR wedding!?"

She knelt and put her bouquet down to grab his hands, "Romano, I am so sorry for having to do this to you, but it's not for forever. It's just a political marriage, nothing is going to change, I promise. I will still be Italian, Italia forever."

The child looked down and sniffled, "Italia forever. Is-a Francy-pants walking you down the aisle?" His sister smiled and rubbed away some of his tears. The blonde was now nowhere to be seen, and they didn't really mind. This was a private moment.

"I want you to. You're the most important person in my life, Romano, and you're my big brother, my country. I would be the happiest human alive today if you walked me down," Amalia pleaded. Romano's eyes met her and filled with tears again and he just about lunged at her when he remembered her dress.

"I'll-a do it. For-a Nonno." Her heart trembled and a few tears slipped out of her own eyes.

"Grazie, Romano Italia." He took her hand and passed her her bouquet. Looking at the flowers inside, he chuckled.

"You-a sap. You couldn't help-a it, could you?"

Amalia grinned, "Nope." Her bouquet was a mixture of flowers, prominent were three lilies, a blue cornflower, a rose or two and few other flowers, but all were the national flowers of the countries present.

Regardless, Romano took her hand and lead her outside under the stars. Flute, violin, and piano music filled the room and Prussia, Britain, and France played each respectively. Feliciano was a beautiful flower 'girl' and Nick was standing at the alter. The two betrothed agreed that nothing were to ever happen romantically, it would interfere with their work too much. The actual wedding wasn't even the best part of the night. During the ceremony, a lunar eclipse occurred. The woman placed her boys on her shoulders and they watched in awe of the spectacle. They may be able to see it every four years, but this night was more special. They would have to trust each other not to turn their backs on each other.

In the end, Prussia and Amalia's relationship was put on the line. If this was the wrong choice or one took a move out of step, it would end in disaster.

* * *

Amalia peered over her husband's shoulder and smiled as he grabbed his hair, "Why is this all in Greek?!"

She chuckled and looked at some of the materials, "I can teach you some of the languages I know. Greek just so happens to be one of them."

"When did you learn Greek?" Nicolaus asked as he looked at her and lowered his pen. The woman took a seat next to him and grabbed one of the books and began to translate it to a different piece of paper.

"I learned ancient greek before my Grandpa died, so before 476 AD. Several of my friends learned it from the head bitch, the Byzantine Empire, herself and updated me, but after she fell, Greece began to make sure I knew present Greek. I know many of the languages around the world and most of their roots. There are some that I don't know, but those are off in a new world. You'll get that later..." Amalia mumbled as she continued to write. He stared at her and chuckled.

She looked up and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I married a walking history book."

Amalia snorted, "What did you expect? History teaches us many things and it's taught me to deal with nations, yes?"

Nicolaus nodded, "Good point."

* * *

Alfred picked at his cereal and she cast him a look, "America, what's wrong?" He swallowed to clear his mouth of saliva and pushed his breakfast away to rest on his arms. He was growing and Liberty was having a hard time keeping up with getting him clothes. His vest and western chaps were his newest obsession as he asked her to settle in the west for a while.

"Mom, why can't I have a dad?"

She froze and her gaze lowered, "You know why."

The nation shook his head, "No, I don't! I just want Spain or France to be there! Arthur is too much of a brother to be my dad, so why not?" Allen took over half-way and Liberty left out a shaky breath as she put her own spoon.

"America. I want to tell you about my childhood. It's a bit like yours, but-"

Allen took over completely and slammed his hand on the table, "No! Enough with your bedtime stories! I want someone I can trust and be there! Someone I can look up to!" Liberty gripped the table and tears pooled in her eyes as she opened her mouth, but America had raced outside and slammed the door.

"Dumbass!" She yelled and grabbed her belt and boots. The simple but tough leather protected her feet as she all but flew over the wild west terrain. America may have been fast, but she had uncountable miles underneath her feet as she continued. America whistled and one of his favorite horses came racing by. With a trick that Liberty taught him in his early days, he mounted the horse mid-canter and took off. She panted as her son ran off into the woods and sobbed. "Dumbass. I didn't have a dad either..."

Another set of hoofbeats came up behind her and she didn't even have to check who it was, "Did he run off?"

Liberty nodded as she sagged to the ground, "I tried to tell him, but he was too..." Native America nodded as she whistled as well and another painted horse galloped and nudged her.

"Follow him. He needs you, not me right now. Go be the parent he needs you to be," The older woman said calmly and Liberty nodded and stood. She mounted the beautiful horse and with a single glance left, Liberty chased after her son.

She was terrified when she found him. His horse was shot and he was surrounded by robbers. They might not have been common, but when resources get scarce... The head looked up and her and with a careful aim, shot her horse through the eye. The woman thanked her reflexes as she jumped off the tumbling horse and with a flip, landed on her feet. "Alfred, what have you gotten yourself into?"

Her eyes scoured his figure and found his gun in the hand of a different bandit, "Mom, I have it-"

"You're a woman?" The tallest man asked. The other three nodded in agreement and he huffed, "Eh, a woman is a woman. Boys?"

America's eyes narrowed as he realized what they implied and Liberty grinned, "Yeah, why don't you come and get it?" Alfred's heart plummeted as his mother seemed to dance up to the men, but watched in stunned horror as she grabbed her guns from behind her back and shot two in the forehead with her twin pistols. "America, I know I'm not a dad, but-" Two more shots rang out and the two robbers stumbled. "-But I'm doing my best replace something I never had either."

His eyes widened as he looked over the men and as his mother stared at them blankly, "Y-You never had a dad?"

"I need to tell you something about my childhood. I was raised mostly by my mother, who I later learned was just an older me. I adopt the younger me that goes back in time. I still don't know what happened to my real Mom or Dad or why they abandoned me, but they did. I remember a man posed as my grandfather until I was roughly 6, but he stopped popping up around then. But there was someone in my life who was a constant. He was my older brother, someone I could trust, even when my own life got too rough... He wasn't always there, but he was usually a call away."

"Who?" America asked as he took a seat on the dusty ground. The sun began to set and Liberty smiled as she took a seat next to her son.

"He was my big brother. He was insane, but he was great... He took me to a firing range once and another time camping... He ended up beating up a bear, but that was Lennie for you," She smiled and closed her eyes. "I was his little sister. I think you know who it was. He was one of the only people who showed up actively in my life. Yeah, sure the others would pop up, but..."

America swallowed, "I was your brother?"

She chuffed, "Allen was. I never saw Alfred Jones. I think it was because I would have panicked to see my big brother be at the head of a strange table when I was terrified and confused. I'm sorry America, but..."

He swallowed, "Alfred never gets to see the little you. Only Allen can truly interact with her, but I'll still be there..."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but it's the way it went and I don't want to change it. Can you promise this?"

"I promise."

Liberty nodded and pulled America down so he rested on her lap, "It hurt a lot what you said earlier. I know I'm never going to truly replace a dad, but I'm always going to be there when you need me, I'm always a letter or a phone call away. What hurt the worst is that you can't trust me."

He curled up and clenched his fists into her pants, "I'm sorry, I was mad. I look up to you as much as I do Rome and I trust you with my life. You may not be my real mom, but you'll always be my stand-in. "

She smiled and nodded. Placing a kiss on his temple, "I may not have the first claim to you, but you'll always be my baby boy." America would deny it as much as he could when someone would bring up the fact he cried a little in that moment.

* * *

 **Italian**

English

French

 **Russian**

 _Flashback_

Romano rubbed his sister's back as she bawled her eyes out, " **I-It hurts, Roma**!"

" **I know it does, that's why you have to let him go** ," He whispered, hugging his sister. She shook her head fiercely, but clutched his shirt.

" **I just wanted to be a little girl for one moment. One. I just want to go up to him and call 'Daddy'. I want someone to call me their little girl, just one, Romano. Why can't I have one person claim me as their little girl**?" Liberty screamed. Romano paused and clutched onto his sister.

Tears leaked into her hair, " **I'm so sorry, Ragazza. This is a pain only humans know, but you'll always be my sister and my citizen**."

She shook her head, " **I have you, I have a home with you, but it's... It's something more when you've been away from your parents and you just want to curl up in their embrace and know everything will be ok... Can I show you what I mean from when I was a kid**?"

Romano blinked and continued to rub his sister's back as he thought for a moment, " **Alright**." She reached up and shared the memory.

 _Carina cried as she shook. It had been rough, school had been pushing on her again and that one french kid just wouldn't leave her alone. He would mock her accent, her unknown heritage, everything about her. ' Where's your daddy? He probably wanted to get away from you!' 'What are you, half-pig?' 'It's not said like that! Where are you learn French? From a Russian?!' 'Go back to Italy and go design some useless clothing no one's going to wear!'_

 _Her mother would be in her room, typing rapidly, but Carina would never have the heart to tell her what was going on. All the child knew was that it hurt. He insulted everything about her that she had left and it burned at her heart and the girl began to hyperventilate. Her door opened and Liberty burst in and picked the child up into her arms. " **Shh, just breathe. Everything will be ok. Shhh, just breathe, Bambina, just breathe.** " The tiny one did and eventually her sobs descended into hiccups and Carina just stayed curled in her mother's embrace._

 _" **Mama... I hurt. Louis keeps telling me I'm pronouncing my french wrong and keeps telling me to go back to Italy! He called you a Russian that taught me french!** "_

 _With a reason currently unknown to Carina, Liberty burst out laughing, "Ask your teacher if a friend of mine can come in as a visitor. I'll write a note explaining everything. I think you'll remember this man." Carina nodded and sunk lower into her mother's hold. The woman smiled and curled up so she was completely wrapped up around the child. " **Everything will be ok, Bambina. Mama promises. Also, repeat this to Louis if he continues to taunt you...** "_

 _Carina later turned in the note to her teacher, who looked it over and nodded with a smile. The tiny auburnette grinned and nodded. Louis tried to get a peek at the letter, but to no avail and went to bully Carina again, but before he could say anything, she blurted in fluent French, " Vous êtes une pomme de terre avec le visage d'un cochon d'inde!"(1)_

 _Louis gasped and began crying, " You're one to talk, lava head! Did you come off the mountain of Vesuvius, is that your daddy? The volcano that killed over 10,000 people!" She grit her teeth and said nothing. _

_A week later, Liberty entered with a large grin and a visitor. Carina perked up as she saw the man, " **Mr. Ivan**!" He was a coworker of her mom's that would come by the house a few times, but every time would bring her a new Russian doll set. She was still missing the green and blue on from her rainbow collection, but he promised to bring them soon._

 _" **My little poppy! How are you**?" He spoke, and she giggled as he picked her up and put her on his shoulders. The girl reached up and touched the ceiling. _

_"Ms. Brewster, is this the guest you told us about?" The teacher asked as Liberty looked over her friend and smiled._

 _Her mother nodded and smiled, "Yes, he's my Russian coworker. I asked him if he could come by after I heard that the class was studying different cultures and I figured I should ask him to come in. I've asked him if it's fine-"_

 _"Liberty, I can speak for myself," Ivan cut in as he turned to the students. "Is there anything anyone wants to ask me?"_

 _Carina tapped the top of his head, " **Show them your french! There's a french bully in here**." _

_The man nodded as he smiled eerily, " Is there? Alright. Who's the fucker who's been bullying my poppy?" __Louis whimpered and Russia took great strides towards him, " Is it you who's been mean to Carina?"_

 _" I-I've only been talking to her!"_

 _Ivan continued to smile and held out a hand, " You'll be my assistant for today. You get to help me demonstrate Russian culture." Louis stared at the hand nervously, but as a child, he saw he had no choice. He took the Russian's surprisingly gentle hand and led him to the front and pulled out a few child's clothes designed for little girls and the cold. "In my mother country, it is very cold there. I brought a few traditional winter clothes, and luckily this young man has volunteered." For the rest of the class, Russia subtly terrified Louis and eventually passed Carina into the hold of her mother. _

_"Mia Bambina," Liberty whispered, clutching her little girl._ _The small child curled further into her grasp and smiled at the warmth surrounding her heart. She knew her mother would always take care of her. Whether it be holding her tight when she needed it or getting a scary ass coworker to scare the shit out of her bully. Louis never picked on her again._

Romano blinked as he readjusted to the light of the present, "The warmth of a mother's embrace, huh?"

"Yeah. I know it might not have been the same as my hugs growing up, but I tried my best. It just hurts that I'll never know the embrace of a dad or I'll never be able to next to my mom again and ask her on advice or anything. No offense, Romano, but brother hugs and Nonno's hugs only go so far," Liberty whispered as she wiped her eyes.

He nodded, "I get that, but what if there was someone? I know you don't talk to him much, but what about Germania or China? And as for a mom's hug... Is that one reason you hated the Byzantine Empire? Because she acted like a mother to Greece, but never us?" She was silent and sighed.

"That's one reason, but I really did hate how much she put everyone through. And at the same time, I was sad when she died. She was the closest thing some of the world had to a parent-"

"Don't go there. You're the mother of Europe-"

"-And I'm tired, Roma! I've told you once, I've told you a million times! I can barely count the amount of times I've died, the number of countries I've raised!? The number of people I've killed, the number I've outlived, the number I've helped raise?!"

"Ragazza-!"

"Mom?"

Liberty and Romano froze and Carina stood in the doorway. Her eyes were on Liberty, but from where she was standing, she couldn't see Romano's features very well, and they counted on that. Flavio took over and peeked around his sister, "Ciao?"

"Ciao... Mama, what's going on?"

She pinched the bride of her nose, "Do you remember that novel I was thinking about writing? It's one where the boy gets horrible luck and goes to America's golden casino age and starts a gang, but ends up he's immortal and outlives all his lackeys. I was going over a script with a friend. I met him at a Pompeii museum a few years ago." Carina slowly nodded and shrugged, getting a bottle of water out of the fridge and leaving. Liberty pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I forgot she's still a light sleeper. After I reach 8, I start sleeping like a rock."

He nodded and looked at her, "Hey, what day is it?"

"Uh, May... 2nd. It's May 2nd, why?" She asked, giving him a sideways glance. He shrugged and got up. "You're welcome to stay in the guest room tonight."

"I have to get home. You know how Veneziano gets even if I do call in, so I'll see you later, Sorellona. Sleep well," Romano said as he left the room. Liberty leapt to her feet in confusion and raced after him.

"Roma! What the hell is going on with you?! You never call me Sorellona anymore! What's-"

He whipped around and frowned, "Trust me, Ragazza, and leave this one alone." She frowned, but nodded, wishing him a safe and good night. She went to her room and went to bed.

(Time Skip)

Liberty yawned as she stepped into the conference room. It was already bustling with activity and she snarled. Germany looked at her and she held up a flat palm. He nodded and took a seat. Liberty went around and began pulling chairs of countries that were misbehaving out away from the table, whether they were in them in or not. The affected countries would blink in confusion, try to scoot forward, but she would turn and glare at them if they tried. She only got a quarter around the room before the rest of the nations picked up on it and stopped acting like children.

The woman sighed as she went to take her seat next to Romano and looked to America, "What's on the agenda today?"

"We're reviewing our policies regarding mothers. Most of Europe is mad at me and Papua for not providing paid marital leave," He said sheepishly.

"No shit. Expecting mothers should be able to have time off and be able to support themselves. It's dumb to think otherwise. Get your shit together, you two. What about total population?"

Germany sighed and looked at his papers, "There is currently a negative growth rate, but the world shall not be in any danger anytime soon." Liberty nodded and yawned again.

"Is there anything else, or can I take a nap?"

America shook his head, "Go ahead, Mom. We'll catch you up if something happens." She nodded and folded her arms on the table, resting her head down.

"Mom?"

She peeked an eye open a second after closing them, "Yes, Attie?"

"Happy Mother's day," He said, holding out a yellow rose. Liberty smiled shakily and took it carefully.

"Thank you so much, Canada..." She pulled him into a hug and tears began to fall as he kissed her on the forehead.

After a moment, he pulled away and walked off. Liberty smelled the flower and another rose was shoved into her face. A red one from Hungary made the women's smiles grow in tandem and Liberty added to her first. A third white one was placed on the pile by Turkey and Greece put down a pink one quickly after.

Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Iceland, America, Mexico, Cyprus, Belgium, Netherlands (parted with one of his beloved tulips), Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Japan, Cuba, Seychelles, Australia, New Zealand, Romania, the Balkans and many of the Mirconations put a rose in front of her. After Belarus, the tears didn't stop and she covered her eyes after finally Sealand put his down and gave Liberty a kiss on the cheek. They were silent and Germany finally came up with his own and placed a deep red rose in front of the others.

"You assholes."

The room seemed to fall, but she laughed, "How the fuck am I supposed to get these fuckers home?" Romano laughed and the room joined it. "I'm fucking serious!" She yelled, crying hysterically. America clapped his hands together and after the third, the room joined together.

"Happy Mother's day, Mom." Liberty sobbed and Germania pulled her into a hung.

"I'm sure your father would be proud of you. Even if he's not, we are," He whispered.

She nodded and cried into his chest, "Thanks, Germania." He nodded and pulled away before disappearing into the void of time.

Spain stood and came to tap her on the shoulder, "Remember the old story The Riddle? You've done the coal-maker's work. You've made enough to live on, save for the future, and pay off a debt. I don't know if Gilbert is really throwing extra out the window, but remember while you don't have a dad, you have more than enough kids that are here for you. I'm there, Roma is, Feli is more than happy to give out hugs-"

"Shut the fuck up Spain and give me a hug. Romano, Feli, c'mon. Family hug."

She deeply regretted saying that.

* * *

America looked at the albino warily, "Mom, are you sure about this?"

Elizabeth chuckled as Von Steuben began to look over the troops and wrinkled his nose, "Absolutely. They need an actual general to listen to and you know that your men won't listen to me."

Prussia looked over in surprise, "America, they don't listen to her? She's practically a general in Europe!"

"They don't know that and they don't believe women fight the same way. You know how I have to go 'persuade' troops if they don't see me with a nation, so you know how that goes. Want to have a quick match later?" She asked as she gripped her fencing blade. It was old, but still as sharp as it was thirty years ago. Prussia's gaze landed on it and laughed.

"Mom?" America asked, tugging on her arm. She looked over and the teen all but glared at Prussia, who was looking at them in amusement. The blonde switched to one of his other mother's languages in hopes that the man wouldn't understand. "What is he to you? You're looking at each other oddly."

Elizabeth smiled, but struggled over her words, "America... He is..." Prussia tucked his arm around her waist and she growled in Arabic, "Prussia, you're not helping me answer his question. He wants to know what our relationship is."

The albino blinked in confusion, but nodded. "America, we're informally courting."

"Prussia!" Elizabeth hissed, elbowing him.

America held out a hand to Prussia, not glowering at the man, but not quite smiling, "Nice to meet you. Welcome to America." Prussia took his grasp and they both winced at each other's grip, but Elizabeth knew that Prussia drew the short stick.

From then on, Von Steuben began helping America, and Prussia ran drills as well. Elizabeth did all the exercises with her son, but Prussia was not afraid to call her up to demonstrate a point. How to fire a gun correctly, how to use a bayonet, general training. Some of the men hated her for it, but she stood her ground.

America stuck close to his mother when Prussia was around, but it wasn't until the first battle that he came up to the albino during a meal and gave him an extra helping of food. Prussia looked at the bowl and smiled, "Thanks, America. Want to watch Amalia and I fight later?" The blonde quietly gave it some thought, looking over to George Washington. The general nodded and America repeated the sentiment.

"Where do you two fight?" He asked, taking a seat and poking at the fire. Elizabeth hung back from her normal spot on the edge of camp and watched her son and her boyfriend bond and eventually both were howling with laughter. She smiled and hoped that everything would be ok.

Later that night, the three hiked deeper into the woods and in the bright moonlight, Prussia and Elizabeth drew their blades and clashed them unexpectedly. America jumped back, "Woah! Give me a warning next time!"

Elizabeth grinned, "You're not always going to be warned of an attack, America."

"Always be ready," Prussia finished and they began their dance. The teen watched in awe as the two spun and seemed to glide as their foils clashed. He would hold his breath every time one of their blades would go a little too close to the other's neck, only for them to move at the last second. Elizabeth was the first to nick blood from the back of the man's hand. Prussia hissed and threw delicacy out the window as the woman shifted to defensive. A shift in the air made the hairs on the back of America's neck stand up and he knew that something was wrong.

Prussia's fencing blade came down with such a force that America knew he wouldn't be able to stop the blade and started to run. He was too late and he closed his eyes in horror.

A small clang met his ears and he opened his eyes slowly, "Mom?"

Elizabeth smiled at him reassuringly, "America, you might not understand it now, but you come to trust your allies with your life. You're going to earn my trust to have my back when you're older, but Prussia..." She smiled at the man whose sword she just blocked from her neck. "...I trust him to know both of our limitations. Same with my brothers. Yes, Romano and Veneziano will test them sometimes with their words, but they know when they need to stop. Prussia knows when one or both of us is not capable of a fight. He's awesome like that." Prussia chuckled and lowered his blade, wrapping an arm around Elizabeth.

"You know it, Frau. I learned from the best," He said as he nuzzled his nose into her hair.

She giggled, "Germania helped, too. But America..." The teen looked up and wrinkled his nose at the couple. "Learn your limits. Limit your resources when you have to so you have them when you really need it."

* * *

Fortuna sighed as she poured some alcohol on her brother's scrape, "Roma, why the fuck are we so clumsy?"

"I'm not clumsy!" The child huffed, but winced when the cloth dabbed at his skin. "Why don't you go to Salerno?"

She raised an eyebrow, "The medical school? Is it even open to women?"

Romano frowned, "It is, I'm not like those other assholes. I can talk to the headmaster, but-"

"Romano?" He looked at her and blinked.

"Why are you crying?! I just offered the option to go to college-"

Fortuna shook her head, "It's more than that! It is so much more than that!" She cried as she hugged her brother and rocked back and forth. "My mom never let me go to college on my own and to learn!"

"Ragazza, get you ass off of me! You smell like those Norman assholes!" She laughed, but did as he asked and smiled.

"Thank you, Romano. It means a lot."

He nodded and looked up at her, "Yeah, well, happy birthday."

She froze and stared at him numbly, "It's my birthday today?"

"Dumbass! You forgot your own birthday?!"

That was how she got her first college degree and a medical 'PhD' one at that.

* * *

"Mamma!" Fortuna jumped as she saw Veneziano wandering in the garden. He seemed to be looking for someone, so she approached him. She was still getting used to ancient Rome, but spent most of her days in the home. She had just turned 23, having been with the family for about three years.

"Venie? What did you say?"

He peered up at her and a large smile lit up his face as he reached up at her, "Mamma! Mamma!"

Romano arrived at the right time to hear his brother's calls and stormed up, "Dumbass, wake up!" Fortuna carefully sat on the warm stone as she took the sleeping Veneziano into her arms. He rested his head into her shoulder and sighed happily before falling into a deeper sleep.

"He sleepwalks and sleep-talks?"

The older brother nodded as he leaned against her, "Yeah. Its usually not this bad. He's jealous of humans..."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?"

His eyes seemed to stare off at some unknown illusion, "He's jealous that he doesn't have a mother, a woman who cares and nutures him and all that bullshit."

"How do you feel about it?"

Her question made him frown, "I know we don't have parents, simple as that. But..." He paused and looked up at her with tears beginning to fill his eyes, "Veneziano's been happier since you got here."

She knew it wasn't just Veneziano who felt that way.

Fortuna smiled, "Romano, I know I'm never going to be your mother or much of one at least, but..." She leaned forward to out a kiss on his forehead, "I will try to be the best damn big sister I can be. I may not ever take that spot, but-"

"Sorellona, you talk too much," Romano said as he hugged her free arm. The woman smiled as she took him in her free arm and cried lightly.

"Sorry, Fratello." He giggled and hugged her as he cried lightly. Rome was listening behind a corner and smiled, walking off proudly.

* * *

Liberty walked around happily after the latest meeting. Everyone seemed to end on a good note for once and America decided to ruin the mood, "Mom! Mom! Shortie! Mom!"

She groaned, "What America? And I'm not short!"

He chuckled and approached her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Mom, you're short. 5'2" is short."

"She is not that short America!" Latvia said as he came to her aid.

America looked at him, "Dude, you're short, too."

Russia decided to enter the conversation now that one of his past underlings was involved and stood behind the two 'shorties'. They are not short, da? And besides, they have tall people to help them out!"

With that, he lifted Latvia and Liberty onto his shoulders. The two began trembling at their new position and she clutched Russia's head carefully, letting Latvia hold onto her.

"Rusaia, put them down," America warned as he took a step forward.

"Why would I do that?" The older nation asked.

"I-I don't like it up here, Liberty!" Latvia cried.

She smiled, "Hey, Russia, Latvia needs to get down. Can you?"

He looked up at his trembling ex-satellite nation and nodded, "Of course. Latvia, be careful ok?" The tween nodded tearfully and ran off as soon as his feet left the ground. "Liberty, I'm just going to readjust you, ok?" She nodded and he shifted her so she was properly riding on his shoulders.

America frowned, "Russia, put down Mom." Russia looked up at her and she could see the playful glint in his eye and grinned.

"Go for it." Russia took off and Liberty laughed. Several other nations looked over in confusion and chuckled to see the mother of the world on mother russia, being chased by the land of the free. Prussia pouted to see it, but Romano pulled him back.

"Let them have their fun. You know those three don't play like this much." The albino frowned and nodded, but Romano huffed, "Look, I don't like my sister playing with Russia, but I know that he wouldn't let anything happen to her." Liberty laughed again and looked like a kid again and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Carina looked around in worry as she peeked around street corners, "Mom?" A few strangers passed her by, but no one seemed to stop to help the seven year old. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she took down one of the streets of Rome and simply kept running. She didn't know how long she did, but her lack of breath made her stop. "Mamma..."

"Oi! Ragazza, what's going on?" A tall man asked. She peeked up at him and shrunk.

"I-I-I c-can't fin-nd m-my Mamma..." The girl squeaked and he raised an eyebrow.

"Speak up, please. I'm not going to yell at you, I promise," The Italian said gentled as he squat down.

Carina nodded nervously and looked into his hazel eyes, "I-I'm looking for my Mamma. S-She was there one moment a-and gone the next..."

The man hummed, "Do you know what your Mamma's name is, Bambina?"

She smiled, "My Mamma calls me that! I'm Carina Brewster and my Mamma is Liberty Brewster!" The man coughed and laughed.

"Bambina, your Mamma is a dumbass," He said.

Carina frowned, "She said I shouldn't say that to people. It's mean, you bastard..." She mumbled the last part in English, but the man burst out in laughter.

"Bambina, you're just like Liberty! C'mon, I know your Mamma, let's give her a call," The man responded in perfect English, standing and offering a hand. The little girl was suddenly very nervous, but looked into the man's eyes. Something about him made her trust him, something she didn't do often, but he had a certain glint in his eye that told her he would do anything to protect her.

With a smile, she took his hand and walked beside him. She never found out his name.

* * *

"Grazie, where can I take you tonight?" Carina smiled at the man as her mom slid into the other seat. His slicked back hair and sunglasses obscured his face lightly, but gave him a punk look that he managed to pull off.

Liberty opened her mouth, but she closed it, so Carina took over, "M-Mama's Bakery, please."

The taxi driver grinned and winked, "Of course, Bella." She smiled nervously and Liberty shook her head randomly. Carina looked at her and raised and eyebrow, but her mother waved her off. "So, how have your days been going?"

"We've been doing fine, Sir," Liberty stated and the taxi driver chuckled, heading off.

"Please, call me Piero, Ma'am," Veneziano replied and Liberty smiled at him.

"Thank you, Piero. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing you more, please call me Liberty. This is my daughter, Carina."

He tipped his hat to them and continued driving. She would see him a few more times whenever they were in the North, but she wouldn't see him enough to get a great look at his face. She would occasionally hear her Mom call him Veneziano on accident, but she shrugged it off when her Mom explained he looked like a coworker of hers.

* * *

"Veneziano, whatever you do, don't take your eyes off of me," Liberty whispered as she sat next the man on a bench.

He cocked his head, "Why?"

She swallowed, "There's some ghosts." The light in his eyes faded and he nodded. Ghosts weren't uncommon in their world. Replicas of people or events that had a striking resemblance of the past and not all of them were enjoyable. It was an almost silent pact that nations would protect each other from ghosts when possible, but if they were enemies... Let whatever gods they believed in that their enemies wouldn't get their hands on the innocent bystanders.

Liberty's eye drifted back to the children behind Veneziano and gulped at the small blond and auburnet children running around, playing tag. Their parents were nowhere to be seen and Veneziano waved a hand in front of her face, "Who is the ghost, Sorellona?"

"Otto and Feliciano," She breathed and his eyes drifted behind him. She closed her eyes and she heard her brother's gasp. The woman knew tears were floating down his face when he grabbed her hand and she leaned on his shoulders. "Are they happy, Feli?"

"Y-Yes, they are..." Liberty smiled as she opened her eyes. Indeed, the look-a-likes were laughing and grinning like nothing was wrong in the world and the siblings simply watched them.

Ghosts of the past may not be the best to look back on, but when some walk by, they can bring back some of the happiest times of your life.

* * *

Romano took a step in front of America and Britain as they both held guns to Veneziano. Liberty snarled and tried to stand, but her legs refused to work. The eldest sibling faced down the superpowers and frowned, "Hasn't he been punished enough? The Leader is dead. Germans massacred some of his citizens. Leave my Fratello be. We didn't want this war."

England looked at America and after a moment of silent communication, nodded, lowering his gun, "You two have suffered enough. Veneziano, I hope you understand one reason you're getting off so lightly is because of your brother. I'm speaking for myself and America, but I do not know about France. You will also leave your colonies. Do you understand?"

Veneziano looked at his knees as tears poured down his face, "It's over? It's finally over?"

America nodded and kneeled in front of his uncle, "It's over, Venie. Give up." The defeated man nodded numbly and coughed. Romano joined in after a moment and Liberty felt her own lungs tighten.

"Shit," She growled, dissolving into her own hacks.

England sent them a pitying look, he recognized the symptoms. Italy was in ruins and the brothers had to deal with it. He looked at Liberty and sighed, "Bess, you know what has to happen to the brothers next."

She clenched her fists, knowing which brothers he was referring to, "I..." Her voice died in her throat as tears began to fall down her face. America stared her down as he stood.

"He let Germany become what he is today. He's the warmonger," He said as he held his head high. Liberty chuckled with a broken heart.

"We both know that, yes, he loves war, but he only does it when his principles or his allies are threatened." She shook her head and looked to Veneziano. "Venie, come here. You too, Romano. We need to go home and take care of some things." The younger got up and walked over, collapsing next to his sister's wheel chair. She slid out of it and pulled him into a hug. He clutched onto her and America and England left the area quietly.

"Shh, Venie, everything will be ok. You'll rebuild. You'll recover," She whispered as she carefully ran her fingers through his hair. He trembled and flashed between Feliciano and Luciano several times, crying all the same. Romano kneeled on her other side and rubbed his brother's back. After a moment, Liberty wrapped him into a group hug, "My boys, we'll be fine. We're alive and we're strong. We'll make it through."

Feliciano nodded and looked at his brother, "Thank you, Fratellone. Thank you so much." Romano grinned tearfully and rubbed his brother's back.

"You're my little brother, aren't you? We have to stand together. Just as we always have. Liberty, it may take a while for Germany to go down, but you'll want to be there for Prussia, right? We'll see what we can do to get you bett-"

She frowned, "Focus on yourselves. I'll watch how much I eat and when, but worry about your citizens."

Romano snorted and ruffled her hair, "You are our citizen, remember? Or did you hit your head too many times?"

"Bastard."

"Bitch."

Romano was right though. Prussia did need her help. She wasn't allowed in the room and only France, Britain, America, Soviet, Germany, and Prussia were allowed in, but she carefully watched auras and the door. Then, it happened.

Prussia's aura flickered and dimmed. She froze as it lost its glimmer, but to her relief, it didn't go out. When the door finally opened, everyone but the albino left the room and she stumbled in. "Oh my god, Prussia-"

He choked as he held his head in his hands, "That's not my name, Liberty. You know that's not my name."

She bowed her head and took a seat next to him, "I'm sorry, Teutonic." Teutonic laughed bitterly, looking at her with tears in closed eyes.

"Is this why you always insisted on keeping my roots? So the Teutonic knights would stay around? You knew my kingdom would be dissolved, didn't you? Why didn't you try to stop me?" His heartbroken look made her's shatter even more and she twisted her hands.

"Because if I had told you, you might not have believed me. This is how history plays out. If you decided not to be so militaristic, it wouldn't be you. You wouldn't have been the man I fell in love with, Teutonic. The headstrong man-"

"Shut up," He whispered.

Liberty ignored him and stared him down, "-Who never backed down-"

"Shut up," Teutonic said louder. She still ignored him.

"-And never let his losses weight him down."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" He yelled, slamming his fists on the table. Liberty didn't jump, but waited. The man looked at her with tears in his eyes. "It's not who I am-"

"Bullshit. It's not the tragedy that defines you but how you handle it. Look into your heart, into your citizens'. Look and what do they say? They say 'I am a Prussian and I will not let this turn me into a different person. I am not Polish or Russian or Lithuanian, I am Prussian, no matter how much time may pass.' Teutonic, I have been beaten down and I have been in your position. Listen to me when I say, have a good cry, lean on those who care for you and keep going. You're stronger than this," Liberty ranted, kneeling in front of his chair and brushed hair out of his face.

He cried and clutched onto her, "This war... It's torn everything apart."

She nodded and ran her fingers through his hair, "It has. But things repair themselves over time. But just cry over it for a while. We can wipe up the mess in a little bit."

Teutonic nodded and just cried. It didn't matter to either how long they cried or how many times they started or stopped, but eventually, they finished. He finally looked her in the eye, "I... I think that God abandoned me."

"Teuton, you can't just say tha-"

He looked her in the eye with a vulnerable look, "Amalia. I have just been dissolved. I can make this decision, my citiz- ex-citizens can do whatever they want to, but... do you understand?"

Liberty smiled and nodded, "I do, but you're in a weak spot right now. I don't want you to regret this later."

He smiled weakly, "And regret you? Liberty, I love you with all of my heart and if you are ready..."

She looked at her hands and nodded limply, "Let's just get home. We've both had a long day. But we need to get our lives sorted out first." Teuton chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"Always the rational one. We've waited centuries, what's a few more months?"

She nodded and smiled tearfully, pulling him in for a hug.

* * *

Liberty curled up at Teutonic's side as he, she, and France watched a football game. The couple rolled their eyes as some of the players began arguing and France peered at them, "How do you two never argue?"

Teutonic blinked, "What do you mean?"

France threw his hands in the air, "You two are too perfect! You two never seem to fight about anything! Gilbert takes up too much of the bed, Liberty wastes too much time travelling! Do you two ever argue?!"

The couple shared a look and shook their heads, "Not really. If a problem arises, we don't get too mad and we compromise. If Gilbert takes up too much of the bed, I sleep more on him."

"If Liberty travels too much, she sends more letters, calls and tries to throw in more visits to me when she's in Europe. We have a system. Also, we sword fight every once in a while so any pent up rage gets taken out. Who do you fight with?"

France huffed, "Who don't I fight with? Mostly Angleterre, but occasionally someone else, but after some yelling, we manage to get things done, but it leaves everyone frustrated."

Liberty hummed, "I trust Gilbert to use his best judgement and I know him. It doesn't help if either of us get frustrated."

"What about sexual tension?"

"It makes all the times we do have sex more special," The albino said as he buried his nose in Liberty's neck. She giggled and twisted lightly to dot a kiss on his temple.

"Yeah. I don't want to pressure you and you know how to tell me. Mostly, talking things out helps," The woman said.

France frowned, "But you don't get along with certain things. Liberty, I know you don't agree with Prussia's hand in the second great war and Gilbert, I know you lost some trust after Prussia was dissolved."

The frowned and Gilbert shifted them so they both were sitting up. He lightly elbowed her and Liberty nodded, taking the lead. "It's true. Gilbert, I really didn't like you siding with him, especially after what happened, but... You didn't like hitler. You didn't have the same power you once did, so there was little you could do. You supported your brother, but you also paid a price. You did something wrong and you paid for it. I know it's not entirely your fault, but you learned. I trust you not to make a similar mistake and be careful with who you side with."

Gilbert nodded, "Agreed. I did something I should have tried to stop. Your turn." Liberty nodded and waited. "It hurt that you didn't tell me what was going to happen. I trusted you to tell me if something was going to happen to me in the future. You betrayed that. But... But you also made sure I kept true to who I used to be. I am still alive to support the others and what are left of my people. I am here thanks to you. You made a mistake and you carry that unawesome mistake with you. I trust that you learned from that and you did. You told me that I would go through hell and to try to get out as many citizens as I could and any that didn't would have to wait two decades of hell. You couldn't tell me specifically, which I respect, but you told me. I trust you to tell me anything that comes to mind or if you ever feel scared."

Liberty listened closely, shrinking into the couch a little as Gilbert reprimanded her, but his gentle gaze brought her back out. "I agree. So you need to be more careful and learn and I need to tell you if something scares me or is any concern?"

Teutonic nodded, "Agreed." He turned to France who sat there dumbfounded, "That is how we work out our issues. We trust each other and we talk things out like adults."

"You two are amazing..." France whispered and a crowd cheering drew their attention.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!?"

The albino growled as he looked at his girlfriend, "What? That was totally allowed!"

She snarled, "That's bullshit! That was clearly a foul!" France laughed and shook his head.

"Of course its sports..."

* * *

Carina pursed her lips as she looked at Spain. His clothes were still blood stained and it was probably his cleanest pair. Romano stood at her feet, but he was a little above her hip. "Hey, Spain."

He hummed as he cast a tired smile at Romano, "Hey, Roma! How are you?" The child looked at his lightly bruised face warily, gripping the small dagger at his side.

"I'm fine, España..." Spain nodded and walked towards the couch, collapsing on top of it. He sighed and seemed to pass out from exhaustion. "Spain-"

The woman put her hand on his shoulder, "Let's let him sleep, Romano. You know how tired I am when I come back from a fight." He cast his gaze on his boss and nodded.

"Is there anything we can do?" Romano asked, going to remove Spain's boots. Carina only let him do that because she knew the larger nation was a heavy sleeper.

"Let's take a look at his injuries and we can let him sleep. We'll make dinner a little after the sun goes down to get him full of good food, then we'll let him sleep again. You know what to do if he has a nightmare," She said as she went to the Italians' shared room. The auburnette grabbed a needle, thread, alcohol, several bandages and some scissors before returning. Romano was sitting on the floor by Spain and clutching his hand lightly. "He's going to be alright. Just smile for him when he wakes up."

Romano peeked up and nodded, "Only this once. I... I can act like a kid for once too..."

Carina smiled and kissed his forehead, "He'll appreciate it. Stand back, I don't want you right there if he does wake up." The boy nodded and sat behind her as she began removing his tops. The cloak was the first to go and it was folded gently on the nearby table and Carina pursed her lips as she saw the thick cotton top, sporting several blood splatters despite being obviously washed and covered by armor. She carefully slipped it over his head and winced. There were several smaller cuts, but she was more concerned about the large bruises dotting his chest and neck. A particularly nasty set of bruises showed he had a few broken ribs.

"Romano, ignore what I said earlier about waking Spain up from nightmares. We'll have to use water. He has broken ribs," She said as she began wrapping a long bandage around it. Spain winced in his sleep, but remained unconcious. Romano clenched his fists and Carina turned around to him. "Roma, do you want to be here?"

"Y-Yeah. I don't want to let you get hurt by that bastard!"

She smiled at her brother's lie and nodded, "Thanks for keeping an eye on me, Fratello." He flushed and gripped the in his dagger. It was a small gift from the Iberian nation in case he wasn't there. She turned her gaze back to Spain and began dabbing alcohol on his more open wounds and once she finished, she sighed. "He's going to be fine..."

Romano nodded, "You did study at the best medical school in Europe!"

Carina chuckled, "True. Go get your fencing sword, we're going out back to practice." He groaned, but got up. "Roma, I will take away your afternoon naps!"

"You monster!" Flavio joked as his voice filtered through. Lovino rolled his eyes, but smiled, continuing to his room. Carina chuckled and leaned on the couch's arm. She ran her fingers through Spain's hair and smiled as he subconsciously leaned into the feelings. "Sorellona?"

"Yeah?" Carina asked as she looked over to Flavio. He held out her fencing blade and she took it. They were molded from German metal, but it was some of the strongest she had seen in such a thin blade. They walked outside and took their positions. Flavio was still relatively new to fencing, so he had Lovino help him out with some of the moves. "There you go, you two. Isn't working together much easier?"

"If only you had told me the same, Carina..." A tired voice filtered in from the door. The siblings jumped and looked to see Spain's other half leaning on the door with a frown. "Why didn't you wake me up before you treated me?"

Romano hid behind Carina as she frowned, "Take it from an old soul, Andres. Rest is one of the best things the wounded can get."

The nation frowned, "Are you calling me wounded?"

"You have at least three broken ribs, Spain. You're wounded. Get back into bed and sleep on your back. Don't even think about trying to lift your arma above your head. We'll wake you after dark for some chicken soup, but be careful, ok?" Carina asked as she crossed her arms.

Andres pursed his lips and went to cross his arms, but stopped as his hand brushed his wounded ribs, "Alright. Antonio is dormant right now, but I know he's going to want you to be careful with the leech." Romano sucked in a sharp breath at the unaffectionate nickname as the 2P turned back and went inside.

Carina turned around and kneeled in front of her brother, "Roma, ignore Andres, you know he's like that. Antonio cares-"

"How do you know, Ragazza? How do you know he's not just hiding it?! I know I'm a leech! I break everything, I'm a weakling in a fight-" Lovino screamed at her, gripping her upper arms.

She tried to calm him down, rubbing his shoulders, "Why do you think I'm teavhing you to defend yours-"

"Why don't you go and teach Veneziano instead?! You know he's better at fi-"

Carina knew that she would regret it, but she also knew she wouldn't. She slapped her brother.

He stared at her with wide eyes as his injured cheek instantly took on a red shade, "R-Ragazza?"

Carina swallowed, "You're not a waste of time. You're not a leech, Romano. I'm speaking to BOTH OF YOU when I say that you are everything to me. Do you know how much it kills Venie that he'll never have my favoritism? He knows that he'll never be my favorite, you are. Yes, Venie is better at archery, but how is better at falconry? At swordfighting? At pickpocketing, cooking, being blunt because you know flattery only gets you so far! Roma, I'm the leech!

"I have stolen so much of your time that you could have spent with Nonno, Veneziano, Spain, the world! You have given me so much and I've done nothing but take your food and space in your home! Roma, I'm sorry, but you are my country and I only care what's best for you. I'm sorry for hitting you, it killed me and I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry..."

Romano stared at his sister as she began to cry and his heart fell, "We're just a pair of leeches leeching off of each other, huh?"

She laughed, "Damnit, Romano, didn't I just saw you weren't one?"

"You lost the argument when you slapped me, Fortuna!" Romano growled, lightly punching her arm.

"Don't joke about that. Promise you're going to hit me back someday as payback?"

Romano snorted, "You were just geting payback for the first nights you were with us and I practically broke your nose." He rubbed his cheek and hissed, "Damn, Sorellona, you hit like a bitch."

Carina chuckled, "Takes one to know one, Roma!" He huffed and punched her arm a few more times. "Are you still going to hold to your promises from earlier?" The child blinked and slowly turned red, nodding.

They both knew sometimes he really did want to act the age he looked to be. Sometimes, when the woman knew when he wanted to be, she would tickle him until he was gasping for air. It was a little out of character for him, but she wanted to give Romano a childhood when he still had one.

Later, the siblings cooked up some chicken soup with finely diced ingredients and woke the Spaniard. Luckily it was Antonia this time and he shakily lifted his arm to grab the spoon, but a tiny one grabbed it first, "Wha- Romano!"

The child pouted, "You're hurt! Let Fortuna feed you!"

He cooed, "Aww, does Romano actually care about me?"

"Damn straight, bastard, now eat up! Sorella worked hard-"

Carina laughed, "Roma, don't lie! You cut up the food and told me when to remove the soup! I just did the heavy lifting!" Romano turned even more red and his sister placed a small kiss on his forehead. Spain smiled and looked at her.

"Are you going to feed me, Chica?" He asked slyly. She rolled her eyes and Romano kicked her.

"Fine, fine! Yes!" Spain opened his mouth and the woman began the long process of feeding him the warm liquid. He got up when it was all gone and went back to his room and after a quick glance at Romano, Carina knew he would keep his promises.

It was about a week after Spain had gotten back and Carina finally dubbed him well enoigh for regular activity again that she saw Romano tug of Spain's pant leg, blushing profusely. Spain blinked in confusion and, after a few words from Romano, grinned like that sun would never leave his empire again. He ran up to Carina with the smile still n his face, "Carina, Carina! Roma just asked me to play hide and seek with him! Would you like to join?"

She shook her head, "No thanks, Spain. Go have fun with Romano." He nodded and whooped as he went to a tree in the large courtyard and began counting loudly. Romano looked around in panic and settled on hiding behind one of the many stautes littering the area.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Carina watched in amusement as btoh parties hid their aura feom the other and eventually watched Spain sneak up on her brother. Romano squealed in joy as Spain picked him up and blew a raspberry into the child's exposed neck. She knew that both countries needed it. Spain needed a hapoy time wit his ward before he was thrown into even more wars and Romano needed to spend some time as a child with no cares in the world.

* * *

Liberty stared at the man with auburn hair in front of her, "Are you sure you don't want this child?"

He shrugged, "It's just a rugrat that's going to take up space and waste my money. It's all yours." The man pulled out a flask and took a deep swing before putting it away. "What's her new name gonna be at least? Roxie always wanted a boy's name to be Franco or something... What did she name her?"

Liberty pursed her lips, "She named the child Abra, but I'm changing her name to Carina. She's going to learn when she turns twenty, but if you still want to be part of her life-"

"Nah, that's fine. I gotta go, but good luck with the kid. See ya," He said as he shakily stood before walking out the door. Liberty swallowed as she craddled Carina in her arms and stared at the door as it closed.

"Bye, Daddy..." Tears poured out of her eyes silently as her younger self slept without an inkling as to what was going on.

* * *

Liberty screamed as she shot up in her sleep. A lack of warmth told her she didn't have someone next to her in bed and she curled up. "Damnit..." The woman had a nightmare where she had been chased endlessly by the souls of those she had killed. While she had the grace to say she had never murdered a child or an innocent, except without being provoked by the latter first, there were at least a handful from every battle she had fought and the larger the war, the more her kill count rose.

The woman rocked back and forth until her breath got back to normal, but the dead eyes kept staring at her every time she closed her eyes. The auburnette sighed and slipped out of her bed and padded to the kitchen, passing several paintings and pictures, the most recent being of a picture of the countries that met in San Francisco after WWII to write up the United Nations Charter. She had a place in the back of the room, but she was still a minor part of the proceedings. Several of the nations had been surprised to see her and especially in such a rough state, but they had been happy nonetheless. That had been a few years ago.

She continued walking and stopped in the kitchen, looking around at the cluttered mess that she had left it in after a new episode of I Love Lucy. Her homemade ice cream sat melting in a bowl and she numbly walked to clean it. Her arms trembled lightly as she picked it up, but she managed to clean it with no problem. Liberty stared into space blankly and tears began to leak out of her eyes as she turned to slid down the side of the cabinets. "Son of a bitch, shut up... Leave me alone..."

A small voice at the back of her mind reminded her that no one was there and she laughed, "No... Someone always there. I just wish I had someone to talk to without pissing someone off..." There was silence and Liberty huffed, "Yeah. Someone's always there... Right, Liberty, nice. Get your ass up and get back to bed." Her body seemed not to listen as she just rested on the ground, curling up. "Just go the fuck to sleep..."

Liberty woke up the next morning in her bed, a daisy on her bedside table. She smiled and got out of bed. Smells of warm toast and cooked meat filtered in from the kitchen and she wandered in. "Good morning, Germany. Why are you here?"

"Lutz said he had a feeling something was wrong..." He mumbled, taking some of the bread out of the oven.

She cocked her head, but a flash of purple underneath his sky blue aura made her smile. "Come join me over by the table. I need to sit down and then he and I can have a nice chat. Is that ok? And what's _your_ human name?"

Germany flushed as he wiped his hands on the pale green apron and removed it, "I-We chose Ludwig..."

She chuckled, "You're just like your dad..." His eyes settled on her form.

"L-Liberty, I didn't have a dad-"

The woman rolled her eyes, taking a seat at the table, "I meant your predecessor. But you two... He chose the name Otto. I find it funny that's all. You both choose the names of your founders. But it's a good choice. You've seen some of the other names. Come sit down and let me talk to Lutz. You've probably heard I like to talk to other personalities after a nation reaches that point."

Germany nodded and took a seat, closing his eyes. "L-Liberty, h-how do I let them take over? Does it hurt?"

Liberty smiled, "I've heard it's just a shift in power. Relax your will and let Lutz surge forward. It's best that you two learn to work together quickly. Dumb and dangerous mistakes have been made because personalities can't work together..." She snarled to herself as she remembered the American and French civil wars.

"It's so nice to be out!" A gruffer voice groaned as the new form stretched. His violet eyes settled on her and he grinned, relaxing onto the table, "So you're Liberty. Huh? You raised Ludwig?"

She nodded, "I did. And your Lutz."

His smirk didn't go away, "The one and only. So, why did you want to talk to me and not Luddy?" A small pulse of light blue made Lutz snarl and grab his forehead.

"To make sure you two get along. You're going to get pissed at each other, but you're both part of a nation. You will have differing opinions and you need to learn to compromise. I also want you both to know one thing," Liberty stressed, leaning forward. Lutz stared at her with a pained expression. She ran a few fingers over his left temple and smiled. "Even if you two share a body, you are both your own person. Remember how you were scared shitless by Luciano? Everyone has a different side to them. I will not judge either of you from the other's actions. Lutz, I promise not to judge you on Ludwig's actions and Ludwig, I promise the same. Can you promise me that you'll work together?"

Lutz closed his eyes and sighed, "Yeah, I can promise that or I can at least try. This headache is a bitch."

Liberty chuckled and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead, "I bet. Welcome to hell, Lutz. Can Ludwig take back over?" He huffed, but he relented, letting the body's original personality take over again. "I did say that you would get a second personality, Ludwig."

He nodded and rubbed his temples, "Yeah, you did. What did you do earlier that made this headache go away?"

"Oh this?" She ran her hand over his temple again and smiled as he leaned into it. "Comfort through touch is one of the best cures for this situation. Why do you think Veneziano likes hugs so much? He and Luciano get into fights every once in a while and he seeks contact because it relaxes his mind a bit. It's another reason to not fight with your other." He nodded slowly and continued to lean into her hand.

"Thanks, Liberty."

The woman nodded, "It's the least I can do. You're practically my little brother."

He snorted, "You're borderline mother and sister-in-law."

She hummed sarcastically, "Thanks..."

* * *

English

 **Italian**

Chinese

Liberty noticed the small lunchbox on the counter and sighed, "Damnit Carina. You need to remember your lunch..." She grabbed it and her car keys, climbing into the American green pickup and headed over to the school. Dutchtown was a decent middle school with a decent middle school, but at least it was better than East Ascension's. Liberty smiled as she entered the office. "Hello, I'm here to drop off my child's lunch box. Can I just go give it to her?" The office attendant pursed her lips, but Liberty pulled out a government pass, "Please? I just want to go check on my daughter and make sure she gets her lunch." The woman nodded and filled out a sticker for her to wear on her turtleneck and Liberty nodded to her in thanks.

She took the cloth lunchbox towards the cafeteria and noticed that the students were preparing to head back in from recess when a small sniffle caught her attention. Carina was obviously trying to curl up into herself from the kids talking to her in rapid Italian. The teachers couldn't see it from their places dealing with other kids. She snarled as she put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. " **Carina, I brought your lunch.** Is everything ok?"

"Mama... No... He said you didn't care enough to make me lunch," She whimpered. Liberty's lips tightened into a thin line and she pulled her daughter into a hug.

"No, no, Bambina, I love you! I came to bring you your lunch, right? Do you want me to chew him out?" Carina looked at the smirking boy from teary eyes in her Mom's arms.

"Thanks mom, but..."

Liberty nodded and ruffled her kid's hair, "Anytime Carina!" She passed the kid, whispering in his ear, " **Stronzo, leave my daughter alone or I'm going to show you what a real Italian is.** "

* * *

Fortuna raised her arm, "Again." Romano and Veneziano growled in front of her as they swung their fencing blades in unison. Their sister deflected them and frowned. "You both need to be faster. Romano, you're going to trip and hurt yourself if you keep stepping that way. Veneziano, put more force into it. It's not a paintbrush, it's a sword."

They huffed and the woman got into position again, raising her blade. "Again. Unless you two can disarm me or nick me, we're not heading in until dark." The brothers looked at each other and whispered to each other. Fortuna smirked and took a few steps back, watching their movements. Veneziano opened his eyes and she nearly shook under their predatory gaze, but Romano's look also unnerved her. They each took a different direction and she pursed her lips.

They were performing the classic two fronts move. One or both would attack from one side and the other would ambush from the rear. Unless she ran, she would get caught, but the brothers were fast learners.

A scuffle behind her caught her attention and she ducked under Veneziano's swing, connecting her back with his overstretched body to push him towards Romano. He rolled a few times, but got up with minor scratches. Romano took his chance and charged her himself and put anger into his swings. Fortuna grinned and pushed back as much as she could, but Romano was madder than usual and getting stronger as the years went by. She was pushed back against the courtyard wall and the blade was placed at her neck.

"Yield," He huffed.

The woman smiled and dangled her foil between her thumb and forefinger, "I yield. Nice job."

He chuckled airlessly and collapsed onto the ground, staring up at the sky, "Thank you Jesus!" Veneziano laughed and came to lay down next to his brother. Fortuna smiled and took her own spot.

"That's enough for you today, Romano. I'm going to work with Feli and Luciano for a while after lunch and if you want, you can join me after dinner. You two are doing well so far." The brothers nodded and she put kissed on their foreheads. "I'm going to make lunch. Bolognese sound good?"

"Try not to overcook it again, Ragazza," Romano said weakly. Veneziano hummed in agreement and she left. "Fucking insane."

* * *

English

German

 **Italian**

 **Old High German**

Liberty sighed as her daughter left the hotel room. "Shit..." The woman picked up the phone and dialed Prussia.

"Hell-"

"Teutonic, I am so sorry," She blurted. A few tears came to her eyes as she listened to his voice.

A rustle of fabric told her that he was likely chilling in his bed, "What?"

She breathed in shakily, "I think it's time Gilbert. Tomorrow's the day. I want you to know that no matter what, I do love you and I'm sorry for what I have to say."

He sputtered, "A-Amalia, what is- What?"

"Code Blue! It happens tomorrow! Tonight I find someone out in the woods and bring them to the hotel, get on the phone with Venie and send my daughter back in time! I remember I used a low blow, Teutonic and it kills me to know what..."

Gilbert sighs, "Liberty breath. Breathe, everything is going to be fin-"

Liberty shook her head, "It's not going to be. I just want to call you and let you know that I don't mean it. But... In case this is the second to last time I get to talk to you, the last conversation that's more than three sentences... I love you, ok? I love you and if I don't come out of tomorrow alive-"

"Liberty! Don't talk like that! You're getting out of tomorrow ali-"

"We don't know that. But still. See you tomorrow," She whispered, hanging up. Gilbert's ringtone came one more time, but he seemed to cancel the call before she could. The woman cried and went to lay down on one of the bed. She spun her peach pit ring a few times, "Time to record some good byes."

The woman grabbed the camera and went to set it up and wiped her eyes. Pressing the record button, Liberty swallowed, "In case you all are watching this... I didn't make it. Sorry, but I didn't. I'm only human and we have one guarantee in life and that's death. My watch just had a really long battery. But I want you guys to know that for everything I've done, I'm sorry and for any grievances, I forgive you. It's a little hard for me to hold a grudge now.

"Germany, since this is your place, I'm going to start there. You've been struggling since you were born. You've been through several depressions and so many rough spots for a new country. In the past sixty-five years, you have gotten your shit together and it shows. Keep it up, Ludwig, Lutz. America, for the love of Peaches, don't elect that Cheeto. While I'm on North America, Canada... Keep being chill and make sure you two say hello to your mother for me. England, keep being awkward and secretly hating christmas, France make sure to tease him about it. Switzerland, your sister is also her own entity and make sure that while you coddle her, don't smother her. Liechtenstein, make sure he enjoys himself when he can. Spain, I know you've gotten a little bitter over the years, but first off, fix your time zone. It's not ok, but just go back to enjoying yourself.

" **Italia**..." Liberty paused and wiped her eyes again, " **Shit. I can't stop fucking crying. But anyway... You were the best brothers I could ask for. Romano, you knew just what to do when it came down to it. Veneziano... Feli, I know it hurts, but people are going to need hugs and smiles, and remember to take time to cry for yourself. Luciano, bottling it up isn't going to help. You four should give Seborga a little space.** Russia... You're not going to like this, but calm down a little. Your sisters still love you and aren't going to leave you.

"Scandinavia, I think you're doing pretty well so far. I know I haven't address everyone, but I want you to know either way... I love you all and the rollercoaster you put me on. I don't regret a single thing and if it were up to me, the present me, I would go and do it again. Everything. I'm always going to be there. I have one more message..."

Liberty took a deep breath and looked at the camera, "Teutonic... I'm so sorry for the phone call, but it's true I do-did love you. It kills me to make this because that meeting room is the last place I'm going to hear your voice and I don't know if I'm going to get to say it again, but I'm sorry for what I say. Then and.. Now. Mourn for a while and move on. I know you trust me, so continue to do it- It gets you nowhere if you still hold on. Please, just move on. You don't have to do it immediately, it took me decades, but don't shut people out." She looked down at her fidgety hands and looked up one last time. "I love you and keep being awesome." She got up and went to turn off the camcorder while smiling at the lens.

She popped it out and stuck it on the desk and flopped over. "Germania? Are you still there by any chance?" A weak aura appeared and the bed creaked as the ancient nation sat down.

"Yes?"

Liberty looked up at him, "Can... Is it possible to give things to the nations after..."

He smiled and nodded, "It is. Just focus and sometimes it'll go. It has to already exist."

"Thanks and... See you soon?"

Germania smiled and ruffled her hair, "Of course, I'll be there. Persia will be there as well." She nodded weakly and curled into a ball.

"I'm scared..." He chuckled weakly and wrapped an arm around her.

"There is nothing to fear. You know that, but just remember to say your goodbyes."

She nodded and her old friend disappeared. "Only one thing left to do..." Liberty got dressed in her last clothes and threw on a black pair of slacks and a black turtleneck. She grabbed her keys and looked around one last time before heading down to the lobby and waited. It was terrifying that every time she looked up, she would expect to see some dead nation, but she forgot who. Finally, the doors opened and her eyes darted up sleepily, letting her breath catch.

"Holy shit..." Liberty whispered, throwing down her newspaper as she rushed towards her daughter and the returned nation. She latched herself onto the people and smiled at the attendant, " **Honey! It's been so long where have you been**?" Holy Rome's eyes widened as he met her gaze, but Carina seemed not to notice as she squirmed. " **Explain in a while** ," Liberty hissed into her ear and pulled out of the forceful hug into another stage smile, " **How long has it been? Too long! C'mon, we have some catching up to do**!" Holy Rome swallowed nervously as his old caretaker took him by the hand and towards the elevator, practically throwing them in. " **What the hell is going on**?"

Carina panicked, " **Mom, I didn't mean to! This isn't my fault!** " Holy Rome looked between the two nervously, jumping as the elevator dinged, announcing a new floor.

" **Who is this?**!" Liberty snarled, but as much as she hated how she barely remembered any of these details. It made her too mad.

Holy Rome took a half-step in front of Carina, "Holy Roman Empire. Do you know where Italy is-"

Liberty stiffened, her eyes darting. No... He died... " **W-What, but h-how? F-France said he was d-dead...** " The whole reason she was panicking sprang back into mind and she reached for her phone. Feliciano needed to know. Luciano might not have like Holy Rome personally, but he recognized allies when presented. The doors opened and she shoved her still open phone into her pocket before dragging the others into a conference room and locking the door.

" **M-Mom, what's going o-** "

She growled, struggling with her phone a little bit. Dumb iOS 9... " **Shush, I need to make a few calls...** " Liberty peeked up when she noticed Holy Rome's frustration and understood why. She was reason he was sent back and she wasn't telling him anything. Carina put a hand on his arm and Liberty remembered being proud of how she managed to calm him so easily. The call went through and she raised it up to her ear and was silently counting the number of minutes the secretary would have until she reached through the phone and slaughtered her. Finally, a woman began to speak but Liberty cut her off, " **GET ME ON THE LINE WITH FELICIANO NOW**!"

Liberty knew she was being harsh but didn't care as the woman sputtered, " **B-But M-miss it's five in the m-mor** -"

" **WE HAVE A CODE BLUE**!" Her patience finally when out the window until she was put through another dial tone.

" **Sì**?" Her brother's voice calmed her nerves exponentially and she breathed, " **Sorellona, it's early, what's the matt-** "

" **He's alive. Organize a meeting, the sooner the better. Hurry, Venie**!" Liberty stressed, running her hand through her hair. She knew that if his secretary did her job, she told him why Liberty was calling. A small bing was heard and he sucked in a quiet breath.

" **Is he-a there, can I-a talk to him**?" He asked as all exhaustion left his voice.

Liberty nodded, " **Sì, but hurry up. We need to tell the others**." She passed the phone to Holy Rome before leaning on the wall. She zoned out and the phone was put back in her field of vision. "Sit." She waited until both of them were seated in the uncomfortable chairs and stared them down. "Explain, both of you, now."

Her daughter paused, fiddling with her hands, "Well, after you kicked me out of the room, I went exploring at one of the forests, one about two hours from here, and I tripped, saw it was an ancient rowan tree, and some of the roots looked weird, kinda like fingers, and I got out the torch and looked in a dark spot and saw him. He then seemed to melt out of the roots and we began talking..." Liberty raised an eyebrow, staring at the growing bruises at her daughter's neck. "We might have fought a little..." Carina admitted.

Liberty's head flopped to the side, sighing, "Alright... You have to be debriefed... I'll do that on the way..." She said, sighing. A quick message alert on her phone grabbed her attention and she looked at it. "We're leaving. There's a conference getting underway an hour from here. I'll catch you up. And none of it gets shared by anyone else," She grit, and Carina nodded. "Alright. We're taking the jeep. I'm driving."

Carina swallowed nervously, "Do you want the keys to the jeep?"

"Of course. I'm going to stop by the room and see if I have any clothes I can lend Holy Rome," She said. Carina nodded and curled up in the chair more as Liberty walked towards the door. Holy Rome stood, but Carina grabbed his sleeve silently, looking at him. He seemed to get the message and returned to his seat. Liberty returned to the room quickly and managed to find a pair of Prussia's clothes in case he stopped by and grabbed those. She returned to the conference room and showed him a bathroom he could use.

Before they knew it, they were on the way and Holy Rome was napping on Carina's shoulder when Liberty slowed down. "MOM JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE FROM ITALY DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO DRIVE LIKE YOU ARE!" Liberty laughed at her daughter's words and sped the jeep up. Germany needed to chill with his traffic laws.

"What was that?! I can't hear you!" Liberty yelled and began slowing down as they reached closer to the crowded area. "Get your head back in. I want you to still have your head when you meet the others. And remember, where are we from?" She asked as she slowed to a stop.

Carina gave her a confused look. "We're from the Pompeii area of Naples. Why?" Liberty sighed and entered the not so busy traffic. A few sports cars seemed to be going into the same area, but the woman ignored them. She spotted Spain's car amongst them and he winked at her through the side-mirror.

"Because. It's very important to them. And if you get lost, find one of two men with large curls on the side of their head. Or anyone wearing glasses. But stay away from anyone else. Got it?" She said, peering into the rearview window.

"Uh, yeah, sure, mom," Carina said. "Should Henr-"

"Don't call him that either. Here, he is only Holy Rome. I would not recommend calling him anything else. But yes, keep him near you. If anything goes wrong, you need him near you at all costs, you hear me?" Liberty stressed, looking in the mirror. Carina nodded shakily. The driver took a small crash-landing into the tall business building parking lot and Holy Rome grunted as he grappled at the roof handle. He had been silent for the majority of the trip, quietly staring at Liberty. Finding a parking spot, Liberty dove into it, nearly hitting England's refurnished Bentley Derby. "Alright, everyone out," She grunted and hopped out like nothing happened.

"I want to get my keys back, Mom," Carina said, holding out her hand, but Liberty shook her head.

"You can have them when you come back out here in the next two millennia," She said, holding tightly to the small bits of metal. Carina whined but her mother shook her head and looked at the keys as the little one went to help Holy Rome. "It's been two millennia, huh? Thanks for the keys back, Mom..." She stared walking towards the building. Liberty noticed they were slacking and looked over her shoulder, "Come on, you two, we have to get into the building sometimes today. Not the next century." The two rolled their eyes, but walked in with an added push from Liberty.

She continued walking, looking at some of the paintings and sighed as she looked up at all the flags. Looking back at her daughter, she frowned, hating what she was doing, but the woman also knew it had to happen. Liberty got to the elevator and opened it, just as they got to it. "I hate this..." Liberty whispered as she opened the emergency call box and pressed the button that was just a security measure and the nineteenth button, the first two numbers of the total number of countries. The elevator went up and she sighed, returning everything to its normal position. "Be calm, you two. Everything will be alright. And Holy Rome?"

He looked up hopefully and Liberty smiled with tears pooling in her eyes, " **Don't freak out too much...** " Carina drew in a sharp breath and the woman turned back as the doors opened. Stepping out, Liberty smiled as Feliciano approached their group and paused, staring at Holy Rome.

Veneziano came up and the closer he got, the further Carina hid behind Liberty, or tried to. Being four inches shorter does not help. As the past lovers got reacquainted, Romano looked over at Liberty sadly and she nodded. He clenched his fists, but hide behind a gentle frown as he pushed his brother towards Holy Rome. " **Take care of him, you undead bastard.** " Carina chuckled lightly and Liberty shared a disapproving glance with her. " **Ciao, Ragazza, ciao...**?" Romano asked as he held out his hand. Liberty took it with a smile and Carina stepped out a little from behind her mother.

" **I-uh, am Carina, nice to meet you** ," The youngest said, taking the man's hand in a careful handshake. Liberty chuckled as her daughter's face lit up like a firework when he reached down and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles.

" **Beloved? It fits such a beautiful lady such as yourself** ," He said, standing again. Carina giggled, but Liberty stepped forward.

" **Romano, back off my daughter** ," She growled. Romano's eyes grew wide and he took a step back.

" **Wait, she's yo-** " He said and instantly began sweating 'nervously'. " **What the hell, Ragazza! You never told us you had a damn daughter. Or is this-** "

Liberty huffed, " **Romano, shut it. And yes, she's my lucky star. And one of yours.** " She shot him a knowing look.

Romano blinked as his blush began to fade, before he grinned. " **R-Really? Well, Bella, what city, then? If you're from Roma, then-** "

" **I-I'm from the Pompeii area of Naples** ," Carina said, looking down.

Romano froze as his eyes clouded over, " **Oh**."

Carina panicked and began ranting, waving her hands everywhere, " **Oh, no, I'm sorry. I don't know what the hell I did, but I'm such an idiot sometimes and need to learn to shut my fuc-** " Liberty chuckled and shrugged in her brother's direction.

Romano snorted, " **Bella, shut the hell up. It's fine, I just had a bit of breathing problem before and after. And she sure is one of mine** ," He said, looking at Liberty. " **She has the language down, alright, Ragazza.** "

Liberty laughed and Romano joined in. Carina looked between the two confused, and Germany jumped in. "Hello there, Miss...?"

Liberty looked at him as he took her daughter's attention, but turned back to Romano. He frowned and grabbed her hand, " **Ragazza, are you sure about this**?"

" **I have to. You know that** ," She growled. " **I'm sorry for what I have to say in that roo** -"

Her attention was grabbed by the other conversation and she frowned as he heard Germany speak, "Ludwig, but most call me Germany. It's so odd to see y-"

"Germany," Her mother said, looking over her shoulder and at the offending man. She frowned and shook her head. He bowed his head in apology.

"My apologizes, I forgot." Liberty looked back and sighed.

" **This is a load of bull, but Roma? I've trusted you for years and I want you to know that I'm forever an Italian, one of yours, and I'm not coming back this time. I love you Roma** ," Liberty whimpered, clutching his hand. He smiled and ruffled her hair.

" **Say hi to that bastard who left you and tell Germania to fuck off when you go. Everything will be fine. It's time to go** ," Her brother whispered, wiping her eyes and offering his arm.

Liberty nodded and took it, looking at Carina, " **Carina! It's time, come on**!" Carina raised a brow at Liberty, looking at the linked arms between Liberty and Romano. Liberty nodded, and leaned in, loosening Romano a little bit. " **It's customary for a country, if they're male and their guests are female, to guide them in this way, a sign on protection. It's tradition. Go on Romano's other side. You'll be fine. He won't let anything happen to you** ," She said and pushed the girl around. Romano chuckled lightly and squeezed her arm. Liberty looked at the pair in front of them and smiled.

Holy Rome and Feliciano were standing side by side and the latter was gripping the other man's arm rather tightly. 'Happy ever after for someone, I guess...' Liberty thought. They started in and she closed her eyes as she entered. This was the last time she was going to see her family, she was sure of it. The delayed heart attack of Gilbert weighed in her heart and it pulsed knowingly.

(The rest is in English)

The Italians headed for their customary seats and Liberty sat, watching her daughter. America looked at Carina in well-hidden horror, but Liberty shot him a pleading look and he nodded. "YO DUDETTE, HOW ARE YA!" Carina shot her mother a questioning gaze and Liberty smiled and nodded before the young woman spoke.

"I'm fine, how are you?" She asked, but the man cupped his ear.

"WHAT'S THAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF OVERPROTECTIVE LIBERTY!" He said with a shit-eating grin and Liberty growled. Now was not the time and the growing stress was getting to her. Carina didn't need to know anything until it was time.

"AMERICA, DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE," She roared, and the boisterous man laughed loudly.

"Nah, nah, it's all good. But seriously dudette, who are you?" He asked, quieting down a notch. Liberty relaxed and America sent a calming gaze to her.

Her daughter continued to sputter, trying to speak up, "I, uh, I'm Carina Brewster..."

England frowned as he stared at the girl, "I'm sorry, but what did you say?"

"I'm Carina Brewster. It's nice to meet you all," Carina finally said as she raised her voice a second time, looking around.

"Oui, Mademoiselle, but may we get to the matter at hand, no?" France from nearby. Liberty looked at him with a tired expression as he smiled comfortingly.

The Brit sighed, "I'm afraid I have to agree with the frog on this one. How in the world, did you manage to find and wake up a long dead, not to mention dissolved, nation?"

"Hey, you got a thing against dissolved nations?" Prussia yelled by Germany. It was one of the rare meetings that had micronations in it, it seemed and he stared down Britain. She could tell he was trying not to look at her and Liberty smiled woefully.

Germany growled lightly, "Bruder, please calm down."

The albino stood, "No, the awesome Prussia-"

Liberty stood and stared him down, "Gilbert, you are the teutonic order. You always have been and always will be. Now, can you sit down now? The world does not need another huge debate right now." The albino man bowed his head as he nodded and took his seat. "Great, now the meeting is to discuss the Holy Roman Empire. He was found in the middle of a forest, buried in the roots of a Rowan tree and had become part of the tree itself. Carina became curious and somehow undid the effect. They came back, and when I found out, I called Veneziano and had him call in this meeting. But this is also the time for Code Blue."

Several nations' eyes widened, but the closest reactions were evident. Romano grit his teeth and Holy Rome grabbed her wrist. Romano did the same. "I am so sorry, Bella," He whispered to Carina. Liberty reached into back pocket and pulled out a folded paper. It was one of Carina's spare birth certificates she had. The woman could feel Carina's terrified gaze on her as she unfolded the birth certificate.

"Mom, what's going on?" Liberty sucked in a shaky breath and pushed the paper towards Carina. "Certificate of Adoption... Mom?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

"I'm not your mother. It's a very confusing situation, fortunata," She whispered, and Romano looked down, gripping both women's wrists tighter.

He spat, "Damn it Ragazza, just spit it out! You're worrying her!"

"Oh so now you care! What about the 1500s? Huh? I was torn between you, Veneziano and Britain, the three of you needing me equally, but you refused to make my life easier and I broke down a few times? What about then?" She yelled as her throat began to tighten as tears pooled in her eyes and Romano looked down.

"Carina-"

"I dropped that name two millennia ago," Liberty grit. She looked over him to stare into her Carina's watering eyes. "Carina, today you get sent back into the past and you have to live all throughout history. These idiots fight over you because you're the living 'Lady Luck'. You're the extra edge that these idiots want to help them win wars. You're the main reason that Britain defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. You're the reason that the Roman empire won so many battles and expanded so far. I am just under two millennia old."

Carina looked down and drew in a breath. "Well, that explains how I never died when you drove," The girl joked, earning a few chuckles.

Liberty smiled, as a small flashback wracked her mind, "I remember saying that, and it was so long ago... But you need to be ready. You will be kidnapped, drugged, tortured, you will starve, and will broken down emotionally so many times." Carina's hands turned to fists, but Liberty smiled lightly, "But, you get more family then you could ever hope for. Someone will always have your back, no matter what." America, England, France, Italia, Spain, Japan, China, Canada, Turkey, Greece, Germany and Holy Rome stood, looking down. Several more stood, but they sat back down before anyone could see exactly who. "Britain, it's time. on the count of three?" The blonde man swallowed and nodded and reached down under his chair. Liberty reached under the table and pulled out a spare notebook with a single spell inside.

"On the count of three. Elizabeth, are you sure about this?" England asked as he turned to the appropriate page in his own grimoire.

Liberty looked down and nodded. "One," She said, opening the journal. Two more seconds.

"Two," Britain said, and flipped through. Romano let go of Carina's wrist and Holy Rome gently squeezed it before doing the same. One more second

"Three," They said and began the chant. Carina seized up as a green and white portal opened up and split the girl's form into two. Liberty cried as she felt her magic slowly break away to deposit into Carina's aura before pain tore through her own figure. The woman screamed in pain as her aura was ripped from her being and she watched it drift in the air before spreading over her daughter's form. The child disappeared in a fit of dust as suddenly, Carina was no longer there.

Liberty slumped back into her chair and cried. Romano grabbed her wrist in support, "It's-a alright now, Carina..." The tightness in her chest began to grow and she rubbed the crook of her arm.

China and some of the other countries looked over at her in horror,"Jun... Y-Your immor-"

"I know, China," The girl whispered, all but cutting blood circulation in her arm off, "I know... How are you holding up, Artie?"

He breathed, "I've been better... But what's done is done."

Prussia looked over in agony as he stood and came to sit next to her chair, "Amalia? Why isn't your aura white anymore?

France breathed in shakily, "Belle just passed on her immortality so Carina could go back. She's just a normal mortal now. In about 60 years, she'll wither and die..." Many nations put their heads down in respect.

The albino slammed his hand down, "No, there has to be another way!"

"IF THERE WAS ANOTHER WAY, DON'T YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE DONE THAT BY NOW?!" Britain yelled over the wooden surface.

Liberty put her head on the table, "Can you guys be quiet? I'm getting a headache and my arm hurts..." She continue to massage her left arm, trying to get the ache out. Several different nations stared over in terror and Germany pulled out his phone.

"Hello? I need an ambulance..." His voice drained out as Romano pulled her into his lap.

"Carina don't do this to me... Don't tell me you don't remember the symptoms, you know what's going on," He whispered, kissing her forehead. Liberty laughed breathily as the soreness continued to move onto her shoulder.

"Roma, we all knew I couldn't stay for long, check my hotel room... I'm going to miss you guys... Bury me in Antarctica, it's neutral territory..." She whispered and Prussia took her from her brother, but Romano still clenched his hand around her's. She kissed the men's foreheads before her vision went dark, "I.. love you..." A smile curled onto her lips as she passed away, surrounded by those she loved.

A moment later, she was standing next to the two countries as they bawled and some of the others began to cry at their seats, trying to get closer or, like France, left the room completely. "So, it's time huh?"

"Sadly, Elizabeth, yes." She whirled around to Britain.

"You can see me?" He crossed his arms and she followed him around to go sit back at the table.

"Yes, why shouldn't I, Bess? We both see magical things, so why shouldn't ghosts be in there?"

Liberty nodded in understanding and looked over at her family sadly. Veneziano was bawling his eyes out, his body being supported by Holy Rome and Germany was rubbing his back awkwardly. The older of the two Germanys was slightly shorter, but his eyes were also darker, proving his differences from his successor. Spain patting Romano on the back as he looked at her body. Prussia was fighting to give her CPR and China was trying to bring her back as well. Russia and America remained in their seats, but they was looking down, frowning.

"You know, I've always thought about what happened after I went back in time and left the older me behind. I've also thought about when I'd die. In all honesty, I just want to be left in peace..." She whispered. Britain looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and she went to move a tear that dripped down the side of his face but her hand went clean through. He shivered lightly and looked down in his lap.

"I know... I can't tell them to stop though, they won't believe me."

Liberty sighed, but a memory bounced into her head, long forgotten, "I think I might know something. Where's Nova Roma?"

The blonde looked over to her in confusion, "Who?"

She grit her teeth and ran around, "Follow me!" Britain squawked and scrambled after her.

"What the bloody hell for?!" The ghost looked around desperately at the end of the table, where the mirconations were comforting each other.

Spotting the familiar hair, she darted forward. Nova Roma sat there with tears in his eyes. Britain stared at him in wide curiosity.

"Britain, you need to tell him something, alright? He'll know it's me, but you have to hurry," She gushed. Britain nodded.

"H-Hey, Rome? Liberty wants the others to stop trying to bring her back, but they won't believe me, so we need you to do it..." He trailed uncertainly.

Rome looked at him, "How would you know? She's not here anymore. If she is-"

Liberty yelled over his voice, "Because you're part of this family and family keeps blood and tears away!"

Britain halted before leaning close to Rome, "Because you're part of this family and family keeps blood and tears away," he whispered. Rome's eyes widened and he leapt up.

"How do you know those words! She could have told anyone!"

The woman growled, "Damnit Rome! Now I know why Sasa broke your nose! You are so fucking difficult!"

The blonde pursed his lips, "I didn't know Persia broke his nose."

Rome paused and looked at him, "What?"

"She said that she knows why Sasa broke your nose." The ancient swallowed and looked over at the crowd and the loud ambulance whines outside.

"Damnit, Fortuna, you know all the ways to get us all wound up," He growled before heading up. He tapped China on the shoulder. "Qin, you know."

He shook his head, "I-I can't- I promised!"

Rome frowned, "Promised who?"

"You know who. I told him that she'd be safe-"

Prussia let his own tears slid down his face, "China." The asian looked up and dropped his head again, his hands falling slack. The Italian brothers were led out slowly, even if Romano fought tooth and nail to stay with her.

"LET ME GO! S-SHE CAN'T BE..." Spain threw him over his shoulder and the one ones left were Prussia, Rome and what had been Liberty.

Rome looked at the documents on the table and smiled. "Abra Esposito. It fits."

The albino laughed tearfully, "It did. That's what we all said when we were stuck in the mansion. We were signing the treaty, the one downstairs, when I had a heart attack. Amalia dragged me to the bathroom to take care of it, but I never realized that heart attacks aren't just healed."

"She absorbed it. You gave her her heart attack," The older man said gently. "I had that spell written in my own spell book. If I had known..." Prussia hummed.

"I know. I-If only I had been strong-"

"Don't think like that. I knew what I was doing, Gilbert," Liberty said as she kneeled next to her boyfriend. She rested her head on his shoulder as carefully as she could and he choked, almost as if he could feel her. "Don't you dare say it was your fault. I was protecting you the only way I knew how."

Rome smiled and put a hand on the man's shoulder, "She loved you and probably knew what she was doing. Other than a few occasions, my grand daughter knew exactly what she was doing."

Prussia nodded and grasped her hand and chuckled, "Even in death, she's smiling."

"That's the way she is, always gotta have the last laugh," The older confirmed and Liberty couldn't help the loud bark of laughter and the following chuckles. They seemed to echo around the room and they looked around. "See what I mean?"

"Jah. Hey, Gramps..." Roma cocked his head in confusion. "There's something I want to show you..." He sat crisscross and pulled off his jacket and overshirt, Rome watching curiously until his eyes widened at what was going on.

"I-Is that...?" Prussia cried as he touched the white infinity sign just over his heart.

"It is. Frau gave me just enough to keep me alive, but now..."

"It's more than a piece of her. There's something behind it. Before you were born, before and after Fortuna even came into our lives, I learned many things from my people, some of it including spells. That's a message. Can I?"

The younger man nodded and Rome skimmed his fingers over the spot and Liberty smiled as her voice echoed around the room, "Peaches, I hope I'm doing this right. Nonno, you need to keep your old book of spells better hidden. True, I only found it when they burned down your house, but under the floor? Anyway, Prussia, I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you about what was going to happen, but I partially figured one of the others would have told you, but if you're hearing this, then I'm dead. There is not short cut, no joke, no miracle, I'm not coming back. I know I told you that I... I never said no, but here's your definite yes. Yes, ok? I never told you, but I would say yes a million forevers before slowing down. I love you and... Good bye." Her voice fizzled out. Rome picked up her body and escorted her out to the elevator.

Prussia just sat there and cried. Liberty wrapped an arm around him and after half an hour of crying, the love of her life passed out. Germany came in a while after and picked him up gently and brought him out of the room. Liberty smiled sadly as she sat crisscross and slumped, "What do I do now?"

A hand put itself on her shoulder, "You say your final goodbyes."

Liberty froze and tears popped into her eyes, "If I turn around, you're not going to disappear, are you?"

The man laughed, his voice like bells, "No, not this time. I've missed you, old friend." She got to her feet and turned around, crying, but grinning like the devil.

"Sasa, you asshole! Of anyone...!" The tall man chuckled and wrapped her into a hug.

"You can beat me up later. But you got yourself a new boyfriend," He grinned, ruffling her hair.

Liberty nodded sadly, "I'm sorry, but I... I love him, Sasa, you know that while I fell for you..."

He nodded, "I wasn't there. You fell out of love. I understand. Friends?"

She chuckled, taking his hand, "Friends. Now, I have some work to do."

* * *

I still remember my first memory. It wasn't of the woman I would come to know of my mother. It was an older teen, maybe a guy in his early twenties grinning as I toddled over to him. He had an odd missing tooth and it always sent me into a fit of giggles. He said he got it fighting his neighbor and that he had won, but I knew better. The neighbor did. The woman I would know as mother would smack him upside the head and yell at him to stop teasing his brother, but of course, I didn't know what that concept was yet. Brother.

My second memory was sitting in a preschool, coloring away happily when my teacher tried to teach us about George Washington. I remember I was so excited, Mother had taught me a bit about him! 'Gather around class, I'm going to tell you the story of when George Washington cut down his Father's cherry tree!'

I was confused, what cherry tree? What was a Father? I raised my hand and the teacher smiled and pointed at me. I asked these questions and her face paled. The class started laughing and I shrunk. Did I say something wrong?

'Carry has no dad~!" One kid sang.

Another pitched in, 'Where's your mommy?'

The teacher rushed to get them under control, but the door opened and my mom walked in, "I'm right here. Now unless you snot-nosed brats have anything to say to my daughter in front of me, I'd love to hear it." The kids saw how angry she was and I hid behind her leg, sputtering apologies. Mother picked my up and began to coo sweet nothings in my ear in Italian. I relaxed, of course I would. It was my native language. "Mrs. Wilherm, is it ok if I take my daughter out early? Permanently?" I had no idea what that word meant, but I soon did. I didn't go back.

The next time my mother saved my butt was in middle school. I still had a stutter because of my lack of interactions with people. Moving around a lot did that. But there was this... I think Italian kid, I don't remember if he was actually Italian or if he had learned the language for shits and giggles, but I heard him say some nasty things about me in the language. In turn, I stuttered at him not to in the same language and he grinned. He began to taunt me and none of the teachers stopped him because they thought we were having a normal conversation, when my mom walked up.

I don't remember what she told him, but I knew it was a big slur of Spanish, Italian, English, and German. One of the foreign german girls fainted. Regardless, I was always hiding behind Mom. That is, until I met Peter at a local park. My mom had long since pulled me out of public and private schooling, opting to teach me herself and occasionally Allen, my wanderer older brother.

I was just rocking on the swings, reading my Mother's Italian fairytale when a boy sat down next to me. He peeked over and tried to read the words when I decided to help him out, sputtering it out in Italian and translating it. "It's my favorite fairytale," I whispered.

He just smiled. Not maliciously, not unkind, but gently. I trusted him. "Peter," He said, sticking out his hand. I shakily reached for it, watching his face the entire time for any change. It never did. "I have some friends throwing a party later tonight. Want to come?" My eyes grew wide.

Mom had always told me that most parties were bad ideas, but if I were to ever to go to one, she would be over in a flash if I need to, and I agreed.

I twirled as I walked in the front door and Mother smiled up from her place at her computer, books strewn around her. "Hey, Bambina, what's got you so happy?"

"I got invited to a party!" I sang, not looking at my mother. If I had, I would have seen the pale look she had on her face before she slowly grinned.

"Have a good time, Carina. I'm coming to pick you up at one, whether you like it or not." I nodded, going to dig in my closet. I probably could have fit into my mother's, but it was all turtle necks and long sleeves shirts. A small knock on the door made me look up from the closet to see a sleeveless turtle neck and a cute pair of shorts, "Why not this? I bought it on an impulse, but I never really liked it." I grinned and stood, swallowing my shorter mother in a hug.

I later regretted the shorts. Guys oogled at my legs and other girls had on shorter. Peter found me easily and lead me to the kitchen. The loud noise that plagued the rest of the house lessened in here and he passed me a drink. Taking a sip, I smiled at the familiar taste. Mom let me have a sip of alcohol every once in a while, but only a few times a year.

Peter grinned and clinked our red solo cups before drinking down his. I began to chug mine, trying to show him I could keep up. It didn't last long.

The next morning, I groaned as the sun hit my eyes. I squirmed in my bed and pulled the pillow over my head. A chuckle echoed around the room and I looked up to see my mother standing there with a glass of water and some painkillers. I whined, but stopped when the headache pounded. "Hey, Bambina. How are you doing?" She whispered coming over to stand by the bed. I whined lightly and she chuckled. "Sounds about right. I'm going to go close the curtains. Have the two pills and the water and either fall back asleep or come down after when you're ready. We need to have a discussion."

Below, a door slammed open and a familiar voice carried, "Mama~! I'm home~!" My mother cursed before kissing me on the temple to go yell at Allen. He was a dick anyway. After that, Mom said I could have a drink every once in a while, but only if she was there. It was an easy agreement.

Then, when I was eighteen, my mom gave me two keys, ones that instantly recognized. We owned two cars. One in the Americas, a dark green pickup, and one in Europe, usually parked in a garage in Italy, a jeep. I was thrilled, but Mom made me promise to leave everything in the car. The snack bars, the sleeping bags, the emergency phone, the three guns in each (I wasn't stupid, Mom (You keep telling yourself that, Bambina)), everything. Now, I could go exploring places. Wherever we went, Germany, France, Canada, Russia, I could go explore the wilderness. I came to know the general areas of various forests of every European country. All, but one. And that's how we got into this mess, isn't it? All because Mom woke up one morning, cursed when I think she stubbed her toe and threw her clock at the wall.

"Carina, I'm going to try to get some of the last of this book typed up. Can you go explore or some shit?" I grinned and nodded, throwing on my favorite white T shirt and baggy pants. My sandals were one of the things my mom always made for me and were almost always some kind of greek sandal. Not that I minded. I still loved to hear about their gods. Grabbing one of the satellite phones, I left the hotel.

* * *

 **I'm sorry, guys. I can't. Unless my work times lessen, I highly doubt I'm going to publish anything more, even in the summer. In case I don't... It's been a pleasure working with you all. I've said it once, I'll say it a million times, you guys have been the greatest. From my first view to the first follow, to the first favorite to the first community, you all have been amazing. I'm sorry to leave it like this, but I honestly cannot handle this story. I might post every once in a while (once or twice a year) but don't hold your breath.**

 **A few things I want to say to the world regarding the US and my opinions: I want you all to know that not everyone supports Trump. I remember getting up after election morning, looking at the news and crying. I hope that whatever actions he does, it does not affect your nation too much and that he is falling out of favor. About his wall and something I wanted to post, but didn't.**

 **When my mother was a child, she saw a wall be torn down. When I was a child, I saw a wall be put up.**

 **The wall is in progress and construction companies are being chosen, but it kills me that the US was crazy enough to stick this man on the chair. France, congratulations on your elections, even if you kept throwing baking ingredients at your candidates, but bravo. England... I know you will never quite recover, especially the families affected, but I'm so sorry for what happened. It sickens me that this happened. May something like this never happen again.**

 **May we stand together in times when we need aid because face it. No matter our nationality, no matter what race, no matter what language we speak, no matter what religion we may practice, we're all in this together. Just respect each other and for the love of peaches, treat each other like they're people! There is always the potential to find a friend in anyone and just look around and I mean truly look. Yes, that girl might be glaring at everyone, but remember, she's just human like you are. Approach her and don't be mean and take her comments in stride. That boy over there who is nervously bouncing his leg? Do the same and give him room and time. We're all humans and we understand.**

 **Everything is not all it seems and this story was my support system in rough time. Here's one final challenge. Write a drabble on one thing you would have liked to see in this story or how you see Lady Luck. I want to know if you think she's a Mary Sue who can't stop getting kidnapped or if she's the true mother of the world. If she were in Nekotalia or if she were in Nyotalia (I swear if I hear Feli...) If she had a 2P or just any situation.**

 **Thank you all for being with me and I'm always here to talk. Dreamer372, signing off for now.**


	94. Chapter 83- I'm back

**Again, should not be doing this. Also, I just realized something. Remember when Poland swore he'd lift Poland into the sky and slam it down on Russia? Do know how had a similar thought? The avengers. Also... My mom got drunk and wrote in my years notebook again. I'm not happy, but they're funnier than last time. I am so done with accents.**

 **AnonChan1: It is. It's the same for me, but Romano wouldn't be what he is today without all of them. If she didn't get on well with Romano, she could always seek help from Feli, but she's loyal. You're awesome! You really want her to have a bunny, huh? I'll see what I can do. He is~ Training has commenced! It is, but it also means her dad is running around out there somewhere. She met her dad a few times, but didn't know it at the time. This is why England and Liberty are going to call each other Brother and Sister. Philip II, after Mary Tudor (his wife at the time) died, he tried to marry Elizabeth, but she turned him down and it didn't help this was when religion was huge and England was Protestant and Spain was Catholic. I don't understand Catholics. SHHHHH! Eh, I already said it, but yeah, that happened. I know, that's kinda why I put that in there, but also... France is the one of the only ones who's her size who can give her actual full hugs, so she enjoys any warm hugs when she can.**

 **I said I wouldn't stop.**

 **Guest: Thanks for your input. I was worried about it, but if I may present my argument-you can ignore this if you so choose - I've tried to stay away from the mary-sue line. I've had to make her good at battle if she wanted to stay alive, as do her family. Its a common theme that some nations respect each other because they've all they had. If you went through several tragedies, such as plague, fire, horrible rulers, nations would bond over it. Also, such as the huns, they were barbarians who wanted to win at many costs. Several others were the result of horrible rulers. She has had to take on a motherly role to many nations. I've stated this once or twice, but this was a project meant to teach hetalians about the history behind the show. The pink rabbit between Veneziano and Holy Rome was an allusion to Albrecht Dürer. The china-japan episode was a reference to the heian period, where China introduced a few things to Japan and his art and literature flourishes.** **I want to thank you, guest, for one main thing. You read through the story and reviewed on the last chapter. I can't thank you enough for doing that.**

 **Other Guest: I am aware, thank you. However, to guests and such, there is little to no option other than this. Also, there are many writers who use this form of responding. Thank you for your concern.**

 **Old High German**

Italian/Vulgar Latin(Italian)

Proto-Hungarian

 **Old East Slavic**

* * *

Amalia bowed her head as Henry was lowered into his tomb. Holy Rome reflected the sentiment and watched the last of his Ottonian dynasty be placed into the stone cavity. He looked around at some of his other nobles and Cunigunde, wife of the emperor and the current regent. " **She'll be fine, she's strong.** "

He nodded and looked back at his former ruler one last time before her was buried, " **What an embarrassing way to die.** "

" **Did you want him to die a warrior's death**?" He nodded and she put a hand on his shoulder, " **There are worse ways to go. I heard one guy gets a burning hot iron up his rear.** " The child winced and turned away, leaving the church. Amalia sighed and looked back at the tomb. " **Every time one of you dies, you cause that boy more pain**."

It took a few months of elections and preparation, but they finally chose a capable noble by the name of Conrad. Holy Rome noticed she stood behind the electorate and he wasn't the only one. Several of the court members took note as well and after years of being in her presence, took this as a sign. Conrad II won the vote and became the King of Germany in September 1024. He met the immortals at dinner later that night and bowed his head at her quietly.

" **King** ," She replied, bowing. He smiled and they knew they would get along well. The man learned from his guardian after his father had died and where he lacked in formal training, he made up for it in hard work and understanding. When he went on a tour to get vows of loyalty, he gave certain nobles of the various areas high positions to get their trust. Despite Lorraine ignoring him, he went to Saxony and the three were in for a happy surprise. " **Addy! Sophia!** "

The two nuns looked over their shoulders in surprise and grinned, " **Amalia**?" The three women shared a hug and they turned to the nation and king. " **Who is this**?" Adelaide asked, looking him over.

She smiled, bowing to Conrad, " **He is the new king. And by your grandfather, distant family**." Sophia and her older sister bowed as well.

" **Amalia, you know that no matter the distance, we are all children of our Father. In all the same, it is nice to see family, regardless of the tree. So you seek our help** ," Adelaide asked, returning to her passive, yet powerful, stance.

Conrad bowed back to them, " **Indeed. I seek your guidance. To what would you recommend**?"

Sophia looked at the king with a smile, " **As countless rulers have found out, Saxony's laws do not follow the same lines as the rest of this land. We just ask to have our laws be left to our own deciding and you shall have less opposition from our land**." The king stood again to his full height and took the Abbesses' words to heart as he celebrated christmas with Saxon nobility. They swore their allegiance after the king promised he would respect Saxon law. He spent the rest of winter there with his wife and the two immortals before continuing on the tour.

A weight landing on her stomach on morning in Bavaria made her shoot up in bed and reach for her blade before a voice stopped her. "Sorellona! I was-a told you and-a Holy Rome would-a be here!"

She chuckled and sat up, still gasping lightly from the wind being knocked from her, "O-Oh, hey Venie. You scared the shit out of me... Does Holy Rome know you're here?"

" **Yeah. The council room is ready** ," Holy Rome mumbled as he peeked in the door, but left as soon as he appeared. The siblings shared a look before Amalia put him down.

"Wait outside the door, I have to change quickly. Scream if you need something," She said and slipped out of her bed. Veneziano nodded and toddled out of the room. She slipped out of her nightgown and put on a green, cinched dress and threw on a brown cloak over it. She strapped on one of her blades to her waist before flipping the hood to her cloak up and exiting the room. Veneziano reached up quickly and she picked him up. "Ready to go? The king is going to be there."

He nodded and leaned his head on her shoulder, "I wouldn't have come if I had any other thoughts about it." Amalia chuckled and headed down the stairs. Several Bishops from the northern portion of Italy were milling about, and if anything that all of her brothers have taught her about has stuck with her, there was an Archbishop in the front, heading the group. Veneziano kicked his legs a little bit and she put him down so he could run up to the man. "Aribert! I'm here!"

"There you are, Italy. Are you ready?" The child grinned and toddled towards the man, nodding. The group walked into the council room, where Conrad was sitting and the two groups bowed to each other. " **Conrad, King of Germany. We have much to discuss**."

" **Aribert, Archibishop of Milan. Indeed we do. Where would you like to start**?" Conrad replied. At his left was Holy Rome, waiting patiently to go chat with her brother.

" **I wish to discuss the matter of inheritance of the Italian throne. The seat is currently vacant** -"

The king's eyes narrowed, " **What do you mean? Upon my predeccesor's death, the title should have been immediately passed to me, no**?"

Amalia pursed her lips, " **King, if I may step in**?"

He looked at her, but looked to another man in the room, gesturing him over to her, " **Speak to an advisor and let us see if we can prevent a war through words. Wipo, if you may**." The cleric bowed and approached her. She knew by the look on his face that he doubted her, but she held herself high and walked to a smaller corner of the room.

" **My brother does not wish to be under the control of another, that is all. His people only wish to have control of themselves. You know that Henry left them alone! Conrad has to prove that he'll respect the peninsula. If that happens, he'll get a lot less resistance** ," She explained. Wipo frowned, but nodded.

" **Your brothers are a separate entity of Holy Rome, correct? Let me see what I can do** ," He whispered. The cleric looked up one more time, " **But remember, it was your brother who offered the crown to France and some of his nobles before he came here. Conrad is one of your last chances for a ruler to assume the throne without a war. It does not help that they destroyed the imperial palace.** " (1)

Amalia growled, " **Believe me, I know. I just want my brothers safe and happy**." Wipo nodded and walked back up to the king and began to whisper to the other two. Whatever was said sent Conrad's eyes blazing and she took a half step in front of her brother.

" **You are trying to say that Italy is not part of the empire. A ship remains after a captain has died, just as the Empire remains after the death of the Emperor. I am the rightful king of Italy**." Veneziano clutched onto her dress and Holy Rome's eyes burned on the tiny figure trying to dissolve into the air. She frowned and Aribert nodded.

" **Indeed. My brothers do not share the same sentiments as I do, but I shall see you in Italy** ," The Archbishop noted. The king narrowed his eyes and nodded.

The reglious figures returned to their respective areas of Italy in retaliation, but Conrad and Holy Rome wasn't about to let Veneziano go so easily. He marched down into the Northern portion of the peninsula in early 1026 and set Pavia under siege. It wasn't until later that he found that the city was stronger than he thought and went to Milan instead. There, he met up with Aribert again with the thought of war, but he found the Iron crown of the Lombards instead. He would once again tour in attempts to make friendly and it worked (2). Pavia soon calmed down.

It was enough to finally crown Conrad Holy Roman Emperor and invite some people. Rudolph III of Burgundy came by, strengthening bonds between the two kingdoms. Cnut, king of England, Denmark, and Norway, also dragged the three nations down to Rome allowing another ally on the Northern face of the nation and it was a good reason he did.

Conrad's cousin had fled to Poland and Poland had been pushing the envelop enough. The duke of Poland had declared himself king and Conrad- not to mention Holy Rome- took that as a hit to their authorities. Other than diplomacy, which wouldn't have worked, they went to war. They marched to war with the promise of aid from a small tribe between Poland and Holy Rome, but Poland wasn't alone.

"Come on, Poland! They have to be around here somewhere!" Hungary's voice carried across the land as he and Poland marched with a large amount of troops towards Holy Rome's own.

The blonde hidden next to her hissed quietly and went back to his king, " **Conrad, we can't stay here! The Lutici aren't coming**!"

The king looked down from his horse and nodded, " **Retreat men**!" He said to his generals, who quickly passed on the message.

" **Ungrateful little...** " Holy Rome grit and Amalia put a hand on his shoulder.

" **It will work out. Conrad has many Allies and so do you. Talk to whoever has a motive to help you or bring Poland to down a notch. I heard that Kiev wants some land back from the Poles. Talk to her and her siblings or talk to Canute, you two are allies, right?** " Holy Rome nodded as they walked back to the camp. As time passed quickly, Conrad arranged a meeting between Yaroslav the Wise and the three Kievan siblings.

Ukraine was decked in appropriate sized armor for her height, almost a foot shorter than Amalia, but her chest was slowly beginning to fill out. Belarus had grown an inch or two, similar to Russia. " **You asked for us**?" The tallest sibling asked as she stood next to her king, Yaroslav.

Conrad nodded, crossing his arms as Belarus came over to stand by the auburnette, holding her arms up. " **I believe we can be very benefitial to each other. We both have a common enemy.** " A dark look passed over Ukraine's face and she looked at Yaroslav. Amalia shivered as the preteen looked at Holy Rome.

" **We're in. What is the attack plan**?" Holy Rome huffed as he stood taller, failing to get as tall as the armored Ukranian.

" **We attack from both sides. We are having an issue with the Hungarians-** "

Amalia piped in, " **He's less of an issue. They mostly desire land and they'll back off. It doesn't have to be that much and I know that you don't want to-** "

Conrad looked at her, " **If it means that we can take out the mouse, then we can take out the lion. A little land is nothing**." Holy Rome pursed his lips, but silently agreed. " **If you can help, you are welcome to take back your land**." Yaroslav nodded and the two main countries shook each other's hands.

In 1031, Conrad let the Hungarians take over the eastern edge of Carinithia in return for peace. He charged into Poland last time before he finally put down the rebellion and disposed the supposed 'king' and his brother took over as Duke. The Duke gave Conrad a secure of his overlordship in Poland and things were settled a little more.

With more time to relax, it gave her more time to stretch her letters over larger distances again. Romano told her of a new Arabic book that had new theories on various sciences and philosophies, called 'The Book of Healing'. He promised to have a copy for her next time she visited. She got word from France that Robert II's son, Hugh Magnus, had died a few years before, but another was recently crowned co-king. He revolted against his father, but the revolt was cooling down because of Robert's death. She cried in joy.

However, Amalia noticed something after a while. Holy Rome had taken after his friend and began using a messenger bird as well. It started the morning after she heard of Rudolph of Burgundy's death. " **Henry, why are you going over to Holy Rome**?" The nation looked up in surprise, but another screech had her looking up. Another Eastern Imperial Eagle landed on the back of her chair, holding a letter. " **Otto, for the love of peaches, tell me that's a wild eagle**."

He flushed lightly and looked down, " **Your's take such good care of itself and you didn't seem to notice before** -"

" **Wait, those were your eagles**?!" The woman huffed as she stood suddenly. " **That's it, I need a new bird. I can't be fucking mistaking yours for mine...** " Conrad and Holy Rome blinked in surprise as she stormed off to her shared room with Holy Rome. She would eventually fall asleep at a window, looking outside, but woke up to find a new, unfamiliar type of egg sitting at her bed. It would hatch into a peregrine falcon and its name would continue to be Henry.

After Conrad was crowned king of Burgundy was crowned king of Burgundy on February 3rd, 1033, she headed down to Romano to help calm down any fears. After all, everyone was flipping out because they though the world was ending. Again.

"Romano? Are you home?" Fortuna called as she lowered her bag to the entrance. Her sandals flopped as she strode in and wo small shuffles grabbed her attention.

"Sorellona?"

"Ragazza?"

She blinked at the two voices and smiled at the two heads that popped out of the doorway, "Hey, what's going on? Venie, I wouldn't expect to see you here!"

He shrunk, "I wanted to be closer to the Pope! I don't want to go to hell!"

Romano shook as well, as he rubbed his brother's back, "Well, Nonno didn't go to hell! That's got to stand for something!"

"Is this about the world ending? Trust me when I say it's not-" Veneziano started crying and Fortuna went to go kneel in front of her brothers. "Hey, look at me. You two are older than me. You know that the people are always wrong about the end of the world. How long have you two been sitting terrified about this?"

The brothers looked at each other and Veneziano gripped his brother's hand tightly, "Since the first..."

Fortuna raised an eyebrow, "Of March? It's almost halfway so-"

"Of the year, Ragazza. Fratellino came down terrified. Hell, both of them came down!" Romano raged as he clenched his free fist. She paused and looked at them.

"Both?"

He looked up at her, but a look of understanding came over his face, "Oh, you don't-" He laughed and looked at Veneziano and said a few words in what seemed to be latin, but she only understood one word. "Seborga!" Then, a new aura blimped and Fortuna's eyes widened as a new child entered the doorway. He looked so much like Veneziano, but had the oldest's eyes...

Fortuna stared at him and shook lightly, "What the fuck? Who- What, I don't understand-"

Veneziano giggled and let go of Romano to throw his arms around the younger boy, "This is our little brother, Seborga! He's been around since 954!" She tried to wrap her mind around the number. It was 1033, so that had been roughly 80 years ago. Eighty years that she never knew about a new little brother.

She stood suddenly and went out to the backyard. She couldn't believe it! Eighty years, what kind of big sister was she?! Why hadn't Romano or Veneziano told her?! Was she that-

"Hello? Pretty Lady?" Fortuna was snapped out of her pacing by the new child's voice. "Are you ok? Pretty women shouldn't worry themselves like this!"

A laugh came from her mouth before she could stop it and she plopped onto the ground, "Peaches! I haven't been called pretty in... I don't know how many years!"

Romano huffed, "Well, who's fucking fault is it if you don't talk to people anymore? Hurry up and introduce yourselves!"

"Roma, calm down. I'm sorry if I'm freaking out over being called pretty! Anyway, little one-"

The immortal huffed, "I'm not little! I'm going to be big someday! I'm Seborga!"

She chuckled and ruffled Seborga's hair lightly, "Sure you are. Well, I'm... One of many names, but those two know me as Fortuna and 'Sister'. I'm bigger than them, but they're older, but-" Fortuna gasped as she started laughing. Veneziano appeared behind his older brother and cocked his head.

"Sorellona?"

She guffawed, "I'm no longer the youngest! I'm not the baby of the family anymore!"

Romano cocked his head, "Well... You're still the youngest girl. No... San Marino is younger..."

"What, what?! Why the hell haven't you told me about these two?!"

He growled, "It kept slipping our minds! These two aren't exactly big nations!"

Fortuna's lips pursed, "Yeah, but if Seborga has the curl, then I'm more than willing to bet that she has one too!"

"Why does that matter?!" Veneziano asked, cocking his head. She let out a shaky breath as a few tears slipped down her face and his eyes opened. "Sorellona, you don't mean-"

"Yeah, Venie, I do. Some of your citizens have curls, but I don't and it hurts. Seborga, welcome to this family and good luck, because you're going to need it. Where are you?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

He grinned, "I'm in the North, next to Italy!" The older siblings went silent and he paused. "What?"

She swallowed, "You are all Italy. None of you are better than the others, so we use their names. Veneziano is in the north, Romano in the south. You're Seborga, and I'm whoever I'm addressing at the moment."

Seborga grinned, "You're Bella!" Romano smacked him lightly upside the head, making Veneziano chuckle weakly awkwardly.

"You can't call her that! She's your sister!"

"I just met her today! How is she my sister?" The child continued to push and making the older brothers pause.

"W-Well, she raised us! It's weird not to call her that..."

Fortuna waved it off, "Then if Seborga doesn't want to, I'm not going to force him to call me his sister. But no calling me Bella. It's embarrassing!" Seborga laughed and poked her sides.

"Bella, Bella, Bella!" Veneziano lunged at Seborga and began tickling him back. The brothers began wrestling and Romano watched passively until they got to close to him and Fortuna carefully tickled his side. He giggled, but tried to push her away, even though the look in his eyes didn't want to. After a few minutes of tickle fighting each other, they turned on their sister and made her head hurt from laughing so hard. It was nice.

* * *

Amalia gaped at the large festival as people bartered with each other, " **Otto... This is...** "

He smiled, " **It is. Conrad believed it was a good idea and it seems to be working out rather well.** " The blonde boy walked through the streets of Friemarkt, or the free market, looking over the wares. The buzz was enough to make her head spin in joy as she remembered various flea markets from her childhood and. From that time she found an old stereoscope to an old sausage maker (That her mom kept looking at with a small smile. She had yet to know why) to even several bakery stalls.

" **Otto, come over here. There's something I want you to try if you haven't already!** " She dragged him over to a stall where a gruff man was manning his food in the open, carefully guarding it from birds. Amalia gave him the necessary amount for a batch and passed Holy Rome one of the sweets. He popped it into his mouth and let a small smile light up his face. " **Honey roasted almonds, huh**?"

He nodded and tried to have a few more before Amalia cut him off for the day. It was nice to enjoy one of the first markets in Germany, and it would continue to be a tradition, years after the first in 1035.

* * *

 **I'm back, bitches.**

 **(1)After Henry II's death, Pavia (The capital of the north, basically) destroyed the imperial palace.**

 **(2) In summary of this whole mess, the way I described it to a friend was:** **THIS MOTHERFUCKER HAD TO BATTLE HIS MOTHERFUCKING COUSIN FOR THE RIGHT OF KING OF THE MOTHERFUCKING GERMANS. THAT MOTHERFUCKING COUSIN'S NAME WAS MOTHERFUCKING CONRAD TOO. LIKE WHAT THE SHIT. THE ONLY REASON HE BECAME MOTHERFUCKING KING BECAUSE HE HAD A MOTHERFUCKING KID. THEN HE WENT ON A TOUR OF ALL OF GERMANY TO GET THE MOTHERFUCKING GERMANS TO LIKE HIM. IT MOTHERFUCKING WORKED. THEN ITALY WAS LIKE, YOU HAVE TO GIVE US OUR MOTHERFUCKING RIGHTS AND WE'LL NAME YOU MOTHERFUCKING KING. HE WAS LIKE 'FUCK NO, I'M KING ANYWAY' AND LAUNCHED A WAR ON ONE FUCKING AREA AND THE REST OF ITALY MOTHERFUCKING SHRUGGED AND NAMED HIM MOTHERFUCKING KING. AFTER THAT ONE MOTHERFUCKING AREA MOTHERFUCKING SURRENDERED, HE WENT ON A MOTHERFUCKING TOUR OF ITALY. THEN POLAND WAS LIKE 'FUCK YOU, I'M MOTHERFUCKING RULER OF POLAND.' CONRAD WAS LIKE 'FUCK THAT, I'M YOUR MOTHERFUCKING OVERLORD, BOW DOWN TO ME.' POLAND WAS LIEK FUCK NO AND GOT THE MOTHERFUCKING HUNGARIANS INVOLVED SO THEY'RE KICKING THE SHIT OUT OF THIS TINY MOTHERFUCKING TRIBE BETWEEN MOTHERFUCKING HRE AND POLAND AND NOW CONRAD IS BEING A MOTHERFUCKING PISSED MOTHERFUCKER AND GOES AND GETS THE KING OF MOTHERFUCKING ENGLAND, DENMARK AND MOTHERFUCKING NORWAY, GOES 'HEY RUSSIA, WANNA MOTHERFUCKING HELP? THEY SAY FUCK YEAH AND THEY FUCKING KICK THE MOTHERFUCK OUT OF POLAND FROM BOTH SIDES LIKE IN WORLD-WAR-MOTHERFUCKING-TWO AND THE MOTHERFUCKING WANNABE OF MOTHERFUCKING POLAND MOTHERFUCKING SURRENDERS AND ITS THE FUNNIEST SHIT BECAUSE CONRAD THE FUCKING SECOND BECAME KING BECAUSE HE HAD A SON, WENT ON A TOUR TO GET PEOPLE TO LIKE HIM, PISSED OFF PAVIA, PUT PAVIA UNDER SIEGE WHILE TOURING THE REST OF NORTHERN FUCKING ITALY TO GET PEOPLE TO LIKE HIM, GOES TO WAR WITH POLAND AND TELLS THE MOTHERFUCKING HUNGARIANS TO BACK OFF BY TELLING THEM, 'HERE'S SOME MOTHERFUCKING LAND, HAVE SOME MOTHERFUCKING FUN.' WHO THE FUCK IS THIS MAN.**

 **I'm not sorry.**

 **Also, I don't know if they had Honey roasted almonds at his point, but I would be surprised if they didn't.**

* * *

 **My mom's drunk ramblings:**

951-Let's go duke

967-Poop

971-1st season of survivor

973- :3

977- Rest of world discovers austrians are batshit crazy

1020- Ronald Earl of McDonald invents the McDouble

1037-Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa La'La La La..

1040- "Out, Out damn spot" (not even alcohol my mom's ability to quote shakespeare.)

1042- Some guy named william caught a big fish

1047- Have a holly Jolly christmas

1051- (An image of an emoji sticking its tongue out with lots of spit)

1053- Roll tide

1056- The first Shamrock shake is made by Bic Mack II.

1063- Some Aliens came to earth but nothing good was going on and they left

1067- William the conqueror loses at checkers

1078-Constantine gets a "d" in European history; Loses scholarship to his own college

1081- Jeff IV wins "Survivor"

1092- Todd IV gets syphilis, goes crazy, crashes uncles wagon.

 **Mom, stay away from my years notebook**


	95. Chapter 84

Quick thanks to Guest for telling me about the review thing, but onto the story! Sorry, but I'm rushing through this.

Italian/Vulgar latin (Italian)

 **Late Latin**

Old English

 **Old high german**

* * *

Elizabeth swallowed as she held England's hand as Cnut's bones were set into his burial chest and the lid was lowered. "How was he? Overall?"

He hummed, "He was ok. Taxes weren't the best, but... It could have been a lot worse. I know it could have been. He had arranged for certain sons take particular lands, but I don't know who'll be my- the new king." A pair of footsteps came up on his other side and the half-siblings looked up to see one of the two sons of Cnut's first wife, Harold. He was looking at them with a passive look and England raised a massive eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Harthacnut is dealing with Norway, so I have been asked to rule as regent until he can return," He said, but the immortals knew he wanted to add an 'or' in there. Elizabeth nodded.

"Do not worry. The crown will end up where it deserves," She said. Harold's eyes ended up on her figure, but she trailed England away. He could deal with the wars later, but he needed rest and practice now. The Norman Invasions were coming. Cnut the Great died in late 1035.

Harold did not rule as regent without his struggles. Against England's pleas, Æthelred's son, Alfred, was caught and blinded with scorching hot iron pokers. He had been caught by Godwin, an Earl of Wessex, and delivered to Harold. His injuries did not let him live long, even if it was in complete agony. Edward never fully got over it. He attacked Southhampton, but quickly retreated back to Normandy, where he had been hiding in exile for most of his life.

In 1037, Harold was finally crowned king of England and, oh, was Arthur mad. It had been because he ruled the northern portion of England and his mother and Godwin ruled the south, eventually giving in to Harold's extreme numbers. His reign was a short one, including forcing Emma to flee back to her son in Normandy, pitting the English nobles against Edward Ætheling.

Then, she got word from Holy Rome and her brother. Conrad had died just before a siege had taken place on Milan. Henry III was king and not at a better time. England sent her off to the mainland to greet him in 1039 and she very happily did so. Henry's transition was known to be relatively peaceful compared to some other kings and she couldn't wait to see it, if she could find them first.

" **I know that he went on a tour, but this is fucking ridiculous...** " Amalia muttered as she walked down the weathered road to Saxony. She had heard that he had gone to the low countries, but he had already gone through the upper and lower Lorraines, so he had to go through Saxony. Hopefully, she could catch him. Plopping underneath a tree to rest, she took out a slice of bread to munch on for the time being.

"SORELLONA!" Amalia's eyes flew open as she was awoken by a small body jumping onto her lap.

She chuckled as she ruffled his hair, "Hey, Venie. I didn't know you would be traveling this far out."

" **She's with me** ," Another voice grumbled out. Holy Rome came to stand at her feet with a large blush over his face. " **Why are you so far out here**?"

" **Waiting for your lazy ass** ," Amalia retorted as she stood, still carrying Veneziano in her arms. Holy Rome growled and kicked her leg. " **Also, to come give Henry a warm welcome. He remembers me, right**?"

" **Lady Luck, how may anyone forget your antics**?" A deep voice said as she whirled around. Amalia grinned at the king of the Germans atop his horse. " **It has been a while**."

The woman laughed, " **Indeed. If your father ever said his first years were rough, England's is practically a mountain side. But I came to wish you luck and persistance. Remember, Aribert didn't like just anyone.** " Veneziano nodded and gripped onto his sister's cloak. " **Now, let's get moving. Saxony isn't going to pick itself up and come over here**." Holy Rome chuckled, but the Italian siblings ignored him.

After a letter from her oldest brother, Fortuna shot south, just in time to see him after sundown on March 17, 1041. He wasn't in the house when she arrived and it sent her into a raging panic until the door opened. She grabbed her axe and gripped it tightly as the intruder was laughing and swung it at his head. An almost girly yelp left their mouth as the ducked and a second voice growled, "Who the hell is there?! I'm a warrior, I'm not afraid to hurt you!"

Fortuna gasped and dropped the axe as she lunged for the child, "Oh my peaches, Roma!" He was holding a small sword and France was in a similar stance behind him. "I didn't know it was you! Y-You weren't home and-and... **Why are you covered in blood**?" Her eyes took in his drenched form as the dried fluid stuck to his skin and clothes.

His chest puffed out proudly, " **I fought the Byzantines**!"

" **Don't forget my help, little Rome. It was because of my amazing skill that-** "

" **France, can you leave my brother and I alone for a minute? I want to talk with you in a little bit as well** ," Fortuna growled, shaking lightly. Romano gulped and the blonde man bowed and walked towards the baths. " **Thank you. Romano Italia**?"

He looked up nervously, but yelped as his sister wrapped him in a hug, "R-Ragazza!"

"You dumbass! What the fuck were you thinking?! I know it's March 17th, but... You could have died! Do you know how scary it is when I come home covered in blood?! Imagine a child of your size-"

Romano growled, pulling out of her grip, "Oh, so I'm a kid, huh? I just went out and fought against the Byzantines-"

Fortuna's eyes filled with even more tears, "Jesus, Romano, I don't even fuck with the Byzantines-"

"Maybe you're too scared to! Is that it? You're willing to fight everyone but me, Fratellino, and her! You're being weak!" Romano yelled. She growled and rose to her feet shakily and walked outside. "Yeah, run away! Like you always do! Scaredy cat!" He stared after her with guilt and walked towards the baths. France was already in the water, washing the blood out of his skin. " **Hey, Normancy**."

He looked up sadly, " **I heard what happened. That must have hurt**."

Romano shrugged and peeled his shirt of to leave his cloth breeches, " **Eh, nothing that wasn't true. Ragazza always runs from her issues, she never sticks with them**."

" **Romano, you really hurt your sister-** "

He growled, " **Yeah? And she hurt us when she stayed away twenty years because 'she didn't want us to see her weak'. Well, she is. It took her fifty years to learn how to swordfight and she doesn't even know how to use that axe of her's! But acting like I'm weak... She's got another thing coming.** "

France paused, " **There's something that you need to- No. It's not my place. But tonight... I'm going to go stay with William, but I'm going to ask Annabelle to stay here tonight, if she didn't run off. See why she didn't want you to fight. You're little Romano, older than her, yes, but you're one of the closest things she has left to one of the happiest times of her life. She's going to latch on as hard as she can, and one day, you'll do the same**." He dunked the rag he was using to wash his skin under the water. The blonde brought it back up to try and scrub the grit out of his hair.

" **Why do you care so much about her? You don't love my sister, do you**?" Romano growled, getting on the defensive.

France chuckled, " **Annabelle? By god, no. She'd kill me after what happened to Sasanian, but she's moved on at this point. But Annabelle reminds me of when I was growing up into who I am today. She's protected me since I was a head taller than you, but I still have gotten hurt. Do you know that she never sits down-** "

" **Next to someone she trusts? Yeah. She brought it up one day after someone came to visit. But why does Ragazza need to be here tonight? What's going to happen**?"

" **Guilt**." That was all he said before her clamored out and got back into his clothes. Romano watched his form leave and grabbed a clean rag before attempting to grind the blood out of his skin and hair.

True to his word, France was gone when he left and his sister was curled under the covers in a fetal position. The child knew she was still awake, albeit faking. Romano climbed under the covers on the other side and closed his eyes to sleep, but he couldn't. At first, it started as a blankness that prevented his slumber, but soon, he though he saw an agonized face behind his closed lids. Another popped up before Romano forced his eyes open. It was too late, he still saw-

"Never forget their faces. You owe them that much, Romano Italia," His sister whispered. He looked at her, expecting her to be looking at him, but she was still facing away.

He opened his mouth, the silence driving him insane, but he closed it again. She had called him weak, she didn't deserve his forgiveness! The boy turned back around and fought past the faces and settled into a horror show. He heard everything from a few hours before. Blood, his men, Byzantine's men, the screams...

Romano sat up as he woke up and looked around. He was still in his bed and his sister was asleep. The boy shook his head, letting a few tears slip from his eyes. He still heard their screams, their cries... Romano lunged himself at the only comfort he knew. "R-Ragazza, w-wake up!"

Fortuna sleepily turned over, "Are the nightmares here?" The knowing tone in her voice made him nod and hug her arm.

"T-They won't leave me alone! M-Make them stop!" He bawled, shaking.

She wrapped her arms around hi, hushing him and stroking his head, "Shh, Roma. They'll go away, but not for years. I'll bee here for you for now, but just let it out." He nodded and clutched her gown as he continued to see their agonized faces.

"I-It wasn't like this a f-few hours ago!"

"Because you suppressed it. But you're still in the body of a youngster, you don't know how to deal with it yet. This is one reason I didn't want you to fight. Did you get hurt?" Romano sniffed as he continued to cry, but nodded. Fortuna sighed and sat up, "We have to get that treated before it gets infected. Please don't ever push me away like this, Romano. I know I'm weak, but it's smarter to know what fights to pick. Always side with who you think is going to win. Now, where did you get hurt?" Romano turned around and lifted his shirt. A thin line went across his back and Fortuna growled.

"May the man who did this already be dead for his sake. I'll get it taken care of. Hold on," She whispered and went to get her bag. A small vial of alcohol and a needle and thread were in her hands when she came back and Romano winced. "I don't think it needs sewing up, but we should at least disinfect it. This is going to burn." Romano cried out and tried to pull away from the harsh sting, but his sister put a firm hand on his shoulder. "You've seen infection, Roma. It's almost over." He quieted, but still breathed a sigh when it was over.

"Ragazza, that really fucking hurt. Was that necessary?"

Fortuna smiled, "Roma, absolutely. Put your shirt back down and come over here so you can get some sleep." He did so and his sister gently wrapped her arms around him. "Good night, Romano."

"Shut the fuck up, Fortuna, good night..." He whispered, drifting off into a semi-decent sleep. She would stay with him and France for the other battles of Montemaggiore and Montepeloso, all resulting in Lombard-Norman victories, despite the huge difference in numbers.

* * *

Elizabeth later travelled back to England to help the Brit with the brothers' situations, but she came home to a strange scene. Harthacnut was going over documents with Emma and his half brother, Edward. Elizabeth had to blink at the scene, look back if she stepped through some portal where things got messed up, but when she looked back, England was glaring at her with his arms crossed.

"What?"

She shook her head, "It's a complete change from their brothers, I thought I had fell down a rabbit hole..." He raised an eyebrow, but she smiled and shook her head, "You'll get it after you deal with the Dodo. Anyway, what's going on?" England looked behind him and frowned. He quickly took her hand, leading her outside.

"Harthacnut doesn't have any kids and he's really taken to Edward. He's allowed him back from exile as the next king. Hell, he's even been declared king alongside Harthacnut. They're talking about reducing the navy size because of taxes, but so far there's no issues. Harold died last year, seemingly attacked my elves, or that's what everyone's saying..."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, "What do you have to say?"

Arthur crossed his arms, "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Ollie? What about you? Do you know what happened?" She asked, tapping her foot, but trying to hide a smile. Her brother did not joke about his magical friends killing one of his kings so easily. The boy paused and she huffed, "Make sure no one catches you, ok? And please don't put any of that in my drink." Ollie giggled and nodded, but Arthur fought for control as he twitched, but stopped. "Al?"

"I'm fine. But Harthacnut thinks he's not going to last much longer. How true is that?" Her look was enough and he sighed, "This succession is going to be a pain."

"It is, but I'll be here to see what I can do to help," Elizabeth said, holding out her hand. He huffed, but took it anyway to go inside.

* * *

England was staring at his king and shaking his head, "You've got to be joking." Harthacnut was drinking himself past the point of safe drinking and it vaguely reminded the woman of Attila's wedding. The wedding was for a friend of the king's and they were drinking as well. Harthacnut shakily rose to his feet and held up a cup.

"T-To the g-groo..." With a gasp, he fell and several wedding goers screamed and gasped. He continued to shake and convulse until his form stilled to death's hand. Edward looked worried, but it was unknown to anyone if he had slipped something into Harthacnut's drink.

" **Well, peaches** ," Elizabeth muttered. She leaned her head back and thought about the next twenty-something years.

May the Norman invasion's stage be set.

* * *

 **Yeah, I know it's short, but I have a lot more work coming up next week. See ya!**


	96. Chapter 85

...All reviews will be responded to in the review section. Also, yay, Tropical storm Cindy!

 **Old English**

Old French

Latin

 _ **Runic Swedish**_

 **Italian/Vulgar latin(Italian)**

 _Old High German_

* * *

Elizabeth smiled as Edward was finally placed on the throne. England was practically beaming if not for the small frown on his face. " **It's sad how long this took**."

" **You know he had to get the approval of some of the nobles. Regardless, he's king now. Stop complaining** ," England defended, sending her a nasty look. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but nodded.

" **Alright. Now that this is over, I plan on going back to the mainland soon. See you soon**?" He looked at the king and nodded.

" **We'll be fine over here for now. Don't let that Frank get too out of line** ," He muttered before wandering off. Elizabeth smiled and went off to get her stuff before heading to the mainland. Edward the Confessor was now king on April 3, 1043.

She was prepared travel through France, but the nation was already waiting for her when she landed. "Annabelle, Holy Rome wanted me to come get you! Angleterre said that you had left and were heading back, so I came to get you!" He took her hand and led her away to a cart and she cocked her head.

"France, what's going on?"

He turned around and grinned, "Agnes is getting married! Hurry!" Annabelle chuckled under her breath, but began to try and keep pace with France even more. "They're at Holy Rome's place right now, so we have to ride for a while. We should be there in about three days."

Annabelle jumped onto the grey mare that France led her to, "Wait, so who's she getting married to?"

"Henry III! I thought you knew! Come on, you're going to make us late!" France urged as his whining grew more urgent.

"What's up? You're normally not this antsy..." She said as she kicked her horse off. "Are we going to stop to get food, or no...?"

He set off after her, "Like you haven't eaten fish before, Annabelle." The two bickered lightly for a while, but ended up catching up. When they arrived at Ingelheim am Rhein and they were arrived quite well. Veneziano was happy to see her and Holy Rome gruffly nodded to her. Several portions of the empire were there. Bavaria was standing next to Saxony and they were looking at Austria with pity. It was understandable. After Stephen of Hungary had died, the next ruler got forced out by a tyrant and it was when that occured, Holy Rome had to step in to take back the territory.

Henry and Agnes had a slight 'hiccup' in their marriage as several church members pointed out that they were both descended from Henry the Fowler, but it still went on as planned. Another important guest was in attendance who France all but dragged over.

"Annabelle! I want you to meet-" The redhaired man held up a hand and frowned.

"France, I do not appreciate being dragged around and forcefully introduced to women, even if my wife is pregnant. Ma'am, I must apologize-"

France laughed, "Ma'am?!" Annabelle chuckled as well and looked at the startled man.

"Sir, I have only but a slight idea of who you are, but if you are, it's been about... 30 years since I last saw you. Your father didn't take to well to me," She said and his face fell.

"Heretic," He muttered and France looked at her nervously.

Annabelle smiled. She knew he couldn't attack her here. Henry III knew of her view on religion and promised her a safe house under his reign, and she was in his home. "Good king Henry I of France. I offer no harm from the devil or any other god, yet no salvation from your god. I am only an immortal who has seen many years." She bowed to him and waited.

Henry I chuckled, "My father was right, you do talk too much. So you do well by the bible's commandments, yet you don't know them?"

She rose and laughed, "My brothers would kill me. I know all ten by heart." A small tugging on her dress drew her attention and she picked up Veneziano. "Hey Venie. I was actually just talking about you. How many times did you used to have me recite the 10 commandments until I knew them better than a choirman?"

He cocked his head and thought for a moment, "At least 100 everyday for three weeks. You never do obey all of them though."

Henry looked at Veneziano, "Oh? And which ones does she break?"

"Hmmm. She has no gods before our own, and does not have any idols. She does not use our lord's name in vain, and she doesn't take me of Fratello away from our Sunday prayers. She's not really jealous, other than mortality. She doesn't lie and she doesn't steal. She doesn't have... Sorellona, can you do the others?" He asked nervously and Annabelle smiled.

"Of course, Venie," She whispered, putting a small kiss to his temple. He giggled and she continued, "I do not have a husband or betrothed, so I cannot commit adultery. I do not have parents either to dishonor, so that leaves the last one. One shalt not kill. I have broken that commandment so many times that I can't remember a specific number, but I remember their faces as a final justice to them. I have only killed an innocent once and he was a danger to both me and my brother." Henry nodded and bowed lightly.

"Well, it has been a pleasure, Lady Luck. Until we meet again," He said and wandered off. France smiled tensely and sighed when his ruler was out of earshot.

Annabelle looked at him, "France, his wife and child aren't going to come out of that birth alive. I've said it once, I'll say it again, he needs to trust." He nodded and walked off with a wave. " **Luciano, I'm sorry about that**."

Veneziano hummed as Luciano took control of the voice, " **It's ok, Fortuna. Felice enjoyed it at least.** " She chuckled and walked off to a separate corner.

" **I hope so. Do you want to be let down**?"

Feliciano was still in charge of the main body and shook his head, letting his counterpart answer, " **We like being able to see from this height, even if it's not very far up**."

Annabelle frowned at him, sarcastically remarking, " **Thanks, Venie**."

* * *

Henry pursed his lips as the news reached him. Amalia was silent as she frowned and Holy Rome wiped away a tear. The messenger noted the atmosphere and quickly left. " _So, Adelaide is dead_ ," Henry said with a flat tone. He had met her on a few occasions, but he remember hearing how she had helped his father garner favor with the Saxons, and they didn't like anyone.

" _Addy... You gave me a shelter when no one else would_ ," The woman muttered, but all negativity was cut off when Agnes walked into the room. " _Good morning, Agnes_."

The queen echoed the greeting as she took her spot next to her husband and took his hand. " _What happened_?"

Holy Rome looked up, " _An old friend died. She was a distant relative of Henry_." Agnes nodded and bowed her head and muttered a quick prayer.

Veneziano managed to cheer the family up in the year after by saying a new pope had taken the place of the old one. When he told her who, Amalia's eyes blazed. " **Veneziano, I need to send a letter to Romano and Seborga. Stay as far away from the old Pope as you can. If you had told me sooner, I would have said the same**." She rushed to write it and passed them to her peregrine falcon.

" **Sorellona, why**?" She looked and knelt in front of him, grabbing his shoulders. " **Sorellona**?"

" **Veneziano, open your eyes for me, ok**?" The woman waited until he did so and saw innocence. She knew she wouldn't be able to tell him about some of the dirtier things he did. She growled, " **I want you both to listen very closely. I don't feel comfortable about telling you exactly what Benedict IX has done, but he is not a good man. Remember, Popes are the messengers of your god, but they are mortal with the evil thoughts and this man is one of the worst. Luciano, I don't care what you have to do to stay away from this man, but I want you to keep the two of you safe. I'm begging you**."

Luciano took over and grabbed her wrists, " **Fortuna** -"

" **Promise me! He got forced out for a reason, but don't question me, just this once, please, Luciano** ," Fortuna begged, pleading with him. If Benedict ever touched her brothers...

He blinked, " **Ok, fine! I promise! I'll keep the idiot safe**!" She wrapped him up in a hug, not caring if it was Luciano, who normally didn't like close contact.

" **Thank you, thank you, thank you...** " She trailed, rubbing his back, tears welling in her eyes. She would ignore the arms that wrapped around her back awkwardly and patted her back. Romano and Seborga would write back in their chicken scratch that they understood and would stay away from Benedict at all costs.

However, the new Pope, Sylvester, was soon excommunicated by Benedict and was forced out of Rome to his old church. Benedict returned as Pope, but soon wanted to marry, so he sold the papacy to his godfather, who in turn took on the name Gregory. However, Benedict regretted giving up the papacy and quickly returned, taking Rome by storm. All of a sudden, Amalia and Veneziano were glad they weren't in Rome. All three popes decided to reassert their claim and it gave Henry a headache. So what was he to do?

He marched down there. She would later describe it in one of her books as he "marched his ass down there and looked around. Basically saying, 'What the hell is going on here? I'm done with all of you,' he kicked all of the three popes off their high horses and installed his own choice. That was Pope Clement II, who just as quickly declared Henry Holy Roman Emperor." Henry had also just finished putting down a rebellion and Aribert, an old friend, had just died, so he was likely a little angry as December 1046.

To top it all off, despite all of Henry's wishes, the queen gave birth to a girl in middle-late 1045. The couple named the girl Adelaide for not only the meaning of nobility, but also for the woman who had made Henry's father's reign with the Saxons rather smooth.

Then Henry sent the woman and Veneziano down to Rome to see if they could persuade Benedict IX off the papacy one last time. They stayed with Romano for a while and during that time, Fortuna made her brothers promise to stay away from as many popes as they could until they were bigger. They questioned her, but she refused to say, only making them promise. They did and all was good. Until-

" **Oi! Lass**!" Fortuna screamed as two hands pinned down her arms from behind.

She growled when she heard the voice, "Holy- Scotland! Let me go so I can properly punch you!" Two war cries were heard from either side as Veneziano and Romano charged in to help.

"Bloody hell! What's with these two little demons?" The redhead growled as he tried to avoid them. "Alma, c'mon! If you don't do something, I will!"

"Like hell you will!" Romano snarled and clutched his sword tightly, but his shaking showed his true colors.

Fortuna chuckled and walked up to Scotland and pulled him into a hug, "It's been a while, Scotland. But question. Why the fuck are you in Rome?" Her brothers relaxed in the corner of her eyes as the redhead huffed.

"My ruler wanted to make a pilgrimage. His name is Macbe-"

"You finish that name under this roof and you'll have to find a new set of hands, asshole. Call him anything else, but I am not having his name curse this place. You'll understand later-"

Romano rolled his eyes, "Ragazza, at least explain this one. You've been saying 'I'll explain later,' but explain why we can't say a name."

Fortuna huffed, "Fine, his king's name is used in a play and it's said to bring bad luck and unfortunate accidents upon the theatre that used it. The rituals to fix it are ridiculous and I'm not having them performed. Ok? Mackers is not doing that here."

Scotland snorted, "Mackers? Alma, you've lost your mind."

"See what we have to put up with?" Romano said, looking at his sister.

The red head chuckled, "It must be so bad. I am so sorry." They shared a look and nodded to each other. The woman did not look amused, but shrugged it all off and took Veneziano into the kitchen to cook dinner.

* * *

On a separate note, when she went back North, Sweden was requesting her help fight a group. He had heard about these people and if the tense jaw was anything, he had a hard time with the land. She agreed and they set out quickly and met up with the rest of army. With further prompting, Sweden said they were going to fight the 'Woman's Land' because it was said to be full of Amazons. Ragin was confused as to why there would be Amazons in this time and age, and so far north.

Regardless, they landed and the army marched off, ready for battle and prepared for any surprise attack. Sweden looked around and motioned forward with his hand to Ragin. She nodded and followed him away into the brush when a new aura appeared right in front of her- as well as a blade.

" _ **Who are you and why are you here**_?" Sweden drew his blade, but another was placed at his own neck by an unknown arm.

Ragin stared at the teen in front of her. His purple eyes were terrifying and his pale hair fit in with the Scandinavian stereotype, but she knew he wasn't a normal person. This was a nation prepared to defend his home and they are worse than a cornered animal.

She breathed in slowly, " ** _I am Ragin. I will not state my purpose._** " The nation's eyes narrowed and he forced the blade closer, drawing a little bit of blood just under her chin. She tried not to fall into flashbacks as she took one last ditch attempt to stay alive. " _ **Scandinavia**_."

His form sagged and he lowered the blade, " ** _You knew Dad_**?"

" ** _Yeah, I met him only once or twice, but I knew his brother more. Who are you_**?" Rain wiped away the blood from her neck and let it splatter onto the ground.

His eyes were much kinder when they looked up and he grinned, " _ **I'm Finland**_!"

Sweden hummed and Finland's eyes darted over to him, walking up to him, " ** _If you are here to fight, you will lose. Leave while you still can_**." He turned away and walked off into the brush. Sweden was released and he looked where the teen had walked off to.

" _ **I'm going to follow him**_."

Ragin pursed her lips, " ** _I'm going back to the coast. I'm not going to fight a nation like that right now. Leave him be, Sweden_**." He mumbled under his breath and she sighed, heading back for the coast and lighting a small fire for later use. Sweden wouldn't listen to her and his army was quickly killed off as Finland had poisoned the local springs. Ragin was just lucky she had alcohol saved up and she shared it with Sweden sparingly. He sailed her back to Germany, defeated.

Amalia sighed as she flopped onto her bed. "I fucking hate this decade. I cannot stand the 1040s. Then again, the next few hundred aren't looking all that good either..." Henry was now running all over the place, trying to make peace, fighting with this official and that official. He had finally had a male heir, naming him Henry IV.

The room was silent as Holy Rome was sleeping in a different room and her brothers were both in Italy and she sighed. "Good night."

* * *

 **Yeah, I know. I need years and this was a jolly fucking mess. I tried.**


	97. Chapter 86

**Sorry, I've been swamped lately! Also, I think I might just stop responding to reviews unless something big is asked or if it really grabs my attention, but I will always read them!**

 **Eastern Slavic**

Greek

 **Latin**

Italian

* * *

Annabelle smiled at the couple as they were declared man and wife. Henry had very awkwardly, according to France, asked if she could be invited to the wedding. The nation wrote that the king hoped that more luck would allow him to have a surviving wife this time. She chuckled as she read it and sent back the note with a confirmation. Henry I of France was marrying Anne of Kiev, May 16th, 1051.

France stood in the front row and didn't need to be facing his old friend for her to know that he was beaming. The Kievan Rus siblings stood next to him, shifting from foot to foot in the Roman Catholic church. Seeing as they were Eastern Orthodox, she didn't blame them, then again, she never got Catholics. Annabelle shook her head and felt a small hand grab her's. She looked down to see Belarus looking at her nervously, reaching up.

The woman smiled, and complied, picking her up. " **It's a really pretty language** ," Belarus whispered.

" **It is. I'll teach it to you sometime. But let's be quiet for now, ok**?" The girl nodded and watched as the procession was wrapped up and immediately after, the wife was crown queen. France approached Anne as the ceremony ended and Ukraine and Russia looked around. Belarus opened her mouth to shout to get their attention, but Annabelle shushed her. " **Let's let them find us. It's mean, but I want to see what they'll do.** " Belarus hummed and curled more into her arms.

They watched as Ukraine and Russia shared a look and went to opposite sides of the pews. They walked down, checking each space between and when they got to the wall that Annabelle and Belarus were at, they met up next to the auburnette. " **Neylan, have you found Bela-** "

" **Sister! We were worried sick**!" Russia gushed as he reached up. Belarus blushed and Annabelle chuckled, looking to the oldest sibling.

" **You did the right thing, nice job** ," She said, putting the child down.

Ukraine hummed and wrapped her little sister into a hug, " **That was mean, Ney. Belarus, don't walk off like that again**!" The girl leaned into her sister's grip and another presence walked up to them.

" **Annabelle, you're not terrorizing young countries again, are you**?" France asked as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Russia ducked behind his sisters and Ukraine smiled, " **She's so mean, Mr. Fran** -"

 **"Please, just France, Belle** ," He said, bowing. Belarus cocked her head in confusion and Annabelle huffed.

" **France, they don't understand French. I'm going to teach them French, but-** "

The man pouted, " **But Annabelle**!" Ukraine looked at her siblings and they began to walk out the door.

She raised an eyebrow, " **Come on, we're boring them. Besides, we have to make sure they don't get lost. It doesn't help that the only other language that the younger two know is latin. Ukraine knows a bit of Turkish**." France nodded in understanding and the followed the younger nations out.

* * *

In 1052, France noticed that Southern Italy was stressing out his Normans and he took Annabelle with him. She looked around and frowned as she realized what was going on. The Normans were hated, unsurprisingly. They were the brutes that terrorized the people so the dukes of the south could gain power. Annabelle stayed in Rome as France continued south to meet up with his forces, but she found a surprise in Rome.

As Fortuna walked up to the Lateran Palace and was surprised to find her brother pacing in the courtyard. "Romano! What's going on?"

He jumped and frowned at her, "Ragazza, don't do that! What are you doing here?"

She blinked and kneeled next to him, "I came to see what was going on with France. He said the Normans were having issues-"

"The Normans? Ha! They're the ones causing all the problems!" Romano raged as he crossed his arms.

"Romano, what's going on?" He frowned and sighed, going back to pacing. "Romano-"

"Yeah, yeah. They're rampaging and pissing me off! I'm going to talk to Leo IX about going north. As much as I hate those jerks in the North, they can help, so can she..." The boy said, looking at her with an uncertain frown.

Fortuna pursed her lips and looked at him, "Do you trust her?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know! I'm not the warrior, but I know I can't take them on by myself! You saw what happened last time I fought! I need help!"

"That you do, Little Rome," A kind voice said and made Romano jump and hide behind his sister. They looked to see Pope Leo IX standing on the front steps wearing his holy garb. Fortuna stood and bowed to him. "Rise, Fortuna. How may I be of service, Little Rome?"

He came out from behind his sister and bowed quickly, "Holy Father, I come to ask if you can seek help from the North. You know of the dangers of the Normans and my people seek your help."

The Pope took his bearded chin in hand and smiled, "I will see what I can do, Little Rome. Have you asked The Roman Empire?" Fortuna clenched her fists as Romano sent her a warning look.

"Not yet, but Sorellona and I can talk to her. She might be at one of her old strongholds," He supplied and Leo nodded.

"Alright. I shall leave soon and if either of you would like to come with me to the North, you would be more than welcome to join me," The Pope said, clasping his hands behind his back.

Romano shook his head, "I'm going to stay here, but Sorellona might. Ragazza?" She nodded wordlessly as her blood still boiled, not trusting her words. This Pope was pushing a few buttons, but she knew he was a good man. "We will go talk to her. Thank you, Your Holiness." The Pope turned around and walked back into the palace and Romano toddled off in the other direction. "Ragazza, have you ever met Byzantine before?"

She swallowed, "Somehow, no. I have only heard of her and seen the impacts she leaves behind. It would not surprise me if she has heard of me."

"No shit. You've been everywhere but with her and the Iberian peninsula siblings. Just try not to kill her," Romano huffed jokingly.

"Whatever, Roma. Do not make me hunt you down," Fortuna shot back, raising an eyebrow at him. He grinned and stuck his tongue out before running off. She gasped and chased after him. "Roma!" Luckily they didn't live too far and Romano barely managed to crawl under the bed before she could get him. "You lucky little shit."

She laughed when she heard a muffled, "You know it, Bitch!" from under the bed and sat down next to the bed to wait him out. Fortuna didn't know how long she sat there, but Romano eventually poked his head out. "Fortuna? Is it coming up?"

"What? Is what coming up?" The woman asked as she helped pull him out. He settled into her lap and played with her fingers.

"Your birthday. The big one. Your birthday is September 21 and you were 20 when you first came here, right?"

Fortuna smiled, "Yeah, I can't believe you remembered. It makes me feel bad that I don't know your's, or Venie's for that matter."

He rolled his eyes, "I don't know either, but when I get one, I want a present."

She chuckled, "I'll think of something. How about an elephant? I'm sure I can ask Turkey for one."

"It'll crush me! Are you trying to kill me? How about a mou-"

"No. Under no circumstances are you to ever play with any rodent, do you hear me? I am not having you go through that again," His sister snarled, much to his confusion. "Your people are going to suffer, but that's not for another 300 years. It's not quite their fault, but they helped spread it. Cats aren't going to help either... How about I get you a plant? I know the perfect one, but I can't get it for a while. Consider it a postpone," Fortuna rambled, twitching her fingers every once in a while. It would cause Romano to tense up, but relax again once he had them back under his control.

He shrugged, "Whatever. We have to pack." Fortuna rolled her eyes and stood, taking him into her arms to throw onto the bed.

* * *

She could practically see the two nations behind the door. One was a familiar mossy green of the younger Greece, but the other was a stronger, almost tealish green. Romano looked at her from her place in her arms and frowned, "They're waiting."

"I know. do you want me to put you down?"

He huffed, "I don't want to be looked down on, so no." Fortuna sighed and opened the door, closing it behind her without looking up.

"So you are the other descendant of Rome, the one that Persia never shut up about, the one that fought against my people so many times. It is finally nice to put a face to a name. Greece tells me Persia called you Neylan or Girl," A powerful, yet delicate voice said. She looked up to see a beautiful woman with curly brown hair and a matching aura-eye set. Her cinched, pale dress was weighed down heavily by jewels and weapons. Greece sat passively in his mother's arms and waved.

Fortuna frowned, "So you are the surviving 'Roman Empire', yet not actually holding Rome, the one who separated my brothers even longer by dividing their land into two, the one who has posed a danger to many I hold dear. It is nice to finally put a face to a name after nearly a thousand years."

Romano and Greece shared a nervous look before, to their astonishment, the two women chuckled and went to sit in the chairs by a window. "It is so nice to talk to a fellow Amazon! It is all just men these days, you do not see women out on the battlefield like there used to be!"

Fortuna smiled, "I understand the feeling. The looks from men are so degrading! If I get dirty in a battle, I have to wait until early morning to bathe."

"Ragazza, move it along," Romano growled and Byzantine rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Yes, the Normans. I do understand their threat, and I'd be willing to help, but first, let the women talk. Neylan, have your sons-"

Fortuna and Romano stiffened in their seats, but it was the younger, albiet taller of the two to answer, "S-Son? Romano and Veneziano are my brothers, nothing more, nothing less!" Romano blushed and buried his head in her stomach as Byzantine chuckled.

"Apologies," She said, even though she did not seem sorry. "I meant your brothers, have they seen battle?" Her eyes were gauging her response carefully and the younger woman sighed.

"Sadly. I was hoping until they were bigger to fight more deeply in their wars, but-"

Romano looked up at her, "Frank had my back, Ragazza."

She pursed her lips and swallowed, "I know, but you worry me, Roma. You're so small-"

"-Do you not trust your brother at all?" The angry voice speaking in the regional dialect drew the Italians' attentions. Byzantine was glaring down at Fortuna and she snarled. "He is his own person and, if I understand correctly, older than you. He is capable of making his own weighted decisions, if he not? You are not helping your brother, you are ruling him!"

Greece looked at his mother and sighed, "Mama, don't be so mean to big sister... She's nice..."

His mother hummed, pushing a few hairs out of his face, "I am not being mean, I am helping her understand."

"Understand what? That while I am older, she has seen more battles? She has seen Charles Martel, Charlemagne, Shapur, Aradashir, and hell-knows how many rulers fight! Sorellona does not rule me, but as her place as my citizen, she has every right to be concerned for me. She didn't want to come, but I made her! Sorellona knows what is best for me! You are only interested in me as a colony!" Romano spat and Fortuna felt a few tears come up to well up in her eyes.

Byzantine looked at the child and sat back in her chair, "So you consult her and go to her for help. Am I understanding this correctly?"

He grunted and nodded, "Fucking count on it."

The woman laughed, "I will help, Little Rome, but keep your sister, your 'Sorellona', away from my son. I do not need her dominating his life as she has yours."

"Fine, your loss. She will not visit you or your son until you dissolve," Romano growled and Byzantine nodded. "No luck for you then." Fortuna stood and Romano clung to her dress as he silently reasserted that he wanted to stay in her arms. Byzantine watched them lazily as they left and Greece looked at her suspiciously.

"Why did you test Big sister?"

His mother smiled and placed a kiss on his temple, "Because I needed to see where her loyalties lie. She does love her brother, and it is a two way street, but he is going to be too dependent on her if they're not careful. But two things puzzle me. How is she his citizen and what did he mean by 'no luck for you?'"

Greece chuckled and looked out the window, where he saw the siblings walking away, "That, Mama, is not for my mouth to utter."

* * *

Knowing they had the shaky support of the Byzantines, Romano and Fortuna returned to Rome, just in time to catch Leo IX before he went North. He would fail to convince the rulers of Germany for help, but he managed to get the help of another Cardinal, who brought with him 700 Swabians. A small blonde child at the front of the march was not a nation, but at the same time, not a mortal. He was more of a collection of people.

Regardless, the collection of Papal soldiers, untrained Italians, and mercenary Swabians marched towards the Normans. Leo had been in contact with the Byzantines and they had provided forces to the South, catching the invaders in a pinch. France, of course, noticed the situation and sent a few letters, every time asking if she was going to fight or what he had done. Everytime she replied that she was going to fight against the invasion of her brother.

Eventually, France and his rulers wrote to Leo and asked if any chance of surrender was possible. Leo declared that he would not back down, egged on by some of the Swabian troops. The three immortals on his side did not appreciate the lack of consultation, but were forced to deal with it. The day of the battle, the swabians were stupidly put on horseback and the Italians were put to defend the left side of the battlefield. Fortuna reluctantly let Romano join her on the battlefield, but only when he promised to stay close.

The Normans at this point had little choice but to fight, and they charged. They took towards the Italians first and something horrific happened. The Italians broke the line and ran. Romano screamed as the mounted Normans ran down his citizens and began the slaughter. Fortuna pulled him to the side and wished deeply she was somewhere else, but drew her blade. "Romano! Get on my back! We're not getting out of this easily!" He looked at her with terrified eyes and nodded, grabbing her so he could hold tightly to her back.

Several soldiers from the opposing sides gave her confused looks, but it didn't matter as the screams of her countrymen were echoing. She began to lash out at others around her, but she wasn't making much headway. "RAGAZZA! GET TO THE GERMANS!" She winced as Romano screamed in her ear, but she trusted him and ran up the hill. It was true.

The Swabians had abandoned their mounts in favor of their customary fight- with swords and shields. They were holding their own against the Normans and Fortuna wasted little time putting her brother on an abandoned horse. He gave her a heartbroken look but she growled, "Go tell the Pope! I'm coming home tomorrow, trust me!" He frowned, but she gave him no time to respond as she urged the horse forward. "Be safe!" She yelled after him as she turned around. Swabia frowned at her, but she huffed, returning to the fray.

France would win the battle, but only after the Normans returned from chasing down the Italians. Pope Leo IX was captured and would be held for a few more months, but during his confinement, he would rule from house arrest. It would lead to major religious differences that would persist to the 'modern day', but that wasn't for years to come.

The European would force her to yield, but let her return home later that day. He was not amused and after some talking on her part, let Swabia go home too. He would nod to her with a gruff look on his face. "I did not need your pity," He mumbled.

Fortuna chuckled, "Swabia, you have other people to take care of. Unless you'd rather be in France's direct control..." He frowned, but walked home. She smiled, but began to make her own way home. She sighed as she put her bag down and walked into the bedroom. As she thought, Romano was in their room and he was doing his morning prayers. He peeked at her and the woman didn't say anything until he finished.

When he did, Romano crossed his arms, "What the hell were you thinking? I wanted to fight!"

"Did you see what was happening? We were getting slaughtered and I wanted you out of harm's way!" The auburnette stressed, fighting off exhaustion. She had been walking for the entire day and night and managed to get home before breakfast.

"I can take care of myself! Stop treating me like a kid!" Romano yelled.

She sighed and sat on the bed, "I will never stop worrying, Romano. I know you can take care of yourself, but there are sometimes when you think you can take care of yourself, but you misjudge..." Romano paused when he saw her eyes glaze with a haunted look in her eyes, but frowned. "But I will stop treating you like a child on the battlefield when you can take me down. Not kill, but just get me to yield."

Romano snarled and grabbed a knife on the bedside table. He turned around to put the blade at his sister's throat, but when he turned around, Fortuna lunged and pushed her bodyweight on him. He gasped for breath as his face was pushed sideways into the bed, twisting the knife-welding arm behind his back. "I will not hold back when you try, Romano. I am sorry if you got hurt, but a soldier will not be afraid to hurt you." She got off of him and sat him up. "Sorry, Romano."

He punched her on the shoulder as he gasped, "B-Bitch. Y-Y-Your n-not-t the b-boss of me." Fortuna sighed and stood.

"I know. I'm sorry, Roma..." She stood and went out to the back garden of the house in Naples and sat at the far corner where a bench was all but waiting for her. She curled up and settled down to sleep when the sun settled on her and would likely give her sunburn later. Fortuna didn't care as she feel asleep, still covered in blood and a few wounds.

She had a nightmare, but the only part she could remember was being trapped and seeing Romano and Veneziano's dead eyes. With a scream, Fortuna woke up to a thin bed sheet tangling her limbs and she scrambled for a small knife and prepared to slice through the sheets when they were tugged off. Romano stared at her with wide and eyes and the woman sagged in relief as tears continued to pour down her eyes. "Please don't die..."

"I'm not going anywhere, Ragazza," He said, sitting next to her. Romano stared at her and she huffed.

"Dreams show you what you don't want to deal with. I could do anything and you and Venie were dead. I couldn't do anything, Roma. I'm going to show you how to be invisible tomorrow, Romano," Fortuna said, looking at the clouds. "You can see everything and be nothing but a shadow."

"Whatever, Ragazza. Go back to bed, you're too noisy," Romano grunted. His sister smiled and pulled him in closer and settled down for sleep.

A few months later, Romano shook Fortuna awake. "Ragazza, it's another one of those things you like so much! The sun-but-not-a-sun?" She blinked in confusion and looked out the window, and indeed, another supernova was blaring brightly. She facepalmed and fell back onto the bed.

"It's the supernova of 1054!" Romano shook his head and crawled back under the covers and kicked her.

"Oi, get back to bed, you're loud!" Fortuna chuckled and did the same.

Leo would stay with the Normans for a while, trying to hold out against signing anything in favor of them, but after a showdown between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, they had excommunicated each other, but each determining the other was better than their counterpart, thought nothing of it. It was rather funny, but Romano rolled his eyes when he heard of it. 'Not according to the Donation of Constantinople.'

Turkey was slowly fighting his way into where his current nation would be, France was back in his own country, where William 'The bastard' was fighting against his king Henry. William continued to secure wins, due to surprise attacks and careful planning.

Hungary, Austria and Holy Rome soon called her up in 1058 to help them with border issues, but a small side note from Hungary caught her attention. She had seen similar marks when her grandfather was still alive. She couldn't read it very well, but understood the word 'miss'. It wasn't hard to guess the rest.

* * *

" **Neylan**!" Hungary yelled as the small child tackled the woman. Amalia laughed and spun to remove the momentum, but a kick to the back of the knees sent her tumbling with Hungary settling on her chest.

" **Shit**!" Holy Rome sat on her legs, making her laugh. " **Alright, is there anyone else who is going to sit on me**?"

A smaller voice coughed, **"Well, since you insisted...** " A brunet sat on her stomach, making him rise and fall with her every breath.

" **I was kidding, Austria. Get the fuck off of me**!" Hungary giggled and a masculine gasp made her and the three kids look up. A man wearing rich clothes and the way Hungary scrambled to his feet meant only one thing. Shit.

" **K-King Andrew**!"

He looked over the other three immortals and shook his head, " **I cannot believe you all are older than me**."

Austria chuckled under his breath as Holy Rome looked at Amalia, " **We can't believe it either**."

She snorted and pushed him lightly, " **Shut up, Holy Rome. Sorry if tomorrow is my 999th birthday**!"

" **Wow, lady, you're old**!" Hungary laughed, poking her. Andrew lightly smacked him on the back of his head and shot the child a glare. "Fine, sorry, Neylan."

The auburnette laughed and ruffled her hair, " **It's fine, Hungary. Can you reteach me that text you wrote? It's been a few years, and I don't remember it all.** "

Hungary shrugged, " **Sure, but Turkey has been showing me a bunch of new words, so that might be why you couldn't read it**." Amalia shrugged too, but Austria hung back and let Holy Rome handle the border matter with Hungary. The child taught her the new script and separated less than a year later for her to return to Romano.

* * *

Thankfully, by the time she got back, the Popes had a new procedure. A group of Cardinals would elect the next one, not the HRE. When she heard, Fortuna all but danced with Romano. "About damn fucking time!" He shook his head, but didn't fight the small smile on his face. Finally the day came around and Romano greeted her with a peach tart for breakfast.

"Happy fucking birthday, Sorellona, you're now 1000 years old," He said, crossing his arms. Fortuna's eyes welled up and she grinned.

"Grazie, Italia. It means a lot. Can I tell you some stories from my childhood?" He cocked his head and lumped onto the bed and curled up on her side.

"Sure, why not. Just don't make them boring, Ragazza," He joked.

Fortuna rolled her eyes, but let the smile fall from her face, "I might be pushing it, but... can you call me by my name today? I-I..." Her voice failed, but her brother shrugged.

"Want to feel young again? Sure, Carina."

She laughed and a few tears welled up in her eyes, "Peaches, I haven't been called that in years. I need to start keeping a diary. But... Which one..."

Romano looked up at the ceiling and frowned, "What did your mom look like when you left?"

Fortuna paused and smiled, "Pissed as always. It makes me question what the hell happened to make me so mad about life, but compared to now, the next thousand years are rougher. New weapons lead to larger death counts. Do you remember how big Rome was when I first came? One and a half million people? There will be dozens of wars when it goes over that number. Diseases are another matter, but life gets easier as well. Medicine gets better, people live longer. But-"

"Ragazza, you're getting sidetracked," He said with a frown.

She nodded, but continued, "Remember when I said that time a man got killed in front of me as a child? I lied when I said that I was ok. I was nervous more, loud noises terrified me, but my mom helped me get better. She was there and when she wasn't, I always had someone nearby. But, Mom... She looked so much like me, but not. I don't know how to describe it, but she... Liberty had a tougher face. I got a some really good looks at it, and it was covered in dozens of tiny little scars. I never saw her back or shoulders, she was very careful that I never saw her major scars."

Romano nodded slowly, "How did you never find out? You never asked her age, never looked through her stuff?"

Fortuna shook her head, "Now you're thinking like a shadow, Roma. I tried, but it was always locked tight. Whenever I asked about her age, she would always laugh and say too old. I tried pressing her a few times, but Mom had a glare of death. I know where she got it from- yeah kinda like that, but scarier!" Romano shot her an unimpressed look.

"Yeah, ha ha, Carina. Is there any other stories you've never told me? What about that one story after you came back so traumatized? About 25 years before Grandpa Rome died-"

"Not that one, Romano. It still affects me, but let's say it's one reason I think twice about charging head on without allies. I will talk about almost anything else, but not that. Sorry, Roma, but..." Fortuna shook her head and took a bite of the peach tart. "This is really good. Do you remember those times that your cooking would randomly catch fire?"

The boy raised an eyebrow, "You mean the reason I no longer cook fish in a shallow pan?"

She laughed, "That was Grandpa! He would pour a lot of alcohol in the dish and a spark would light it on fire! I never found out exactly what he poured in there, but I tried to stop him when I could."

He snorted, "Not surprised, especially after he caught your braid on fire." Fortuna shook her head and stood.

"Come on, let's go sit out by the peach trees. It's been a while." He followed her out and they sat out there for a majority of the day, remonising. Veneziano came by later in the day and they played hide and go seek. Veneziano had a harder time of finding Romano, but in all honesty, the children were just that and were really easy to find. Everything felt normal. She told them the story of how to make a true friend again and they all fell asleep easily, smiles on their face.

* * *

 **I'm going to do a zombie AU chapter next. It will not have a happy ending. I think. Good night~**


	98. Zombies and 3 more AUs

**Braiiiiins. Also, there are various triggers below.**

* * *

Liberty wasn't sure how America could have said that sentence so calmly. "A zombie like virus has infected several of my states." The air was knocked out of her lungs as she tried to think of the last time she saw the states. California had still been surfing on his coast, New York was still helping out in his state's shipping and Louisiana was still out fishing for crawfish.

England glared his brother down, "America, _tell_ me you have this under control."

The blonde clenched his fists, "By the time we realized, it was too late. I-It was like something from X-Files! One of my research teams found a body of some identifiable... _thing,_ under the ice in Alaska. They took it back to the station and it infected one of them! They sent a sample to the Army in Maryland, but apparently a rookie made a mistake and it wasn't sealed properly. By the time the package finished passing hands, it was too late."

Romano began shaking and Veneziano put a hand on his forearm as Luciano took over, "America, how long ago was that? Tell me you didn't let it go on for long-"

"The package landed in Maryland three weeks ago. Those scientists went home to their families and it was right before christmas. They branched out all over the US. A quarter of Rhode Island has been in complete lockdown, we're getting cases of people getting attacked and partially eaten in California, Alaska, Maine, Arizona, Texas, and a few more," America said, tears coming to his eyes.

Liberty swallowed, "So you are telling us we have a new pandemic and you are just now telling us? America, take off your shirt."

He trembled as he took off his jacket and tie, slowly unbuttoning his shirt, "I-It's just because my people are affected, I'm not infected." The countries stared at the necrosis and bruises appearing over his skin. "I-It doesn't hurt muc-"

"America-" France was cut off as his phone buzzed and he paled. The blonde country rose to his feet and ran to the nearest trash can to empty his stomach. England picked up his phone and growled.

"America, France's news stations are freaking out because someone in paris has been found ambushing people and eating some of them before the victims rise up to join them. What the hell?" The American tried to rebutton his shirt, but tears were running down his face.

"I-I'm sorry! My people are working on a cure, but they found out that if the spinal cord is severed, the body loses enough motor function to pose less of a risk. I know that much..." Many of the European nations stood and left, several with their weapons drawn. They were on Embassy Row in Maryland.

Liberty looked over at her brothers who were waiting for her, "Romano, Veneziano, I'd recommend putting the nation on lock down. Shut down all transit to the islands. No ships, no airplanes, nothing. The people will have to live off the land. We need to keep this as restricted as possible." They looked down and nodded.

"Sorellona... Are we going to make it out of this? You remember how the plague spread-"

"Because of fleas, rats and trade. Veneziano, I know you pride yourself on being the industrial North, but stay with Romano until this ends. He's further away from the mainland. I'm going to talk to America for a bit. Be ready in case something goes wrong and don't get bitten. We need to find out if it's spread by saliva or by touch..." The men nodded and tensely walked off. Liberty sighed as she went over to France.

"Franny, get home and start on damage control. You got this." He looked up with a terrified look in his eyes and she pulled him in for a hug. "Everything will be ok, eventually."

He nodded and slumped in her hold, "I'm scared. It hurt the first time, but-"

She shook her head, "Frank, don't think like that. Get out there and protect your people." The man nodded and sulked away, shaking. America was looking at her in despair, sitting in his chair, looking absolutely defeated.

"Mom-"

Liberty sat in front of him and smiled wearily, "You really fucked up now, huh? But you're paying for it now. How much does it really hurt?"

He cried and put a hand over a patch of dead skin, "So much. I'd rather fight in the civil war again. This isn't going to end well, is it?"

She shook her head, "Unless the cure comes out in the next week, you're going down. Have you shut down the airports yet?"

America froze, "I told the department of defense to do it soon. I didn't say how soon, but it might be-" A ringtone cut them off. "Oh no." Liberty looked at the caption and swallowed.

'All airports on lockdown. Reason unknown'

"America, are all the G20 countries still here? Did your government just lock them in?" His silence was enough and she ran out of the room building. Her brothers were in their car, yelling into a pair of cellphones.

Romano saw her first and held the phone away from his mouth, covering the microphone, "Ragazza, we're stuck here!"

She nodded and leaned on the car, "I know. America's government just shut down all airports. Who are you-"

"Fratello's yelling at the Prime Minister and I'm yelling at Sicily. You know how he gets. Are we heading to your- Behind you!" Liberty sidestepped as a half-missing arm swung. A gunshot rang out and the undead human fell back, the bullet wound in the center of its head. Luciano glared it down as he lowered his gun from the passenger side. "You stole my kill, Fratello," Romano whined.

Feli rolled his eyes as he took over, "You were too slow, Fratellone. Start driving."

He huffed, "I will when Liberty gets in the FUCKING CAR!" She laughed and got into the back seat and pulled out her gun. "Are you stocked at home, Ragazza?"

"Always. I also have some of my old blades and a few pieces of armor. FOCUS ON THE ROAD!" Romano swerved as a zombie appeared in the road.

"WHERE ARE THEY ALL COMING FROM?!" Liberty and Veneziano leaned out the windows to shoot it, but whose bullet landed, neither know.

The woman sighed, "I don't know! Maryland's been infected for a while! Maybe we didn't notice because we didn't know it was there! And these things don't exactly grow at a constant rate!"

Romano groaned, "Don't bring math into this, Ragazza!" He swung the wheel to the left and they dove into her home's driveway. With his driving, the man managed to get them out of the city pretty fast. They piled into her house, locking the doors and barricading them.

Liberty sighed in relief, "This is like a really bad video game. The safe room is in the basement-"

"Mama?" The brothers tensed as they saw the teenager pop around the corner. They barely had time to let their 2Ps come out as Carina cocked her head. "Mama, what's going on? I tried to call you, but you didn't answer. This guy also kept calling the house phone, demanding he was going to come over. He sounded Ger-"

"German? Was his name Gilbert?" Carina blinked in confusion and tried to get a better look at the men in their parlor, but Liberty grabbed her arm and lead her into the kitchen and blocking the windows.

"Yeah, he hung up when I told him my na- What are you doing Mom? Does this have to do with the airports closing?"

Liberty sighed as she knew she couldn't keep Carina in the dark, "Yes, yes it does. Luciano, if Gil comes to the door, let him in. Flavio, get a bag and start collecting all important items from the house. If worse comes to worse, we want this place to look already raided."

"Raided- Mom! What's going on?" Her daughter panicked, gripping her mom's arm. Luciano walked by and stared at the scene, but said nothing. "Who are they?! Are they some of your-"

"Oi, Ragazza, there's a zombie apocalypse to worry about, not who we are. We're friends of your mother, so chill. Liberty, when Gilbert gets here, we're explaining everything," Luciano spoke up, double checking his gun's magazine for added show.

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose, "Shit, alright. In that case, you can chill." She cupped her hands around her mouth so she didn't blow out everyone's ears as she yelled, "Roma! We're going to tell Carina!"

Carina shrunk under Luciano's gaze, "Mom, tell me what?"

Liberty sighed and grabbed her daughter by the shoulders, "Carina, you're adopted."

"What?! Mom?" The teen wasn't given any time to process what was just said as there was a pounding at the door. Luciano and Liberty ran to the door and wrenched the table away as Gilbert stumbled in.

"Amalia! It's nuts! America just called and said that there are zombies and-" He looked around and his eyes settled on Carina before her looked back at his girlfriend and back again. He paled even more and looked at her, tears popping up in his eyes as Liberty nodded.

"Oi, Lovebirds, move it before any get in!" The two stumbled away from the door. "Alright, everyone in the safe room. Gilbert, everything is going out in the open." The albino nodded and they trekked down to the basement and a large tapestry behind a couch was pulled aside to reveal a large tunnel. "Ragazza, you have problems."

She rolled her eyes, "Venie, like you don't have a bunch of odd attachments to your house in Milan. We'll have wifi inside, so call whoever you want. We're going to keep tabs on the world. Hopefully, all the countries stuck here have managed to shut down their borders, but it's not going to be pretty." She clamored up and into the hole. The safe house was hidden behind another door and Liberty input the code before entering. It was three rooms, a bedroom, a bathroom and small shower, and a main room with a table, fridge, pantry, tv and computer. There was another door, but it was closed.

Gilbert whistled as he stepped inside and Carina nervously followed them. The brothers came next and they looked at the room, nodding in satisfaction. "Mom, now will you tell me what's going on?"

Liberty sighed, "I don't remember this happening in my lifetime as a human, but I'll spill even if it's a dream. I am you. I adopt you, I raise you, you get sent back in time until you have to raise the new you. I'm really old."

"What does that make us, Ragazza?" Romano asked, crossing his arms.

"You're really _really_ old. But Carina, your real mom loved you even if your dad stepped out when he found out. Now, I have more family than I can safely count. You gain their trust by fighting in their wars and dying for them and raising them. They are immortals and are human, stereotypical representations of nations," Liberty said, sitting at the table.

Carina blinked in surprise, "Is that why you were always screaming at the tv? Why you had three guns in each car? So, who is here? How old are you!"

Romano huffed and raised his hand, "Carina, I represent South Italy, what used to be the kingdom of Two Sicilies. I'm Romano, specifically Lovino. If you saw Luciano and Feliciano change, then it would save us so much pain. My alter is Flavio. My little brother is Veneziano and represents Northern Italy. The happy one is Feli and the pissy one is Lucy."

Luciano took over and threw a knife in Romano's direction, but the man caught it, "Don't call me Lucy, _Lovi._ " The older man shrugged, but tossed the knife back.

Gilbert came up behind Liberty and wrapped his arms around her loosely, giving Carina a blank stare as he kissed the top of her mother's head, "Mein." Carina blinked and looked at her mom.

"If you had told me, I would have stopped making jokes about your love life. B-But why did you lie to me all those years? Did you lie about your childhood? About your brother headbutting you? So, wait, does that make them my uncles and my brothers? Mom, this is some serious redneck bullshit!" Carina stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Romano snorted, "Well, that went well. I didn't know you were this much of a teenager, Liberty."

Luciano pouted, "Redneck bullshit? If what America told me is right, did she basically call us family fuckers? What the hell have you been teaching this child?"

Liberty facepalmed as Gilbert laughed, "Luciano, it is not my fault what that child watches. I think I remember what she's upset about though. Give me a minute." The albino got off of her and the men watched as the woman went to go talk to her daughter. "Carina?"

A pillow was thrown at the small opening and the girl hissed, "Get out, bitch!"

"Carina, please, I'm sorry I took you away from Peter-"

The teen threw open the door, "Oh, so that's why you think I'm so mad?! You took me away from the one guy who didn't call me 'stutter'! I'm lost right now because I don't know what to believe-" Liberty wrapped her arms around the girl and stroked her hair.

"Carina, I am sorry, do you know how hard it was to keep that a secret? I got less than a minute to process what you just learned and I was lost for centuries. But I got distracted by wars and politics and trying to stay alive. I will answer every question you have. But remember, I know you better than anybody. I may be you, but most off all, I am your mother right now. I am not going to lie and say everything is going to be ok, because it isn't. Carina, go lie down for a bit and get your senses and your questions in order. I'm going to give you a moment, and then we can talk, ok Bambina?"

She cried into her mother's chest and nodded, but didn't quite let go yet. Romano came to stand over by the family and he put a hand on Carina's shoulder. The girl hissed in terror and looked up, but when her eyes looked up, their eyes met. There was something about this man that made her trust him immensely. She saw an old friend holding a hand out when she was lost. "Mama, I know him..."

Liberty smiled and kissed her daughter's temple, "Yes you do, Bambina. He is your guardian in case something happens to me, right Fratellone?"

Carina's eyes widened, "You were the one who broke Mama's nose?!" He frowned and walked off.

"You try to do something nice for a person..."

The teen shrunk, "I didn't mean-"

"Bambina, let's just get those questions out of the way. Lovino's just joking," The woman said, taking her daughter to sit on the bottom bunk of one of the two bunk beds. "Carina, you can ask anything and I'll answer it."

Carina bundled up, "How old are you? W-What were my parents really like?"

Liberty smiled sadly, "I am over 1950 years old. Your mother's name was Roxanne and she was one of the kindest people I ever met. She would give you a kidney if you needed it. She died giving birth to you. You were going to have a twin brother, Carina, well, we were. D-Dad decided to name him Franco. Our bastard of our father's name was Cyrano-"

"Wait, our parents were named after a french play? Cyrano De Bergerac?" Carina interrupted, listening intently.

The woman rolled her eyes, "It was coincidence, but yes. Their friends always teased them about it. But Cyrano... When he found out his wife was pregnant, he ditched her for a while. I dragged his ass back to see her and stuff, but his drinking was something that Roxanne always hated, so we let him go. Carina, your mother loved you more than anything, but Cyrano was never much of a father. The best things he ever did for you were to leave you with me or slipping and falling in his shower. If we have a chance, I'll take you to see their graves."

Carina nodded, "Then how did Dad manage to marry Mom?"

"I never knew, but in the beginning of their relationship, it was something good. Then Cyrano got it into his head that Roxanne was cheating on him. But that was after a rushed marriage. They loved each other in the beginning," Liberty said as she took her daughter's hands and began to toy with them nervously. She had never really spoken to anyone about this other than Rome.

"What about you, did you ever marry anyone in your 2000 years?" The younger asked.

"She did. It was a political marriage and he was a good man who let your Mother and I date even though they were still married," Teutonic said as he leaned on the doorway. The girls jumped and hit their heads on the top bunk and crumbled, holding their heads.

"Shit, Teuton, don't fucking do that!" Liberty hissed as Carina just started cursing.

The man chuckled, "You two are almost mirrored right now, it's weird!"

She growled, "Yeah, yeah, real funny. If you want to join in to pour your soul out, get on the top bunk."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and went to kiss her cheek, "You love me and you know it."

Liberty rolled her eyes but gave him one of her own kisses, "You're lucky you're handsome."

"You know it!" He crawled onto the top bunk and stuck his head underneath. "So, what's the next question?"

Carina looked between him and her mother, "Who's he?"

Liberty slapped her forehead, as Gilbert let his smile grow sadder as he kept talking, "I represent the teutonic knights! I then represented Prussia, then East Germany until the wall fell, and now, I'm just the Teutonic knights."

The younger cocked her head, "Mom, weren't the Teutonic knights formed in Jerusalem?"

"Yes, wow, Shield, you really taught her her stuff!" He laughed, ruffling Carina's hair.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I-"

"Ragazza! I just got a text from America. He said the government is sending a helicopter to get us, but we have to hurry. He said that these zombies aren't like normal ones. They have all of the motor functions of regular humans, if not better," Romano yelled in a panic.

Liberty growled, "Ok, fine. Everyone, we're getting ready to move out. Everyone take a weapon and we're taking the back way." She went to the main room and opened the pantry to grab four swords. "Romano, do you remember all those times Spain played 'bull' with you? Use that to decapitate any zombies." It was a common game with Romano and Spain. Romano would charge his guardian, who would quickly sidestep him. When Romano got a bit older and we was learning to fence, Spain made sure that his ward used that in his moves.

Carina clutched the doorway, "Mom? I-I don't know how to fight, you know th-"

"You're not going to be fighting, not if I can help it," Her mother said, passing two thinner blades to each of the brothers, who experimentally swung them before putting the sheath on their belts. She then passed the longer of the remaining two to her boyfriend and swung a small backpack on. "It leads to a safe part of the sewer and we can get out through there."

Veneziano hummed, "Sorella, how did America let you do all of this?"

She looked at him with a frown, "Cold war. He was ok with it if it meant I stayed with him." He nodded and Liberty went to the closed door and opened it. Several locks tumbled from inside and it opened with a creak. What better luck would the group have than to have a zombie stumble in. It charged Carina, but it had to get past Romano first. As it ran by, he raised the blade so it decapitated the thing before it got anywhere near her.

Blood went everywhere and Carina shook, "Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god, it's true-"

Liberty went and kneeled in front of her daughter, "Bambina, look at me. Look at me, so long as we're alive, nothing is going to hurt you. But we have to go, now." She helped the girl up and led the group into the sewers. Luckily, that one zombie seemed to be a rogue and was the only one they saw. They quickly found a manhole with a ladder and began to climb. Gilbert took up the lead and pushed it up to look around. He nodded and pushed it away, stepping out.

The Italian brothers went next, then Carina, then Liberty. The sounds of a helicopter was approaching quickly, but the sound also attracted many more guests. Zombies were running underneath it, futilely trying to grab at it. America waved at the five when he saw them and lowered two ladders. They all scrambled to grab on in the same order that they came up in. Liberty struggled to hold on as Carina and Veneziano knocked into her. A zombie grabbed her foot, but her shoe slipped off. Another tried to bite her, but they were too far in the sky. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they settled in the passenger compartment.

"That was close..." The rest of the ride was uneventful and Carina clung close to her mom. When they did land, it was above a large skyscraper that had a landing pad on top of the building. Carina wobbled out as Romano helped her out. The blades disengaged and America hopped out, but it wasn't Alfred.

"Allen! You're ok! Wait... Who are you really?" Allen looked up at Liberty with an eyebrow raised. Liberty nodded and he let out a sigh.

"I'm an alter ego to America. He's-" Alfred took over with a small shudder and he smiled shakily, "-I'm Alfred F. Jones."

Carina blinked and tensed up, but a sudden thought hit her, "Wait, that shirt Allen-you got me three years ago after the Pictonians... Heros, hamburgers, Freedom and Justice... Because he's Allen J. Jones and you Alfred F. Jones... Are your middle names Justice and Freedom?"

Veneziano chuckled, "Nipote, she figured it out~!"

The door behind them flew open and England poked his head out, "Hurry and get your arses in here! Germany is trying to calm everyone down, but it's not going well. America, you're in..." He stopped to stare at Carina and Liberty, but with a glare from the second, he bowed his head and opened the door. "We're wasting time."

"Thanks, England. How much has it spread?" Prussia asked, standing near the blonde man.

He sighed, "Further than we were prepared for. It's like that these zombies aren't even completely dead! According to America's research so far, they still have brain activity, body heat, limb function... It's like the zombies are just hijacked humans with slightly decreased intelligence and a taste for human flesh." He quickly ushered everyone in and Liberty tugged on her daughter's sleeve.

"Bambina, everyone is going to flock you and start harassing me. These nations are ones I've known for hundreds of years. They're going to be angry, but they're not going to hurt you," She whispered. Gilbert cast them a wary look, but said nothing otherwise.

When they reached the meeting room where arguing could be heard, England cast Liberty a pitying look before he threw them open. Veneziano had to duck as a chair was thrown, but Liberty growled. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?! I THOUGHT WE ESTABLISHED IN A CRISIS, WE STAY CALM!"

The room calmed quickly to star at her and France's clammy face came closer, "Annabelle, it's spreading quickly! Paris is getting overrun!"

"France, I am so sorry, but we're working on how to deal with this. It might not be pretty, but we'll try to get you out of this," She said, grabbing his shoulders. He nodded and peeked over her head.

"Annabelle, why is there a replica of the younger you hiding behind Romano?" She turned around and held out her hand for her daughter.

"Bambina, I want you to meet my family," Liberty said with a small smile. France stepped out of the way as Carina came into full view and the nations had mixed reactions. Germany and a few others simply stared. Russia smiled tensely, but it was just surprisingly quiet. The two looked over the sea of heartbroken faces before Turkey spoke up.

"Abla, when were you going to tell us it was time? Were you that scared we would try to change your mind? That was the whole point of Code Blue! Who was the nation that disappeared?!"

The room was silent as they waited for her answer, "This wasn't supposed to happen like this. I don't remember this, this could be another dream for all I know! It was that fucking mansion again-" Veneziano's hiss was enough to get her to change the subject as she was hit with guilt. "I forget who it was ok? Carina was supposed to find them in two years from now, but can we please focus on the zombie epidemic at hand first? How far has this thing spread?"

Germany rubbed the back of his neck shakily as he hit a button on a remote on the table and the tv lit up. To her horror, there were multiple red blips all over the world, "It has spread further than we thought. In some cases, a zombie would bite someone, but not eat them as the disease would contaminate them and they could pass as a normal human for a day to three. We didn't know what we were looking for, so they went unchecked."

Carina looked up at the map in wonder and then back down at the men and women that represented the nations, most of them probably older than she would dare think. They had been together through everything and respected each other, especially after everyone they knew would die and all they knew after a hundred years were their neighboring countries. Suddenly, it was the black plague all over again and they had no idea what to do.

Teutonic noticed Germany rubbed his neck again and walked up to put his hand on his shoulder. Germany looked over with a pained, terrified look and pulled away the turtleneck minutely to show the small bout of necrosis eating at his neck, "I thought it was an insect bite three days ago, now..." The albino swallowed as he looked up at the screen and sighed. England, Germany, and France were some of the more affected, with a growing number of zombies in Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, Kiev and a number of Chinese and Indian cities. It wasn't as noticeable yet, but with the public still unaware on the growing issue, it would have a greater chance to spread as everyone would think a simple attack was just that. They might go home or to the hospital for treatment, but after a day or so, they would be wandering the streets, doing the same as the other infected.

"Oh my god..." Liberty muttered and Germany nodded.

"America, I hope you're happy. Welcome to the game of intercontinental disease," England spat. There were agreeing grumbles, but Liberty shook her head.

"We need to find a way to get ahead of this, but first, let's just say... This disease is smarter. We might not be coming out of this," The woman said reluctantly.

Romano growled, "Ragazza, even I'm not that-"

"-No, Romano! You remember the plague, almost better than anyone! It took years to get from China to Europe and managed to kill millions! Look at it! It's been three weeks! How many has it affected so far?!" Liberty asked, gesturing at the screen. His eyes flashed and she realized why he was arguing with the numbers. He was scared and likely getting affected just like everyone else. "I'm sorry, but we need to face this reality. This never happened before I got sent back, so I don't know how this turns out!"

Romano bowed his head and left the room and Liberty held a hand after him. Veneziano wasted little time following him and Liberty cried quietly and Carina laced her hand with her mom's spare hand, "Mom, go after them, I'll let you know what happens." She shot the younger a questioning look, to which Carina smiled. "They're your family, so they're mine too. Go."

Liberty nodded and took off after them, looking for their auras and noticed that the brothers were in the stairwell. She carefully opened their level's door and walked in. Sobs were heard and Veneziano looked up as he held his brother in his arms. He saw who it was and gave her a tight look. Liberty frowned and sat next to them, "I'm sorry, Roma-"

"If you were sorry, you wouldn't have said it, Neylan," Flavio said as he took over to give Lovino some mental privacy. The blonde sat up and wiped his eyes. "He's terrified right now and one of the people who always told him it was going to be ok just said everything was going to shit, so what the hell?" His glare bit into her and she trembled.

"Do you think that I'm not scared either? I am terrified out of my mind right now, but you have an entire population to worry about-"

He rolled his maroon eyes, "Yeah and we can feel them rotting away. Veneziano and I didn't know what it was before, but now we do. Neylan, look." He unbuttoned his shirt and opened it to show a large bruise over his chest and several small patches of rotting flesh. "It wasn't that bad this morning, but to us, it shows that it's getting worse and that we might not make it out of this. We're all terrified, but you need to be what you always have- the big sister who says it's going to be ok. We're not ready to face that the world is going to end!"

Liberty nodded and sighed, "I'm sorry, Romano. I've just haven't had to deal with this kind of disease."

Feliciano chuckled, "If you did, we'd be all dealing with it your way."

She rolled her eyes, "If we were doing it your way, we'd have a repeat of Milan." He sniffed and put a hand over his heart. During the black plague, to ensure fewer families got infected, anyone displaying symptoms of the disease were locked inside their home with their family as it was burned to the ground. It was cruel, but extremely effective.

"That hurts, Sorellona. That was a last ditch attempt anyway, but it worked!" The siblings chuckled until a door on a lower level slammed open and a large handful of feet were heard racing up the stairs. They shared a panicked look and drew their blades. "Tell me that's not..."

Liberty growled as she pulsed her aura several times as an alarm and readied her stance, "...So, it found us, after all. This building is no longer safe."

"Was it ever off-limits? Shit! What are we going to do, Ragazza?!" Flavio said as he stood. His special way of killing might have been less violent, but just like the other three Italian sides, his sister made sure he knew how to fight with a variety of weapons.

She looked at her brothers as more footsteps came from the main door behind them and more from below. America burst from the door behind them with a large shotgun with a magazine clipped in, "Back down, guys, I got this!"

The Italians barely got out of the way before the zombies rounded the corner and America began firing. He got through seven rounds before he had to reload, but there were two more zombies that continued to charge. America swung his weapon at one, sending brain matter everywhere, but the one right behind him chomped his arm. The other three immortals had been too shocked to do anything.

"Shit!" The man cried out as he thrashed his arms to get it off of him, but the zombie clung tightly, clawing at him. Veneziano got to his senses and sliced through the back of the thing's neck, but it was too late. America threw off his bomber jacket and looked in horror at the chomp mark on his arm. The zombie's bite had been powerful and went through the faux leather, straight to America's arm. He sobbed and the group listened as more zombies charged up the stairs. "It's been nice knowing you all. Tell Mom I love her, if she's still alive," He whispered before finally reloading his weapon and began running down the stairs.

"Peaches..." Liberty whispered as she growled. She looked up, "The both of you, go and get everyone. We're stampeding out of here. If America turns, then all of his people turn. Get Carina too, I need to have a chat with her. Hurry!"

Lovino growled as he took back over, "Ragazza-"

"LISTEN TO ME, PLEASE, Roma. I'm begging you. Go get everyone. Venie, go," She glared, gripping her blades. The younger brother nodded and took off. Romano sent her one last glare as he went after him. Liberty stood in front of the stairs and waited. It was three minutes before the first one appeared. It went down with a minor scuffle, but a second appeared before the doors behind her opened and Germany unleashed a small barrage of ammo on it.

"Mom? Where's America?" Canada asked as Carina hid behind him.

She swallowed and gripped her blade tighter, "He's down there, fighting after he got bitten. We have to get out of America. It's going to be no use if all Americans are Zombies." Gilbert frowned.

"Aren't you-" He started, but she lowered her eyes.

"Not completely, but I wanted to talk to Carina, just in case. I love you," She whispered before finding England in the crowd and bringing him into a corner with Carina. "Al, do you remember that spell? We're not sending her back, but I want to transfer just in case. Can you supervise?" The Brit swallowed as he nodded and passed over his grimoire. "Thanks. Carina, this is going to hurt, but trust me, ok?" Carina nodded and stood as her mother flipped to a bookmarked page.

A glow surrounded Liberty as she began whispering and a pain enveloped her entire being as she felt her aura being ripped away from her cells and drifted over to Carina, who began twitching, crying, and as the spell drew to a close, screaming. It drew Gilbert and her brothers closer and the former was barely able to catch her as she fell. "Amalia, what did you do?"

"Mom? What did you do?" Carina asked as she wavered on the spot and held out her hands.

Liberty smiled and clutched Gilbert's shoulder as she stood, "I passed on my legacy. It's not time for you to go back yet, but Lady Luck must live on. You, Bambina, are only Italian. I am an Italian, Pole, Prussian, and American. This is a just-in-case that when America turns, that I don't take the aura with me."

Gilbert stared at her, "You're a mortal. How's your heart?" She hummed and sighed.

"It's good, but it still hurts. I'm fine for now."

Romano shook his head and looked over at Carina, "Well, Bambina, welcome to the world of the Damned. The baton has been fucking passed." Carina looked over at her mom in confusion.

"Mom, what did you do?"

Liberty straightened and began to walk off, "Nothing you need to be concerned about right now. Stay in the middle of the group and you'll be ok..." She began walking down the stairs and several countries began to follow or keep pace with her and it wasn't long before they reached the first floor and saw America's body being devoured by a variety of zombies. His large and small intestines were in the hands and mouth of a recently undead woman, a man was munching on his hand, and two children were on his other side. The worst part was, America's eyes drifted over to the group and he smiled, letting his tears finally roll down his face. Liberty growled and slashed at the older two and Germany fired four shots into the children, two for each.

America's head hung when his surrogate mother approached and placed a kiss on his cheek, lowering his eyelids. "Mom, please..."

She nodded and stood, raising her sword. England cried out as he realized what she was doing, "Liberty, you don't have to! Let m-" It was too late and America's head rolled to the floor. She sobbed and collapsed onto the floor. "Liberty..."

France put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, "Angleterre, there wasn't anything you could have done without putting yourself more at risk. We don't want a repeat of what happens when you use too much magic." Liberty shook as it felt as though a part of her soul was torn away from her and disappeared into the air. Canada put a hand on her shoulder and suddenly, she was terrified and huddled more into herself.

The man looked down on her with a sad look, "You did him a favor, Maman. He was in pain and wouldn't have wanted to cause any of us pain. There wasn't anything you could have done." He sheathed her blade into his holster and carefully picked her up. "Let's keep going."

Prussia nodded, "We have to try and get back to Europe. Assuming the main ways are closed, any ideas?"

"Why don't we go around the top of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and then back into Europe?" Canada asked. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had just had to put America out of his misery, she would have laughed. Of course he would suggest the was he was found.

"Not bad. How are we going to sail? There are too many of us to fit on a normal ship and where would we find one anyway-"

The Canadian shook his head, "You're forgetting Hans Island. Denmark is about to be making his routine trip over there-"

Russia hummed, "Or we can go through Alaska over to my house-"

"Didn't Allen say Alaska was infected?" England asked, half-dazed.

Germany growled, "This fighting will get us nowhere! We decide now by a vote and everyone gets one vote! Raise your hand to go through Russia!" Carina looked around as several of the nations left their hands down, but raised her's. She had travelled from D.C. to Alaska before and even though it took three days of nonstop driving, the area between Russia and Alaska at the narrowest point was about 55 miles.

The blonde huffed, "Now, all in favor of Greenland?" Liberty raised her hand as she squirmed a bit in her brother's hold. Canada put her down to raise his own, as did a majority of the other nations. Germany huffed and crossed his arms, "Ok then, we're going to try and meet up with Denmark. If all else fails, we sail to Greenland and call from there." The group nodded and they trickled out into the street with England, Canada, Carina and Liberty staying back for a while.

"I'm sorry, England, I know you wanted to do the 24 hour spell, but he was in pain and it wasn't going to help," Liberty whispered.

England hummed and leaned forward to remove something off of his body. He gripped a chain in his hand tightly and turned to Canada, "I...I think he'd want you to have these. Liberty-"

"I'm going to die soon anyway, there's no point. Keep them," She mumbled, shaking her head. Canada reluctantly took America's dog tags and put them in his pocket. "We have to keep moving. Canada, if you haven't called border control, do it now." He nodded and pulled out his phone as Carina kneeled and cried. Liberty put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"He's in a better place now, Bambina, he doesn't have to worry about..." She soothed and pulled her daughter onto her back so she could rest. Carina clung like a koala bear and they met the rest of the G20, that had been able to make it that is, outside in a variety of cars. She walked to her brothers' lamborghini and rested her daughter in the back, buckling her up as she crawled in after, doing the same. She looked at Flavio in the front seat and smiled wearily, "Just assume the rest of the population are zombies. Go as fast as you want, Roma." As her brother started up the car, Liberty leaned over her daughter protectively and fell asleep.

* * *

Carina ended up shaking her awake, "...Mom? Mama? Wake up!" Groans come from the front seats and Liberty sat up to be hit with a headache. "She's ok!"

"Quit screaming, Bambina, we can hear her," Lovino grunted as he pushed down the airbag.

"Roma, what the fuck happened?" Liberty asked as she held her head and looked at her brothers. The windshield had shattered and Veneziano was still unconscious on his side with blood pouring down his face.

He sighed, "After you fell asleep, we began to drive out of DC. The others began to get separated by Zombies by getting forced to take different exits, we were one of them, but we got back on the right road. I managed to get us to the border, but we were running out of gas and all those crazy turns finally got to the brakes when they wouldn't work. We're a ways out of Toronto, but Hamilton is closer. Veneziano, hey, get up, this is no time for napping."

Veneziano didn't stir as Romano smacked him on the chest. After a second, Romano checked for a pulse and sighed in relief, "It's weak, but it's there, Ragazza. We need to get him help."

She nodded and began to get out of the car, Carina following quietly. The older woman went around to the younger brother's side and pulled it open, "Romano, I need your help to get him out." He paused and gripped the steering wheel. "Romano?"

"I can't, Liberty. My legs are stuck."

Her eyes widened, "No, can't you pull your seat back?"

He shook his head, "I can feel it, Sorella, my legs are shattered. Look at the front of the car, we're lucky it didn't explode!" When he said it, Liberty check the front of the car and was amazed. The entire front was shattered on a tree on a low downhill, and indeed, Romano's legs were crippled halfway down his shin. "Leave us, Ragazza, Bambina, there is nothing we're going to be able to do from here and we'd just slow you down."

Liberty swallowed as tears poured out of her eyes, "No, Romano. I have a little bit of-"

"DAMNIT, FORTUNA, I SAID LEAVE!" He yelled at her, his own eyes leaking. "FRATELLO AND I HAVE LIVED A GOOD LONG LIFE AND THERE IS NOTHING I WANT YOU TO DO-"

Against his wishes and what little magic Liberty had left, she began screaming the two spells to teleport Romano out of the car and heal his shattered legs. He cried as he noticed the way Liberty looked around blankly as she finished. He stood shakily and kneeled in front of her, "Ragazza?"

He wiped away a tear and she jumped, "Romano? Where are you? Did it work?"

"Yeah, it did, c'mon, get up. I'm going to have to carry Veneziano-"

"Romano, answer me, did it work? Can you hear me?" Romano paled and he held up her palm and wrote out the word yes on it. "Thank peaches. Can you get Veneziano and Carina out of here? I'm dead weight..."

The man shook his head, even as he heard something rustling in the brush a distance away, "Ragazza, I can't just-"

"Zio, you can't win against her, I've trie-"

He growled, "And how would you know, you've live with her for what, 18 years?! I've known her since the same century that Christ was born and died!"

"Romano!" Said man glared at his sister and paused as he saw his grip on her palm was causing her pain. "Just take them and go. Stop arguing and do it, they're getting closer. I'm no idiot. Shoot me before you go, please."

Romano stiffened, "I-I can't-"

"I can. I've done it before," A fourth voice said. Veneziano stumbled out of the car and fell onto the ground. Carina helped up him and Romano stood in front of him, guarding their sister. "Fratello, get out of the way. This is what she wants."

He growled and clenched his fists as he sidestepped, "We have to hurry, they're getting closer." Veneziano nodded and walked around behind her, pulling out his small .22 handgun.

Liberty stiffened as she felt the barrel press against the base of her neck, just above her curl, crying lightly. "I love you. Lovino, Flavio, Veneziano, Luciano, Carina. Tell everyone else the same if you ever see them again. Good bye."

A small crack echoed and she was nothing.

Romano watched as his sister fell to the ground and Veneziano had a dead look in his eyes and they took off their sister's peach ring and weapons to give to Carina. The daughter took them very reluctantly and they continued on their way to Europe. As it would turn out, Veneziano ended up getting bitten somewhere around Newfoundland and the South Italians were forced to leave him behind. From what little information they had, the two found out that New Zealand let the information out and were able to control it to the point of zero contamination. Then, Australia was next, and from there on, island nations began getting their populations down.

Those were the lucky countries. The mainland nations were slowly decaying themselves and soon, France fell altogether, then Germany, then China and India. Other nations quickly followed. Carina was allowed to stay in New Zealand as she was passed from a tired Romano and into new hands. There would be a new world effort from the remaining nations to send excursions to get the zombies under control. Carina would learn to fight from Australia and England and she would be leading the expeditions after twenty years.

She eventually got sent back in time when she was 120 when the world felt they had it under control to a decent level. When she found the next her, she made sure to talk to America about never digging up that body.

* * *

lol. But basic explanation about my version of the disease. It is one that attacks the brain and regulates its movements, so the victims are still alive, but are unaware. Their muscles are controlled by the disease and as all must do- they only need to spread, so they push their hosts to and occasionally past their limit. The flesh they 'eat' is usually an accident of when they go to spread it by saliva.

All in all, the disease will attack the victim's brain and push them into a near coma state. The victim will not be aware as they are controlled, but they are still alive enough to regulate their body temperatures and not rot away into nothing.

 **To make it up to y'all, Nyotalia where they all wake up and they're the opposite gender. Italics means they are talking to their alter ego. Also, other stuff. This is not part of the actual story, just random AUs.**

"What the fuck!" Liberty growled as she woke up to a girl's scream. It was probably another girl that one of her brothers had brought home and was screaming after spending the night and finding the other brother sleeping on her other side, naked. Wouldn't be the first poor drunk girl. Won't be the last poor drunk girl.

Liberty groaned as she sat up to deal with it and rubbed her hands through her hair, but was surprised to find man hands. A look behind her confirmed that it wasn't Gilbert's by accident, but then a fiery woman in a loose button up stormed in- "Veneziano, you really fucked up- You're not Veneziano."

The sleepy immortal sighed, "He's probably still asleep. Who are you? Did you come home with Veneziano or something, because I can help you get hom-"

"Bastardo, lemme rephrase- Who. The. Fuck. Are. You?"

Liberty cocked her head, "Liberty Brewster. Who are you?"

The woman began shaking her head and grabbing her hair, "No, no, no nonono, not again, damnit!"

"Lady, I need you to calm-"

"LIBERTY, IT'S ROMANO, FOR FUCKS SAKE," She screamed, jabbing her thumb towards herself. "You're a guy!"

Liberty looked over her body and blinked slowly, "What the fuck? Have you seen Veneziano yet?" He shook his head and sighed.

"Let's go let him know, but let's hurry, Flavio is giving me a headache. He's freaking out- _No, we are not wearing those!_ " Liberty smirked when she realized the last part wasn't meant for her. Romano glared at her, "Oh shut up! You've been wearing pants for years and you don't have a voice in your head saying how cute we'd look wearing all of those dresses you don't ever wear! Get your ass up so we can go wake up Veneziano!"

She rolled her eyes to stand and grinned when she saw she was at least 5'8" compared to his 5'2". "Shortie," Liberty snickered until Romano shot his foot up. She choked and crumbled, "Why the fuck did you do that, Roma?"

"Bastardo, know my pain," He growled, crossing his arms. Liberty chuckled quietly as she recovered and slowly stood. "Now c'mon, we need to go tell Frat-Sorella."

"Screw that, we're still who we think we are. He's at Germany and Teutonic's place, right?" He nodded and went into his sister's closet. "Take anything you want. Other than the turtlenecks, jeans, my red dress and my wedding dress, you're free to alter them any way you want."

She noticed a shift in control when he began looking over her clothes and he gasped, "Neylan, I never knew you had this! Veneziano and I would look so- _Shut up and swallow your pride for one day! It's not like I get to do this, so let me have one-thank you_." Liberty chuckled as she left to go raid her brothers' closets.

When she came out wearing a pair of near-form fitting jeans and a pink button-up and saw Romano, she almost growled. "Romano, what the hell are you wearing?!"

He whirled around and crossed his arms, revealing the cutout, "I'm wearing shorts underneath, calm down! You really are acting like a brother!" He had been wearing a tan shirt with a part of the top cut out.

Liberty rolled her eyes and ruffled her brother's hair, grinning as he swat her hands away, "Well what do you expect?! I now have to take care of three girls who have no idea how to be girls-"

"Veneziano fooled Austria for 500 years. He knows how to act like a girl. Flavio also siezed control when he saw the other matching dress and shorts and..." He flushed and Liberty smiled.

"Don't worry, Spain got those for me when you got older. He hoped that we would dress similarly enough that I would need at least four pairs. But what's with... This?" She asked, waving her hands over the bust. Romano flushed again and crossed his arms, pouting.

"Flavio said that showing some chest helps women in the long run if they can pull it off-"

Liberty pursed her lips, "Roma, are you wearing a bra right now?" He yelped and covered his chest. Liberty shook her head and dragged her 'brother' upstairs for proper undergarments. Romano wouldn't stop blushing and it made Liberty laugh harder than it should. She ended up bringing a lot of extra bras, just in case. Peaches knows that even though these men were centuries old, they had no idea how to be women.

* * *

Luciano glared at the dress, "No way am I getting in that- _I don't care, I let you have Milan as it is_ \- Flavio I swear to god, get that fucking thing out of my goddamn face before- _You know what, fine_!" He snatched it out of his brother's hand and went into the bathroom to change as Germany peeked his head out of the bedroom.

"Is she gone, Italy?" Liberty rolled her eyes and huffed.

"For the last time, Lud, I'm Liberty. But do you have any clothes that will work?" He blushed and nodded, ducking back into his room. Feliciano came out a second later, gushing over their outfit. Flavio grinned at his hard work and Liberty frowned. "Venie, tell me you're wearing the shorts."

Luciano took over again, "You think that I would really walk around without shorts with this on as a woman?"

She frowned, "I know, Luciano, but..." Feli took back over and winked at her, making her roll her eyes again and Romano smacked him lightly upside the head.

"That is why she can't trust you, idiota!"

"L-Liberty, could I have your help with something?" Germany asked, peeking out, terrified. The 'woman' smiled and nodded. The look on the blonde reminded her off all the times when he was younger and was nervous about something. She entered and shut to door behind her and Germany fiddled with his thumbs, "I-I don't think any of your bras would fit me and I didn't want to ask your broth-sist-"

"Brothers, Ludwig. We are simply in a different body, but we are still who we think we are. And let me see what is in your closet... Are there any wifebeaters that you can't use anymore?" She asked as she looked through his closet. Germany though for a moment before nodded and going to reach under his bed and pulling out a stowaway tote. He popped the lid and pulled out a black wifebeater that looked more like it would have fit Japan better, but that must have been-

"I got it as a present from Luxembourg. He forgets how... big I am sometimes," Germany mumbled.

Liberty nodded and took it, folding it in half, "Do you still have that pillowcase that lost its twin? I'm going to use it as spare padding when I sew it shut." Germany nodded and went to get it as Liberty grabbed the sewing kit off his bookshelf. When the blonde returned, Liberty set to work with Germany watching intently.

"When did you learn to make clothes out of random things?"

The auburnette smiled as she continued to sew the new sports bra, "It was something that everyone learned how to do before you were born. Some are more reluctant than others, but every nation older than 200 knows how to sew and the better their nation was, the more likely they could do masterpieces. Spain, England, France, and Portugal all made their own flags when they sailed, and everyone had to know how to mend clothes on and off the battlefield. You... You are young and were on the edge of the Industrial Revolution, so you were still learning what it mean to be a nation, so Gilbert and I took care of your clothes. Go find a different shirt and pair of pants, I don't think boxers and a half-see through wife-beater will work." Liberty's eyes twinkled as the blonde's face burst into a large blush and ran off to change into different clothes.

Germany came back with on of his normal jackets on and a pair of green pants that were secured with a belt and her boots. Surprisingly, Germany was only a inch or two shorter than Liberty currently, so his pants fit in a baggy manner, but he somehow pulled it off. Another five minutes afterward, a roughly done sports bra was produced and Germany went into the closet to try it on and a small strangled yelp came from the room. "Liberty? It feels weird..." Liberty sighed and went to look and nodded.

"It needs a drawstring for the bottom, that's all. Do you-"

"I can take care of that. Go wake up Gilbert, if he isn't up already. I'll see you outside in a few minutes," The blonde said, pushing her out. With a final touch of slamming his door shut, Liberty went back to the living room and froze.

"G-Gilbert?" The albino girl looked up from his place on Veneziano's lap and froze. "What were you doing?"

He swallowed and scrambled off to blush red, "I thought..." Liberty sighed and shook her head, her heart numb.

"It's fine, but don't let it happen again. Do you have any clothes or the ones I leave here for the nights I stay over?" Gilbert nodded and they walked to his room. He gently shut the door behind him and sat down on his bed. "Gilbert?"

He shook his head numbly, "I... I che-"

Liberty growled and grabbed his face gently, "Gilbert, you didn't know. You weren't expecting me to be a man, so you went to the person who looked like me. You're too awesome to knowingly cheat, ok?" Gilbert closed his eyes and Liberty sighed again and rested her forehead on his, "I don't forgive you because there is nothing to forgive. Look at me Gilbert." He reluctantly did and the auburnette smiled, "I love you and you know that. I know you wouldn't cheat on me." She pulled him in for a kiss and was happy to feel Gilbert kiss back with just as much passion. They soon pulled back and they smiled at each other.

Gilbert clung to Liberty's shirt and sighed, "I don't know what to do... All of a sudden, everything is different. I've gotten so used to the way I used to be, but now... my footsteps are shorter, I'm shorter and I'm having-"

"That's why I'm here. I'm taller too-"

"Shield, how tall? You know what, stand up!" He huffed and stood, putting his hands on his hips. Liberty chuckled because her boyfriend was actually very cute like this, but listened and laughed harder as they realized that Liberty towered over Teutonic. "What?! No fair!"

She laughed, "Not fair? You've always been at least 16 centimeters taller than me! Now come on, let's get you some clothes." He huffed and went into his closet and came out a moment later with an old blue jacket, a ruffled white shirt and a tiny skirt. "What the hell is this? Are you trying to get-"

Gilbert rolled his eyes and threw a sword on the bed as well, "I know what I'm doing, Liberty. I know how to take care of myself and I have you." He used his new look to his advantage in looking cute and Liberty sighed and pulled him close to place a small kiss on his forehead.

"You're lucky you're so cute," She mumbled against his hair. He laughed and pushed her away.

"I have to get dressed," Gilbert said.

Liberty rolled her eyes, "Are you serious? It's nothing that I haven't seen before." He blushed, but still pushed her out of the room. She pouted and went to wait on the couch.

Lovino laughed, "Wow, Ragazzo, you got kicked out of your lover's room, huh?"

She growled, "Like you're in a solid relationship, _Ragazza_." The siblings stuck their tongues out at each other and their phones began to buzz from a text.

 _World meeting in one hour in Vienna. Countries not able to make it will be patched through phones._

They chuckled and clicks came from down the hall and Gilbert burst in the living room. Liberty gapped at him, the Italian 'brothers' whistled, and Germany growled, crossing his arms, "You are not going out in that. You've seen how people react to women and it'll be late at night by the time we get out of there! You know how men treat women-"

"Do you not see my awesome sword at my side?! I know I'm allowed to carry it with my status! And Liberty is going to be there!"

Germany growled and shook his head and looked to Liberty, "You're in charge of him, ok?"

Liberty nodded and wrapped an arm around Gilbert, "You know it. This is my idiot." Gilbert fake gasped as Lovino and Veneziano started laughing hard enough to fall of the couch.

* * *

Liberty could not stop laughing with Hungary. Most of the normally male nations were uncomfortable in their seats and their individual idiots kept yelling at each other until America jumped in and they all had to watch in amazement as the shirt barely managed to contain his new... assets. But some were comfortable in their new skins already, such as France, Spain, and Poland. Then there was Germany, Japan, and Canada who were tugging on their clothes uncomfortably. The ex-girl nations were also having a hoot watching their friends struggle with their new bodies. Ukraine was running around happily to not hear her boobs bouncing with every step and Belarus was watching with a nearly invisible smile on her face.

England glared everyone down the moment he sat down, and France wouldn't leave him alone. America kept racing everywhere and leaning on everyone, making them uncomfortable and Teutonic kept jabbing Austria with the sheath of his sword. Eventually Belarus had enough, "OI! CAN WE ALL STOP FREAKING OUT LIKE THE TEENAGE GIRLS YOU ALL ARE ACTING LIKE!"

The room quieted down and Liberty stood, "Ok, we need to compile what we know. I think we would all know if an organization came and switched our genders without us knowing as so seamlessly, so this must be a larger work. United kingdom, Romania, Norway, do you have any word from your friends?" Scotland talked lowly with Wales and the Ireland brothers and shook his head as the magic trio shared glances.

Norway stood, "It seemed that one of the ancient gods got mad. Loki isn't happy. The other gods are trying their hardest to appease him, but the fairies are saying that it may take a while."

Austria tapped his foot, rather annoyed, "Isn't there anything we can do to make this 'Loki' happy faster-"

"No, there's not. Germania would often say that his brother's gods could not be rushed. Loki likes a laugh that lasts, but once he stops laughing, he'll change things back. We have to get used to the way things are." Some of the nations looked stubborn, but many were slowly accepting that they had to get used to their new bodies. Eventually diving off into other topics, they went on to discuss their normal issues. Germany was right though. When it came to leave, it was late at night and many of the now-female nations were carrying some form of pepper-spray, pocket knife or small handgun.

Regrettably, Liberty had been forced to park a distance away and she walked closely to her small group. On the way, they passed a trio of drunk men. They cat called and wolf whistled and Germany shrunk at the attention. The gutsiest of the men approached them and he leaned on the alley wall to maintain his balance, "Hey there, want to know the best night of your life?" Germany shrunk up even more and Lovino growled.

"She doesn't want your attention, Bastardo. Back off," He snarled. Germany blinked in surprise, but the shorter never took their eyes off of the threat.

The man laughed and leaned down, "You're feisty. It would be so much fun-" Liberty didn't let him finish the sentence as she intervened and grabbed the man's collar.

"Hey, lay off. They're with me."

He grinned, "I'm sure we can to come to some kind of agreement or make it worth your while at least." The woman used her new height to tower over him and throw him back. The drunk stumbled but he got recovered surprisingly fast. "Men." His two friends began to walk around the sides of the ground and one each grabbed Veneziano and Gilbert. They popped blades out and held it to their necks. "Now, we just want to spend a little quality time, but if you don't agree... I'm sure we can work something out."

Liberty looked at her brother and boyfriend and they stared at her. Luciano was out and ready at the moment something happened and Teutonic was shaking, probably in a small flashback. She tensed and locked eyes with Germany before jerking her gaze to his brother's assailant. He nodded and got to the ready. They wouldn't let anything happen to him.

She turned back around, "Well, at least know our names. Do you know who we are?" The man cocked his head in confusion, but shook it slowly. "The 'women' in your grasp are the immortal representations of North Italy and the Teutonic knights. Germany is the blonde and the one with the mouth is my oldest sibling and as the representation of South Italy, she was and is a part of the mafia. I raised them." The man froze and Liberty frowned, "Mark."

There was a small struggle and Liberty lunged at the man in front of her. She punched him in the temple and watched as he went down. Without missing a beat, she turned around to see the damage. The one that was holding her brother was on the ground with a knife in his hand and Gilbert was on the ground in a ball and his attacker was passed out with a bloody nose. Liberty went to kneel in front of Gilbert and brushed some hair behind his ear. "Gil?"

He blinked and lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her, "Amalia..."

"Where did you go?" She asked, rubbing his back soothingly.

Gilbert sobbed and buried his face in the crook of her neck, "G-Gilen..." It was more than enough and Liberty picked him up.

"Russia's not going to hurt you again, not if I can help it. Let's get you home..." She whispered as they continued on their way, but not before Luciano took his knife back and spit on the man. Germany drove them home and he extended an invitation for the family to stay the night. They reluctantly agreed and Liberty went to make sure Gilbert was taken care of. He had fallen asleep as soon as the car started, curled in Liberty's arms and still clung as she carried him into the house. She carefully slipped the jacket, boots and sword off as she watched his chest rise and fall.

As weird as it was, the woman in front of her made her heart race, but it was probably because her heart still knew it was Gilbert. Brushing some hair out of his face, she put a kiss on his forehead to go check on the other three. They were having a quiet discussion in the living room and they looked at her upon her entrance. "Ragazzo, is it always this bad?"

Liberty chuckled as she plopped onto the couch, "Ordinarily, no, but you four weren't dressed in the most modest way. One struggle with woman is that they are constantly judged on the way their clothes fall. I get an occasional comment to wear something that shows a bit more skin, but I ignore it. But I do get a lot of cat calls, an occasional groper and one or two men wanting to show me a 'good time' but they quickly retract their offer. Can I offer some advice?"

Germany nodded as he stretched his arms above his head, "Please. I have never had this much trouble breathing on a regular basis."

She laughed, "Get used to it. You're all unlucky, you have giant boobs compared to me. Never go anywhere without a bra on because everyone will know and it's indecent. A boob shot is the female equivalent to a dick kick, so lying on your stomach is a new no-go. Be careful crossing your arms because they will be a new shelf. You're going to want to put deodorant under there too. Wear a good bra for running or you'll look like Ukraine. She doesn't have many, but she uses them when she needs to. Makeup is a bitch. Anything else... Oh! I need to take you all out shopping later!"

Veneziano hummed and leaned on Romano. The latter yawned and weakly pushed his brother, but didn't do much other than mumble, "Get off, Bastardo..." Liberty chuckled and stood.

"I'll carry you two to bed, but just this once, ok?" They both hummed and she took them one-by-one to their assigned room. They cuddled together for once in their life and drifted off. She went back downstairs and noticed that Germany was still in his chair, thinking.

She voiced this and he looked up, "It makes me nervous. I have spent the last 150 or so years learning one set of rules. Now I have to learn another? What did we do to deserve this?"

Liberty smiled and kneeled by the arm of the chair, "Nothing. But this is life and you know it hates us immortals. Be glad you don't get periods." Germany paled and she smiled, "Don't worry, everything will work out. I'll carry you to bed, it's only fair."

He chuckled under his breath, but said nothing, curling into her hold like he used to as a child. Liberty went to tuck him in and left to go curl next to Gilbert. She was dressed only in boxers and Gilbert was using her chest as a pillow.

The next few days were a wild scramble of fighting over clothes, makeup, and the bathrooms. Liberty had to tell Veneziano and Prussia no to too many outfits so many times and she often went with Germany when he wanted to exercise so he could do so in peace without having to worry about his new self. She assured him it wouldn't be that much of an issue, but she did so to calm him down. Luckily, after two weeks, they were all back to normal. The bad touch trio kept whining about not being about to see boobs whenever they wanted to. Liberty wouldn't stop laughing.

A week after they went back to normal and Liberty and Romano were chilling on the couch watching a drama, she looked at him, "Why did you stand up for Germany with the drunk men?"

He hummed and cast her a small frown, "Because. We were all in the same fucking boat and if potato bastard is scared, then we're all fucked." Liberty laughed at how true is was.

* * *

 **Then this.**

Fortuna groaned as she sat up in her bed, "You fucking wolf, stop it!" This is what she got for living in the middle of nowhere in the early 1200s. Then again, it was either this or shit-filled cities.

The wolf went back to it and soon, scratches were heard at her door, "For fuck's sake! You are so luck there aren't guns yet!" She grabbed her bow and an arrow, went to the ladder that led to her roof and pushed the door open. She notched the arrow and took aim, but the wolf pup looked up and she paused. It had a noticeable curl and it was rather thin, especially for a baby. "Fucking wolf, go away, or I will shoot." It looked up her and seemed to scoff and she shook her head. "You're too much trouble." Fortuna crawled back down, but the wolf wouldn't leave her alone. It continued to make a variety of sounds, she ended up staying at the top of her house and looking down. It was 15 minutes after it started howling that she finally climbed down.

She carefully opened the door and sighed, "Your momma would have been here by now. Let's get you some food. I have some fresh milk and meat." The pup stumbled in and leaned on her legs. She chuckled and picked up the little thing. It yipped but they froze to look in each others eyes. Fortuna knew those eyes. She looked into them often and it hadn't been long since she had last seen them. "Roma?"

It licked her nose and they both wriggled. She blinked in confusion and put him on a table, "Roma, what happened?" He growled, but he paused when his stomach growled as well. Fortuna panicked and went to get the meat and the goat milk. She chopped up a small corner and tore it up and added the goat milk. She mushed it together with her hands and put it before Romano. He snarled at her, but she huffed, "You are too little to be eating solid food, Romano. Trust me." He lowered his head and slowly began to munch on it.

His sister crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on it, watching him. Her eyes slowly began to close and eventually she fell asleep. A wet tongue on her face woke her up and she blinked in confusion. Fortuna panicked when she saw the wolf pup on her table and began to fall back in her chair, but she remembered what was going on. It didn't appear that she had been asleep very long and the bowl was still wet. Romano gave her an unimpressed look and growled. "I'm sorry, there wasn't much else I could give you without giving you a stomach ache! You seem to be about 3 weeks old in wolf terms, Roma. Seeing as you can't talk right now, let's just go to bed and see if this goes away in the morning. If not, we can play bark once for yes, two for no."

Romano huffed as his sister picked him up and carried him to the pile of furs in the corner. She crawled under and he came to lie next to her head. Fortuna smiled and scratched behind his ear lightly, grinning when he leaned into it. Putting a kiss on the top of his head, she mumbled, "Goodnight, Romano." He whined and they fell asleep.

The next morning, a small mass landed on her stomach, "Ragazza, get up!"

"Roma? How are you feeling, piccolo lupo?" He growled a bit, his eyes flashing a bit in the light, causing Fortuna to blink in shock. The child winced and curled up on himself. "Romano?"

"You're scared of me. T-That thing bit me and now..." Fortuna shook her head and brushed Romano's hair back.

"No, no no no, Roma. I wasn't expecting your eyes to glow, that's all. Do you know what you are?"

He looked up and chewed on his lip, "I-I think so. A lycan..."

Fortuna nodded, "A werewolf as it will be known as, but legend says that the afflicted transform into wolves on a full moon or they can transform on will. But then again, there is another problem. Lycans are considered an evil of pagans-"

"Who the church hates. Ragazza, is there a cure?"

She swallowed and forced herself to look into his terrified eyes and shake her head, "I'm sorry, Romano. There isn't. You have to be careful. You're not allowed to bite people now. If this got into the wrong hands... It would be a disaster. But I'm here for you Romano. I will always be here for you, but you can't let anyone know." Romano swallowed and nodded.

(Fast forward to the 1560s)

Fortuna watched as Spain's messenger bird landed on the windowsill with a squawk and she gently unravelled the message. 'Carina, Romano is freaking out right now. I was poking his face and he accidentally bit me and now he is demanding that you come over. Please hurry, he's panicking more than I've ever seen.'

She cursed and wrote in a quick scrawl, 'Wait for me. Tell him it's not for another five days, and I'll be there tomorrow. I am so sorry, Spain.' Tying it back on quickly, she grabbed her large travel bag and grabbed her horse. She began the expedition from Toulouse in southern France, but it wouldn't be until the next afternoon that she arrived. The moment she stormed into the home, screaming her brother's name, he was clinging to her dress, crying apologizes. Spain was close behind him and she grabbed him to drag them into an abandoned room.

Carina glared down at Romano gently, "What did I tell you, lupo? No-"

He snarled at her as tears poured down his face, "I know! I don't know what happened, but I'm sorry-"

"You're saying sorry to the wrong person-"

Spain cocked his head in confusion, "He already has, Carina, many times. It was just a little bite-"

She shook her head, "Spain, no, you don't understand. There was... an incident a few hundred years ago. Since then, I usually come at least once a month for Romano and leave the next morning."

The man nodded, "I've noticed. You always lock the door."

"For good reason. Romano, are you comfortable telling him or should we wait until it happens?"

The child twiddled with his thumbs, "I-I can do it." He looked up at Spain and cried, "Don't hate me."

Spain frowned in confusion, "Why would I-" His face dropped as Romano began to twitch and his body reshaped and gave rise to a new figure. Carina helped pull off the clothes and picked up her little brother.

"That is why. Romano was bitten by a werewolf several decades ago and I come by to make sure no one finds out. I am so sorry Spain but.. There is no cure. Once the skin is broken, you're damned. If you even try to-"

The man crumbled to sit on his feet and shook, "I- Never. I wouldn't hate Romano. He's been with me for years now and he's done all he can to not bite me, I've noticed. I never... I never know, Roma, if I did, I wouldn't have teased you for locking your room those nights." Romano looked up at her and she smiled, putting him down to run over to his guardian.

"Well, Spain, you're lucky you have someone to help out with that. Romano and I had a learning curve. I might not be here at every moment, but Romano should be here until you have a good grasp on it," Carina said. Romano yipped in agreement and put his front paws on Spain's arm. The man chuckled and scratched him behind the ear.

"Maybe this won't be so bad. Right Romano?" Later that week, Spain was in the sibling's room nervously, picking at his shirt sleeves. "D-Does it hurt?"

Romano frowned as he leaned into his sister's arms, "Yeah, but it goes away with time. The moment that the sun goes down, an itch spreads until it settles into your bones and it reshapes who you are. It's going to happen in about five minutes, so ask what you want to and fast."

Carina listened patiently as the two talked and suddenly, Romano jumped out of her lap to drag Spain behind the dressing divider. Groans came from behind it and not a minute later, a wolf pup urged her around so she could see Spain. His head had gotten stuck and she laughed, "Spain..." She helped him pull it off and he stumbled. Romano was by his side in a second and began the slow lesson of teaching Spain how to move. Spain would slowly get used to his new affliction and Romano answered as many of his questions as he could.

(Skip forward to 1960s)

Romano yawned as he entered the living room and Liberty nodded to him, "Long night?" He grunted as he pulled a leaf out of his hair and slumped on the table.

"Yeah. It's nice to go out and hunt for myself, but at the same time, it's too much work."

She snorted, "I am not going out and getting something for you. It would take too much time and you are too hyper in the mornings if you don't go out anyway. Spain also called and asked if you were ready for the meeting tomorrow.

"I should be. The nations who have meetings after a full moon are jerk offs..." Liberty chuckled and pushed him back into the bedroom. "Fine, fine. There's going to be a tsunami later, but you'll be fine," Romano continued with a yawn.

"Alright, thanks for the heads up. I'm going to get my travel bag ready and ask Spain to postpone," Liberty said. Romano nodded and went back to bed. She sighed and pulled out her phone, "Hey Spain-"

"Carina, do you have any idea what time it is?" Spain growled into the phone. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She forgot he was usually pissy the morning after, but she had to say it. "What is it?"

Liberty winced, "Can you postpone the meeting? Roma said a tsunami is coming. You know how he knows."

Spain sighed, "You know I can't, but I can remove you two from the attendance list."

The tsunami did happen, but Romano and Liberty were kept out of it and the meeting. Next month, Spain came to visit, but so did Veneziano. As far as they were aware, Spain, Romano, and Liberty had managed to keep the secret amongst themselves and they planned on keeping it that way. Slowly as the moon climbed into the sky and the sun fell, Spain and Romano got increasingly agitated and Liberty knew that Luciano was picking up on it.

"Hey, Roma, Spain, can you go to the store for me? I forgot to get-"

Feliciano cocked his head, "They can stay here for a little longer, right Liberty? I don't care if they change."

The room went quiet, and Romano stared at his brother, "What, Veneziano? What did you-" He didn't get much more of a chance when he winced and he and Spain ran into different rooms.

Venie opened his eyes and sadly looked at his sister, "Why did they never tell?"

Liberty growled, "Because it was the middle ages. You know what happened at the time. You heard what happened in switzerland and france. How did you find out?"

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "He is the other half of our nation. I think I would notice if my brother disappeared once a month. When were they bitten?"

"Romano was in the 13th century, so about 800 years. Spain got bitten by him in the 16th century so about 500 years. Romano blames himself a bit, but Spain has told him several times he shouldn't have been sticking his finger in his face. Right you two?" Two sets of paws came trotting in and Romano sat next to Liberty. She scratched behind his ear as always and Spain nudged her other hand. Veneziano looked at his two friends and laughed.

"They're so adorable! Fratello! Spain!" Romano huffed at him while Spain trotted up to him and happily let his ears be scratched. "Why did you never tell me?"

Liberty chuckled as Romano continued to give his brother a blank stare and voiced his thoughts, "Because you can't keep your mouth shut!"

Feli pouted but Spain nudged his knee reassuringly, "What can you two do?"

"Romano's told me that his instincts are better and he can tell when someone can't be trusted better than some nations I know," She explained, giving Spain a flat look. He chuffed and Romano shook his head. "They can understand some animals when in this state, but not as people. They can transform at will, but they have no choice on full moon nights. I try to be there on their full moons when I can, but luckily, it came to be normal to disappear on those nights."

Romano huffed and looked at the back door and Liberty chuckled, "Fine fine, go eat. Spain, listen to Romano, you know how things are around here." Spain whined and rested his head on Veneziano's knee and Romano snarled at him. Reluctantly, the Iberian wolf followed his friends to the door. Liberty closed it after them and unlocked the large doggie door for when they came back.

Veneziano stared her down when she came back, "So that means neither bit you throughout all of it?"

She shook her head and sat on the couch, "Spain had an inkling about 200 years ago when Romano was almost grown, but Romano killed that idea really quick. But I hope you know that this means that you can't tell anyone, correct?"

He nodded and listened as he heard two wolf howls in the distance. He would make sure nothing happened to his family.

* * *

 **And this.**

A loud pounding on Liberty's door made her grab her gun, but a voice made her put it down, "Sorellona! C-Can you please open up?"

The woman walked to the door and opened it, "Veneziano? What's wrong?"

He was shaking like a leaf and he was crying, making his pale face swell lightly, "I-I need to tell you something. C-Can I come in?" Liberty opened the door more, but his face scrunched up more in shame, "I-I... I need you to say it, Sorella. I can't come in otherwise."

His sister swallowed and stepped outside, "Veneziano, what happened?" The man cried as he tilted his head to the side and showed her two large puncture marks on his neck. "Oh my g-" He hissed and she shut up. "Come in. I have a bloody steak in the fridge. I got it on discount because the meat wasn't as tender as the rest." Veneziano entered and slowly followed his sister to the kitchen, where he sat at the table. Liberty reached into the fridge and pulled out a ziplock bag and cut a corner off and passed it to her brother. He sucked on the bag and his fangs edged over his lip.

The blood seeped over the edge and Liberty shivered at the hungry, bloody look in her brother's eyes. Veneziano paused and shrunk away, "You're scared of me."

Liberty took a deep breath and sighed, "I am not going to lie. I am, but then I remember you're my brother. When did this happen?"

"An hour ago. I was dragged into some bushes and I felt someone bite my neck. Luciano came out and he managed to shoot the person before they tried to shove their bloody wrist into my mouth..." Feli shivered at the memory.

"Is it ok if I call England and Romania? They might know something." He paused and nodded, going back to meekly drinking the blood. She swallowed and went to the hanging phone in the hall. She dialled England first, but he wasn't home, forcing her to call Romania.

"Hello?"

She blinked in confusion, "England? What are you doing at Romania's place?"

He huffed, "Research. What's going on?"

Liberty swallowed, "Someone got attacked by a vampire. They're-"

"Are they in your house right now? Liberty, you know that-"

She growled, "England."

He paused, "It's one of your brothers, wasn't it? You haven't let them drink from you, have you?"

"I gave them a bloody steak from the fridge. Do you know of any cures? He said that they tried to get him to drink their blood or something, but he got out of there."

England sighed, "That's good. He's not a full one yet. Make sure he doesn't drink human blood and the vampire stays away from him. It needs to work itself out of his system but he'll be fine tomorrow afternoon. Be careful though and keep a stak-"

Liberty snarled, "Don't even go there! I am not staking my brother! Talk to you later and may your eye of newt float above the batwings." England gasped as she slammed the phone down and leaned on the wall, "Fucking shit." She turned around and jumped a foot in the air, "Peaches! Venie, don't do that!"

He stared down at her with that terrified and teary gaze as he passed her a large iron nail, "Just in case, Sorellona."

She frowned, "No, Veneziano. I am not-"

"For my state of mind. I heard him and I want you to be able to fight back-"

Veneziano shook his head and shoved it into her hand, wrapping her fingers around it, "Please, Sorella." Liberty sighed and nodded, stuffing it into her pocket.

"England said because you didn't get any of he other vampire's blood, you just need to get it out of your system, so you should be good by tomorrow afternoon. Just to be safe-"

He nodded, "I want to use the cell. Is it still strong enough?"

Liberty raised an eyebrow, "It had to be enough to keep the mafia out, what do you think?" Veneziano chuckled under his breath and began to make his way to the basement. "I'll be down in a second," She called and went to check out the kitchen. The steak bag had been sucked dry and it made her stare as she threw it out. She walked down the stairs and found Veneziano curled up in the corner of the built in cell. She had built it in after a rival mafia of Romano's found out and had escaped her grasp. She wanted to keep them there later for Romano, but wanted to make sure nothing could get in or out.

Her brother sent her another shameful and sad look and Liberty sighed. She closed the door and got the key, locking it tightly, "I'm only doing this because you asked, and Venie?" The half-vampire stared at her through the bars and she smiled, "You're still my fratellino. No matter what. I still love you." Veneziano sobbed and pulled his knees closer to him.

"I'm sorry, Sorellona, if I hadn't been so careless, if she hadn't been so-"

She shook her head, grabbing the bars, "No, Venie, listen, there was nothing you could have done. You couldn't have heard it, couldn't have felt it, seen it, or outrun it. You managed to fight it off and now we're going to make sure you're better, ok? We're going to find the thing that-"

"Sorellona?" He whispered and she froze. Luciano was coming out and she knew something was wrong. She drew the stake and waited. "Let me out-"

A force hit her like a ton of bricks and she hit the wall hard. As Liberty gasped for breath, she knew what had hit her to the wall. A pale figure was staring into her eyes, but their face was drawn and looked as thin as a skeleton. "Hello, darling. You look amazing..." She trailed, running her clawed fingers through her victim's hair. Luciano roared at her, but it was useless without the key.

Liberty was finally able to get some of her breath back, "Venie, I see why you liked her."

"And why is that?" The pure vampire in front of her asked, staring into her eyes. Liberty slowly trailed her hand down to the stake in her pocket.

She swallowed as she gripped the heavy metal, "You're strong but gullible." Liberty raised the stake, but the vampire was faster, knocking it from her hand. Liberty raised her hands again, this time in a surrender position.

"You shouldn't have done what, darling. I'm older than you will ever be. I'm faster than you will ever be. I'm stronger than you'll ever be. I'm more educated than you will ever be," The vampire said, circling Liberty. The auburnette swallowed, but she grinned.

"You're right on two of those things. Tell me, how old are you? Charlemagne? Black plague? Napoleon?"

The undead laughed, a chilling sound, but entertained her, "You're lucky I play with my food. I was born 300 years ago. Now tell me, you are twenty correct? What is your name?"

Liberty smiled, "I am one of many names. I took on the name Liberty only recently, but I am formally know as Lady Luck. I was born in ten years from now."

The woman froze, "Oh? And how is that?"

"Because, I have to go back in time to raise myself. You're talking to someone who is older than you will ever be, someone who is smarter than you will ever be, someone who is prettier than you will ever be and do you want to know a secret?"

The vampire frowned, and crossed her arms, "What?"

"Veneziano, what kind of power do I have?"

Luciano frowned, "You're a really bitchy witch."

"Duck, Luciano. You don't want to get the sun in your eye," Liberty snarled before she began chanting. Balls of light appeared in her hands and the woman in front of her flinched and started screaming. She ran up the stairs to try and get to the door, but the light bounced off the doorknob, burning her hands too much to let her be free. Painfully, she also heard Luciano's screams and not a second after the woman stopped making sound, Liberty dropped the spell to run and unlock the door.

Veneziano was trembling as his hands and neck were badly burned and tears poured down his face, "I-Is she gone, Fortuna?"

She nodded and kissed his forehead, "She is. You'll be back to normal before you know it." Feliciano took back over and he collapsed in his sister's arms.

"I'm glad, Sorellona..."

"Just sleep, Veneziano."

She had never been so glad to be ex-mafia than when she had to find people to help her hid the body. Veneziano's burns went away just after the next meeting and when asked about it, he and Liberty just laughed it off and said he got a killer sunburn.

* * *

 **Sorry these get to be longer than the actual chapters, but those require a lot of research that is better done in small doses.**


	99. Chapter 87

**I dunno why the last chapter got so long, but it did. I'm not sorry.**

Italian/Vulgar latin (Italian)/Norman

 **Old English**

Old Norse

* * *

Fortuna smiled as she watched Nicholas II be put to rest with her brothers. The man had been a force to be reckoned with, especially when he declared the Holy Roman Emperor could not appoint popes. It was a huge hit to his power, but Rome had bigger, closer problems to deal with than the far away Empire. She held her brothers tightly and knew that they would have a bigger part in choosing the next Pope. Romano had more influence in Rome, but Veneziano had far more influence in the north and the lands surrounding it. He had the good fortune of being closer to the rest of Europe whereas Romano was stuck in the middle of the mediterranean.

Romano stared at the man's face and uttered a quiet prayer as his little brother followed suit, "Ragazza, how is he seen in the future?"

She smiled and kissed his forehead, "He is a man that gave way to change and revolutionized how the Pope becomes Pope. He was a good man and I trusted him with you two."

"But what about Holy Rome? He betrayed him!" Veneziano cried. The woman chuckled and nodded.

"Maybe, but remember, the Normans are Christian and are far closer than Holy Rome. The Papacy is safer having the Normans there against the Byzantines than having the Germans so far away. When was the last time that the Germans came to the Pope's aid?" Veneziano shrunk and nodded, but Fortuna nudged the top of his head, "However, Venie, you're closer to the rest of Europe and the Normans are christian, so they are on your side, right?" Romano watched his brother's response carefully.

He thought for a moment, but nodded, "Si, they are. How long are you going to be staying here, Sorellona?"

Fortuna cocked her head, "Maybe another year or two, but there's a war with England that I have to fight."

Romano huffed, "That eyebrow jerk is always fighting-"

"It's against France," She retorted, laughing as her brother's face scowled.

"When are they not fighting?" The siblings chuckled and they wandered back to the Lateran Palace. They would stay there for the night before heading to their own homes. Romano's dukes were scrambling to take control of the entire south and Sicily, and were slowly winning. The Normans spanned south and upon her brother's request, she stayed a little longer. Romano stayed close at her side when they travelled south to the small strait that divided Sicily from Romano. In 1064, they travelled with the camp to Northern sicily.

Fortuna poked at the fire in front of her as Romano sat on her lap, men laughing and singing songs throughout the night. She continued to until a small hiss from Romano caught her attention and a small pinch made her jerk to brush it off. "Ragazza, that was a tarantula!"

She frowned and shook her head, "I'll be fine, Roma. A small spider isn't going to kill me."

"Tell that to the four soldiers that fell to it already," A man spoke up from across the fire. Eyes were on her in an instant and Romano looked up at her with a 'I-told-you-so' look. The woman rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'm going to die, are you all happy? What would you suggest I do, fly away?"

The men chuckled, but Romano frowned, "Grandpa used to say dancing helped the disease."

Fortuna sighed and knew she had to comply, "Fine, set the tune and I'll see what I can do. But only if you dance with me." The soldiers around them wooted at the jab and Romano crossed his arms.

"No. But as your country-"

"As your sister, I ask for you to dance with me. Unless there's a man who you'd rather I'd _dance_ with-"

"HELL NO. Ragazza, on your feet," He growled, jumping off her lap. Whether he knew what she was insinuating, she did not know, but didn't ask. Men around the fire cheered and began to sing, clapping their hands, and stomping their feet when he held out his hand.

Fortuna took it and slowly moved her feet, but he kicked her legs, "Faster, Ragazza." She rolled her eyes and laughed again, taking his hands and doing a twirl. She kicked up her legs repeatedly, and then paused, waiting for Romano to do the same. He reluctantly did so, stumbling slightly, but his sister eventually picked him up. Time seemed to go slow and fast at the same time as the song pushed on and on. The siblings huffed and puffed as they danced later and later into the night and at some unknown point, she put Romano down to keep up the dance.

Something was holding her back from stopping and Fortuna was suddenly terrified. The past thousand years had played with her, made her question certain events, but she was always able to rely on her world's science. Her world's science told her that her genes wouldn't let her have dancing disease, but she doubted it when her movements wouldn't stop. Finally, a misstep and she stumbled.

Romano came up to her side as she panted and twitched, "Ragazza, are you ok?"

The woman shakily laughed and reached a shaking hand up to ruffle his hair, "Roma, I don't think that I'm going to die, ok? Can I sleep now?"

"Not here, Ragazza, in the tent. Get up," He said, pulling on her as his men continued to dance. They have have been Normans, but after the Pope named Robert Guiscard Duke of Apulia and Calabria, they became his citizens. Fortuna struggled to push herself up after the hours of dance and her brother growled as he helped her up. "You're stronger than this, Fortuna."

She growled, "I'm not used to dancing for at least three hours to a fast song endlessly, Romano. I'm tired..." The woman yawned again before finally reaching the tent and slipping onto the blanket on the floor. Fortuna curled onto her side and quickly fell asleep. Romano sighed and went to curl up in her arms.

"We can't stay here... Too many Tarantulas..." He quickly fell under as well.

In 1064, Guiscard decided to invade Palermo, but rested outside the city. It was a foolish move as the surrounding countryside was infected with 'Tarantulas'. They were actually a breed of wolf spider, but may Fortuna not burst their bubble on the real thing yet. Robert was reluctant to move, but after the Muslim inhabitants of Palermo fought to defend their home, Robert finally retreated. After that, Fortuna headed North just before winter began and managed to land on England's shores just before the first snowflakes landed.

She walked into the town closest to the sea port and decided to stop in and heard some of the news. Harold Godwinson had been captured by William the Bastard of Normandy and after fighting alongside the duke, William had knighted him or made him swear an oath. In doing so, Harold would have been forced to give up his title.

" **That's just the talk of some Norman liar**!" A briton yelled.

Another shrugged, " **Maybe, but now he's safe and sound fighting his brother. I reckon that Tostig won't last long, if at all. He doesn't suit well with his folk. He's too brutal and is all nice and cozy with those bastard scotsmen and Danes**!" Elizabeth bristled and stormed out, attracting a set of eyes whose owner followed her out. She huffed as she began to head for England's capital, Winchester, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. The angry auburnette whirled around, drawing her blade, but a familiar pair of eyes met her's.

" **Lady Luck. It has been too long** ," Harold said as he put his hand down.

Elizabeth sighed in relief as she put her sword away, " **Peaches, Harold! You almost killed an immortal out of fright**!" He chuckled and shook his head in amusement.

" **I'm sure you'd come right back to spite us. England noticed you were coming and sent me to greet you. Are you safe to travel to Northumbria**?" Harold Godwinson asked, watching her reaction carefully.

She sighed and pinched her nose, " **I would rather head straight for my brother. Be careful how you handle your brother. He might be older, but he's also very petty**."

Godwinson cocked his head, " **In what way do you mean**?"

Elizabeth shook her head, " **I can't say much, other than mercy is to be used carefully. Use it on the right person, but on the wrong person could be putting a knife in their hand**." She turned around and walked off, knowing she confused the man, but it was necessary to at least give him a warning. Harold didn't try to follow her, she was grateful for that, but continued westward. England and Edward were not the happiest to know that she did not go with Harold, but luckily didn't press the issue too much. Edward was getting older and many were beginning to stress their concern for two reasons. The first was for his general health, but the second was his heir, rather, his lack of one.

England sat with Elizabeth in their shared bedroom and she sighed, " **Edward is playing a dangerous game. I've seen it play out before with France**."

He scoffed, " **When? With those bloody Capets, his kings are all 'junior kings' before their fathers pass away. It's not going to end well**."

" **Well... Never mind, but it was the opposite. Edward doesn't have any kids, I heard rumors when passing through France that William the Bastard has been promised the throne, but at the same time, Harold Godwinson has also been apparently bee promised the throne recently, but there are two more players. Edgar Aethling-** "

England huffed, " **He's no where near ready. He's a child-** "

" **As were the rest of his line-** "

" **He has not been groomed to be heir. Who is the other person again**?

Elizabeth growled and clenched her fists, " **Harald Hardrada. A son of a bitch from Norway. You've met him several times**."

The blonde paled and nodded, " **Hardrada? How could I forget? He's a monster. How far back does his claim go-** "

" **His mother was married to a different man who had a claim. I don't know where the rest comes from, but I'm not letting him hurt you too.** "

" **Wait, too? Who else has he hurt?** " England asked, deeply appalled.

She rolled her eyes, " **He... gets around. He fought as a part of the Varangian guard under the Byzantines, and you know who that bitch loves to pick on**." England whistled, but trembled.

" **We're screwed, aren't we?** " She shook her head and frowned.

" **Not if I have anything to do with it, Al. I'll help as much as I can**."

In the final weeks of 1065, Westminster Abbey was consecrated, Tostig got replaced and exiled by Edward, and in the first week of the next year, Edward died. It was said that he named Harold Godwinson his heir, but William was quick to remind him of his oath. England was considerably worried, but he thought nothing of it as the king's council named Harold king of England. Later, he would marry a widow by the name of Ealdgyth. She was the sister of the Mercian and Northumbrian earls who displaced Tostig and was likely a political marriage.

The night or March 20th, England awoke her again for Halley's comet, but this time, she no longer looked at it with wonder. In the back of her mind, it reminded her that even though time goes on, it also repeats, such as fighting for the throne. England was in for the fight of his life, well, after the world wars, the Norse, and against the Spanish.

Harold prepared accordingly, raising his army and waited. Tostig would attack occasionally with what little support he had, but there wasn't much of a difference. England and the rest of his people were tense and things eventually calmed down. When supplies for his army ran out and the harvest loomed, so the weary king sent them home. Disaster struck.

" **My grace! The Norse has invaded York with 8,000 Norsemen! It's Hardrada and Tostig**!" Ollie came out for a brief second in Arthur's fit of rage, letting his host calm down while looking like so from the outside, but Elizabeth grabbed his hand.

Harold growled, " **Send out calls for war. Gather as many men as you can. We need to get this at the root before that bastard catches wind of our struggle**." The messenger nodded shakily and ran out. He looked at the immortals and frowned, " **Are you two ready for war**?"

Ollie nodded with a new, darker look on his face, " **We'll have to show those bastards who they're messing with**."

Elizabeth stared at him, but smirked, " **If I can have a chance to kill Hardrada, anything. He hurt by brothers and I don't let anyone get away with that**."

* * *

England grit his teeth as he rubbed his aching legs, " **How far have we walked**?" His sister hummed as she tilted her head back in thought.

" **At least 1500 furlongs(1). We don't have much longer to travel, but then again, that might be some of the winter winds blowing in** ," She said, sitting next to him.

He groaned, " **You've got to be kidding me**."

She raised an eyebrow, " **You can stay here then while your men go and take on Norway-** "

" **That's not what I meant and you know it. I haven't walked this far this fast in centuries** ," The child groaned, sitting up.

Elizabeth nodded and sat next to him, **"Neither have any of your men, or me. The last time I went this fast**..." Her gaze went dull, but a familiar green-eyed nomad reminded her of how the times had changed. " **Things were and are different.** " A similar pair of eyes looked at her in confusion, but didn't say anything.

" **Do we win, Bess**?"

She laughed bitterly, " **Against who? Hardrada? Tostig? William? You defeat the clear enemy, but one of your kings is known as a Conqueror for a reason.** "

He frowned, " **You really have nothing left to tell me**?"

The woman paused and sighed, " **Sorry, I don't know what came over me, but don't worry too much. Everything will turn out fine and you adapt.** " The brit still didn't look reassured and she ruffled his hair, " **You're going to be ok. It'll take years, but you become great. Use this fight in the future and keep it in mind for other nations. Now come on, I think we're moving again**." England groaned and stood.

" **Fine. But if this doesn't work out, I'm not letting you talk to me for a hundred years** ," He huffed and continued the march north.

* * *

In a strong force of will, the Saxons continued the march North, covering about 180-210 miles in 5 days. When they arrived, the king of England arranged a meeting between Tostig and himself. It was tense and it did not help that once Harold promised to return his title and lands, Tostig responded that he was loyal only to the other Harold. He then turned tail and returned to the camp. He had stated which side of the war he was on and it was time for the battle of Stamford bridge.

Despite being exhausted, the Saxon army took the Norwegian forces by surprise and began the slaughter. It was bloody on both sides, but the Vikings had been unprepared, traveling only in light armor. Upon seeing the raging army, the Norwegians began to retreat back to their supplies, and only a large man was fighting the Saxons off. It was a deadly demonstration of the Berserker. A crafty group of men then chose a man who knew how to swim, gave him a spear and sent him downstream. With held breath, England watched as his soldier stabbed and killed the giant, allowing his forces across the bridge.

The Saxons were angry and had a definite purpose to fight for, upon which they channeled their rage at the army. Hardrada was leading the charge and there was no mistake as to who it was. It was well known that the Viking king was a tall man, rumors even saying he was seven feet tall. Drawing back her drawstring, Elizabeth grinned, "For family." With that, she let the arrow fly and with satisfaction, it landed. The Norse troops were lost for a while as they were confused, but Tostig picked up the charge and began to led them again.

To say that Harold was mad was an understatement. He charged towards Tostig and suddenly the battlefield was quiet. They took one look at Tostig's headless corpse and froze. A rumble from afar drew their attention and suddenly, a new barrage of well-supplied Vikings charged onto the field. They tried to break the English force, but there was no such luck. As the day wore on, the remaining Vikings retreated under the cover of darkness. Harold was not having any of it and continued to chase the men to the coast.

It took Hardrada's son, Olaf III, to ask for peace. It was enough for Harold and allowed the remaining Vikings to sail home. When Norway stood to the side during the meeting, England and Elizabeth joined him.

England tapped his fingers on his chair as he stared down the taller country, "Why?"

Norway looked to the side and the familiar green 'blob' nudged him, "Harold Sigurdson got power hungry. In some ways... I got worried about what troubles he would continue to bring if he had lived." England nodded and sighed.

"How many survived?" Norway raised an eyebrow and he was met with a knowing look. Elizabeth smiled, but said nothing as the two nations sized each other up.

With a small frown, Norway finally gave in, "1,000 or so. Of the original 300 ships needed, only 20 or 25 or so are needed."

England nodded apathetically, "That's good, they all fought bravely, but the second part..." Norway hummed and bowed his head.

"Olaf and Magnus have a better tempers than their father, so expect less fighting with those two. They aren't even fighting for each other's lands," He stated watching the island nation.

The child scoffed, "Truly? Impossible, siblings are always fighting for inheritance-"

"Not always, Kingdom of England. My brother and I are at peace. He rules his lands peacefully, as do I. We are not our father," Olaf stated.

Elizabeth smiled and not, "Evidently not. If I remember correctly, your father was not much for retreating, if his fighting in Italy goes to show anything."

Olaf raised an eyebrow with a questioning smile, "And you are? Not many here know of my father's... more southern conquests."

She laughed, "Conquest? I mean no offense, but he was defeated fair and square. I should know, my older brother fought in the war, although against my wishes."

"But is he not older and likely head of his house? Who is your brother?" The king asked, confused.

With a final smile, Elizabeth bowed, "Lady Luck, dear king. I said older, not bigger. Romano is smaller than England is now, so I was reluctant to have him fight, especially against the Byzantines. Romano is a very reluctant head of house, but we both know that our brother Veneziano to the north would be a better head. I have an agreement with Romano is the day he can defeat me fairly in a fight is the day I will stop worrying about him in battle."

Norway looked at her sharply, "But-"

"-There is no fair fighting in battle," England said, taking up his sentence. The taller shot him a look, but they both shrugged it off.

Elizabeth grinned, "Exactly. We are descendants of Rome, we need to start fighting like him."

Olaf paused, "You are a child of Rome?"

"He named me Grandaughter, but similarly, yes. He raised me and taught me the basics of how to swordfight and how to sail. I owe him a lot," She responded. Olaf opened his mouth again, but a messenger burst into the meeting. Harold looked up from his deep thoughts and nodded his permission.

The man paused, looking at Olaf, but Harold waved his hand, "Out with it, man."

He bowed and managed to sputter out, "I-It's the south. It's the Bastard. He's taken Pevensey." With a slam of his fist, Harold growled and stormed out. Olaf nodded to England.

"May God protect you."

"And you as well, Olaf, King of Norway," England said wearily as he stood. Elizabeth bowed to Olaf on the way out and waved to Norway.

"Hopefully I'll see you in the next century, Norge-"

A small ball of magical energy hit her upside the head, making her world spin slightly, but she still stumbled out, laughing. She quickly sobered though.

For most of his life, his nickname from non-Normans was 'The Bastard', and with good reason. He was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, who had had to fight for his right to be Duke. The boy had been supported by the King of France, Henry I, even though this support wouldn't last, and by several close family members, who would continue to support him throughout his life. He had been hidden by an uncle several times to save his life from power leeches.

William the Bastard was about to become William the Conqueror.

* * *

 **Welp, that's done. ONTO THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS!**

 **(1) Furlong was one of the oldest measurements that I could find. 8 furlongs are about one mile, so they would have had to travel 1440-1680 furlongs. I've heard that the Saxons travelled about 40 miles a day. 210 miles is also about the distance from DC to NYC for Americans. Imagine marching from DC to NYC in five days. But to help out, this was England's war of Independence. Many were content having Harold Godwinson rule, he was from there. He wasn't some invader coming to conquer them. They were willing to push themselves to extremes to fight against this foreign enemy, just like we were taught, but there's one difference between America's war of independence and this.**

 **England lost.**

 **I should also finally be able to put in an episode! Any guesses? Bye!**


	100. Chapter 88

**Yelp, I'm back in school. At least my work hours are shorter! But also, I'm writing this bit a few weeks after that. I got a lost a boyfriend, got admitted to college and a few other random messes. But I'm getting back into this story because AP Euro is coming up and a song I'd listen to while working on this came on the other day and I got hit with some serious nostalgia. Yay...**

Old English/Early Middle English

 **Old French**

Old Danish

* * *

Elizabeth sighed as she carried a sleeping England and marched on with the rest of his men. They had been given a period of rest for mourning and healing before they were forced to go back on the road and many of them were exhausted. Arthur had been dragging his feet along the road and without much warning, his sister swung his bag onto her back and picked him up. He had protested, but his attempts to struggle were too weak to make her change her mind. They continued to march on anyway, heading for London.

Harold Godwinson had insisted on leaving half of the forces there and marched the smaller force of men, around 7-8 thousand, down to the south to fight against the Bastard. They would pick up more forces in London and England began lashing out more to various people. Ollie would notice and take over, letting the angrier boy seeth in silence, but Elizabeth resolved what she could by taking what Artie dished out.

Finally, it came.

The night before the battle, Elizabeth couldn't sleep. She almost refused to. England finally came into her room to see why he heard her pacing and she just pulled him into a hug, "I'm sorry, Albion. I'm so sorry, but from now on, you have to adapt. It'll hurt, but you need to learn to move with the world around you. I am so sorry. I am so sorry..." She continued to repeat it until he pat her back semi-awkwardly and she finally released him. The way her mind seemed to race reflecting in her eyes and he decided to leave her be, choosing to sleep in her room to calm her down.

She sat by his bedside and quietly sharpened all of the weapons in the room and mended a few tears in her clothes. A sharp rap made her look up and England sat up with a shout. "What in the bloody...?" He asked as he held his head. "What time is it?"

"Come in," His sister called and the soldier entered, watching the two warily.

"Harold is asking for your presenses. He says it's time," The blond said and quickly left.

England looked over at her and growled, "Bess, did you put something in my food?"

She sighed and began strapping on her weapons, "I did. You're going to need your strength and it's usually good to get a goodnight's sleep before a battle."

He growled lowly and climbed out of bed, "Fine, but this better be worth it..."

"Just tell your men to hold the line. I'm going to get us breakfast," The auburnette stated and walked out. Stopping at the nearest fire pit to grab two bowls of porridge, she could feel France's aura not far away. It was a few miles out and she knew that he wouldn't be very happy to see her, but it would be the least of her concerns. England came out a minute later and munched through the oat absent-mindedly and suddenly, a horn was heard. Shouts sprung up and items were dropped in favor of shields and swords.

A bird approached Elizabeth and she held up her arm to let it perch. It let her look at the message and she growled, making England cock his head, "What does girly-boy want now?"

She held it down for him to read, but summed it up anyway, "France warned me that his soldiers are better trained and not going to back down. He's telling me to leave."

England huffed, "As if he's going to beat me." Elizabeth's eyes traveled downward and she mumbled a 'yeah'. He took notice of this and sighed, "You don't have to stay here. Not if you don't want to."

"I'll stay, for a while, at least. Remember, hold the line," The auburnette said and he waved her off. She waved Pierre off and in his custom, he tried to take aim, but for once, Elizabeth jumpd out of the way with a "Damnit, Pierre!"

With the battle starting in the morning, the English were situated on a high hill and on the downhill, William was waiting. The Normans came in waves and it seemed that the English was going to win. Elizabeth slipped away, eventually when the Brits had it going pretty well for them. It wasn't until hours later that the line was broken, but it wasn't fighting against the Normans.

The Normans pulled a move that France had learned and adapted as his almost signature move at this point: The feigned retreat. The Saxons charged after them and when they were far enough away, the Normans turned around and charged up the hill. The Saxons weren't fast enough to cover their backs and France had horses on their side, so they raced up the hill even faster. Then, the world shifted with the launch of a single arrow.

A silence almost seemed to cover the battlefield and Elizabeth closed her eyes as she leaned against a tree and cried. Harold Godwinson was dead and England had just entered the game of power. Well, he had been playing on the sidelines, but now... Things were going to change.

Elizabeth stayed by the tree until two pairs of feet stood in front of her, " **Annabelle**."

"France. England." Her brother gave her a blank look and she looked away, "They didn't hold the line, did they?"

He frowned, "No, they didn't. Harold is dead and... The Bastar-" France tightened his grip on England and the shorter boy shrunk, "-William the Conqueror... is marching around now... France has come to get you."

She nodded ambiguously and rose. "Well, England, I guess this is goodbye for now. Run!" The blonds blinked in confusion and she swung her fist. France fell back trying to avoid it, and England gave her a startled look, "RUN, AL!" He nodded shakily and took off towards the capital. France sighed as he looked at his old friend.

" **I really should have expected that, Annabelle** ," He said as he held up a hand.

She rolled her eyes and pulled him up, " **Of course you should have, we've fought enough. But William...** "

He nodded in understanding, " **I don't think you two have met, or if it was, it was in passing. I'll introduce you, but I don't know how well it will go over considering your part**."

Annabelle sighed, " **And here I was hoping that I wouldn't have to put those youngsters in their place...** " France laughed and they walked back towards the Norman encampment. The sun had just finally set and they reached a large structure. She gaped and France chuckled.

"Welcome to our humble home, Annabel," The man said as the gates opened. They walked in and France moved her arm so it was draped inside his. "To show that you are under my protection at the time being."

She shook her head and followed him into a small hall, where a tall man was pacing back and forth, but his attention was drawn to the two immortals as they entered. " **France, I was expecting you to return with England, not with this woman. I've told you to take your women straight to your chambers**."

Annabelle huffed and looked at France, " **You really get around that much? Well, it really shouldn't surprise me**." She turned to the king and nodded to him, " **It is nice to finally meet you, William the Bastard**."

He snarled and drew his blade by his side and pointed it at her neck, " **And you are any better, Saxon wench**?" To his surprise, the auburnette threw back her head and laughed.

France knocked her against the head lightly and she waved him off, " **G-Gimme a second, Frank. Roma's going to be so mad when he hears about this**!"

William growled again, " **France, take her out of my sight**!" She smiled and stood. France shifted from foot to foot, looking between the two.

" **Frank, do whatever you think is right**."

He paused and sighed, " **This is deeply reminding me of what happened with Clovis**."

She paused and a moment her face lit up, " **I remember that now! As that before I got my nickname or after**?"

" **I believe it was before. It was in, what, 509**?"

William frowned, " **France, just who is this**?"

Annabelle finally took a bow as her friend introduced her, " **William, may I present Lady Luck, citizen of Southern Italy and Granddaughter of the Roman Empire. She helped raise me**."

She rolled her eyes as she stood and shoved France lightly, " **Don't say that! It makes me a horrible guardian**!" He gasped and Annabelle huffed, " **I remember most of the crap you've pulled, don't even try that with me**!"

" **Enough. Lady Luck, I have heard of you, but it does not explain why you were siding with England** ," William said as he sat down.

" **We share... Some form of connection that can only be described as half-siblings in plain terms. But I was trying to make him feel better. Getting a new leader is stressful** ," She explained as she leaned on a wall. In doing so, her cloak floated open and displayed her blades on her waist. William swallowed and she returned the expression.

" **Annabelle, you've had a long day, why don't you go rest up**?" France said, trying to defuse the situation.

She never looked away from the king as she walked up to him and rested her hand on the table, " **William, you do a lot of bad for England, but in the future, it turns him into a powerful nation that will become more powerful than the Roman empire ever was. Be careful how you treat him**."

He nodded, "I **did not come here to merely plunder. I came to conquer**." She grinned and stood.

" **Than rule more than ashes, King. Good night and sleep well**." With that, Annabelle turned around and met France at the door. The moment the door was shut, she sagged, " **He is going to make my life hell**."

France laughed, " **And you shall return the favor, Annabel, but you are going to be sleeping in a separate room for your stay**."

She grinned, " **I feel so special. But does this place really have that many rooms**?" He shrugged and the woman shook her head.

The next few weeks were hell until William finally got news, but it wasn't the news he was hoping for. Edgar Ætheling was proclaimed king and William marched on. He did the opposite of what Annabelle had told him to do and he burned or destroyed everything that they crossed paths with on the way to London. It was meant to burn away their hope of resisting him and it worked. A small period before christmas, Edgar and several other important figures surrendered to him. William took it all in stride and had himself crowned on christmas. Many hoped that it would end all hostilities.

It wasn't. Despite knowing what his people may have thought, England tried to adapt, much to everyone's surprise.

Elizabeth stood by England, looking over the countryside, prepared for a small picnic. It was slowly changing because of the Norman nobles, but the had been hoping that it would be one thing that wouldn't change. A shout came from the distance and they were met by France, still wearing a blue cloak that modelled after Charlemagne's.

" **Hey, England! You're looking really short and ugly again today! Just how long are you planning on keeping that dull hairstyle**?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and began to go through the food as England took an apple, his outrage showing on his face, "None of your business! Besides, the Bishop told me not to grow my hair long 'cause it'll make me look like a woman!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, " **France, unless you have something nice to say right now, don't say it at all-** "

" **But Annabelle, I was merely saying that long hair is in style at my place! You would fit right in**!" He whined, coming over to help with the basket. " **Only the noblemen are allowed to do it. England, Annabelle, tell me, what do you think? Does it look good on me**?"

England growled as he tried to snatch the basket from France, but to no avail, "Shut up or I'll pull it out!"

Elizabeth chuckled, " **It suits you, but how long has long hair been in style? Something is not in style if it's been a thing for the past 600 years**."

He tutted, " **But only recently others have been able to wear it as long as the king! You would know, England, wasn't your old king, Edward, raised in France**?"

"Normandy, but that's not the point! Why are you even here?!" The child asked as he finally managed to take the woven basket from his rival.

France shrugged, " **I was just trying to catch you up on the times, but it seems it was a lost cause. Well, do what you can to look cool, too**!"

England looked at the running man and then to his half-sister, "Huh?! He came just to say that?"

Elizabeth shrugged, "I guess, it is France. He's just trying to get you to copy his style or something."

"You idiot! I'm not jealous of your hair! Don't ever come back here again, you stupid idiot!" He yelled after the Frenchman.

She chuckled quietly and went to sit next to the pond and threw in a spare bread crust, smiling at the fish floating by. A small rustle next to her revealed her brother and she pointed at the water, "The fish are growing well. It might not be cod, but they'll be a good meal someday."

"Am I... Dull?" England asked, rubbing a lock of his hair.

Elizabeth frowned and shook her head, "No, never. But you know what, if you do want to grow out your hair, I'll stand by it." He nodded weakly and they went on with their picnic. Within the next years, she watched as his hair slowly crept over his ears, chin, and then, it finally touched the top of his shoulders. She remembered whenever they were in the presence of Bishop Wulfstan, he would try and chase down England to cut his hair. The man though it was a sign of being 'womanly' and weak. England sent her a warning look for his place up a tree, but she ignored him and cut her hair off to just under her Wulfstan was not amused.

Come March, not even a month after France had taunted England about his hair, William returned to Normandy and took some of the highest ranked English with him. He paraded his success and left two of his most trusted friends in charge. A cousin who had defended him for most of his life and a half-brother of his ruled England with what was apparently a fair fist, but Annabelle would trust the second, Odo of Bayeux, as far as she could throw him.

In William's absence, those two began building many castles and it would prove vital to the Normans suppressing the Saxons. They had tried dividing up land again and measured every square inch of everyone's property and every possesion of value was recorded and then divided up. It was so thorough that there was not escaping it, so it quickly gained the nickname 'the Doomsday book', as there was no escaping it, or judgement day. However, suppression breeds resistance and the English fought back with little coordination, but they began to think of something more. An angry Norman sided with the Brits, a joint uprising between Welsh royalty and a English landowner, and the Danes raiding the coast finally spurred William into returning and England was not happy.

He was still trying to grow out his hair when William decided he had had enough of the various uprisings and came back over. He marched up and down and left and right trying to stop the rebellions in 1068 that he finally took a step back and took a different angle in 1069. France sighed as he faced the grinning Dane.

"Denmark," He smiled tensely.

The Germanic nation continued to grin and Annabelle smiled as she shook her head, "Normancy, long time, no see. How are the children of my citizens doing?"

France looked at her, "Why does everyone keep calling me Normancy? That's not my name. But they are doing well, but if you forget, they are my citizens now."

Annabelle shrugged, "I don't know."

Denmark waved his hand, "So, what did ya come here for? You don't call meetings with the Northmen very often."

"I need you to stop raiding my castles in England. I am willing to let you stay the winter and take what you want from the coast, but after that, leave," France said with a frown.

Denmark paused and thought for a moment, "Alright, but keep an eye on that punk. England's... Special."

The man snorted, "I know, Dane. But are we in agreement?" With a nod and a handshake, France was free to focus on England. Again, William took the opposite of what Annabelle had told him and burned everything. If the burning from before was bad, this was horrifying. He burned everything he came across from cattle to crops to homes and England struggled with his people as his skin was dotted with large blue patches. Over 100,000 people died from starvation and exposure.

The amount of anger she felt at that time at a king had very little parallel at that point and England was trying to calm her down. In the spring, he had France meet them at the field where they met all those summers ago and pushed his hood back. Annabelle looked at it and covered her face. "Oh wow. England, your hair is a flash from the past."

He frowned at her, "What's that supposed to mean!"

A pair of hands clamped over England's head before she could reply and the boy screamed, " **Or so I thought, but it was actually England**!"

" **What?! Don't look at me! Don't touch me**!"

Annabelle stepped forward and she growled, " **France, let him go**." He took one look at her and lowered his hands, a solemn look on his face.

" **I'm sorry, you two. I hope you know that. I... I never knew that he would take it that far..**." France whispered, but he could have been across the clearing and they would have heard him.

England scowled, "Well, let's get this over with. Bess, did you bring a chair and a mirror?"

She sighed and nodded and they walked towards a tree to rest under it. She leaned on the wood and France began grooming his frienemy's hair, " **You know... Long hair isn't just about growing it out. You have to style it! Even Annabelle knows this**!"

The woman raised an eyebrow, " **And what's that supposed to mean, Normancy**?"

"He means that you're not the most lady-like woman. You remember what happened with Wulfstan. But you should have told me about the styling earlier, I was walking around like a hooligan," England said as he braced himself against the brushing.

France smiled, " **Well, I didn't think you'd imitate me, so...** " Annabelle handed him a pair of scissors and with a little bit of trimming, the taller blonde had the right look and- Annabelle lost his and ran behind the tree to laugh as England was handed a mirror, " **So, here's how I arranged it. Do you like it**?"

He gave it a blank look, "W-What? T-This is my hair?!" He shook his head, "Ah, but I hate you, so I don't want to look like you." France nodded and went back to trimming. Annabelle finally calmed down enough that she looked back, but she still smiled at the hairstyle that the boy now styled.

" **There! How about this**?" France asked proudly. Annabelle smiled at the two and France sent her a wink and a snipping hand motion at England. Her eyes widened and she smiled.

England was oblivious to all of this and cringed, "Hmmm... It's not bad,but there's someone in your neighborhood who looks like this, isn't there?" France shook his head jokingly.

" **Mon ami, you wound me. But what kind of hair style would you like**?"

Annabelle leaned on the tree, " **Nothing too dumb. Don't cut off all of his hair**."

France paled, " **Oh goodness non! Never**!"

England hummed, "Anyway, I'll leave it to you, so make it something that looks cool and fits me."

" **You're asking too much...** " France whined.

The woman rolled her eyes, " **He's giving you free rein France. Don't question it**."

He nodded, " **Okay, okay. Something that looks cool and fits you, huh**?" He went on trimming and it wasn't long before England fell asleep. France smiled and looked at Annabelle, " **So, do you think he'll like it**?"

She tilted her head as she looked over his work, " **I think he will. As far as I can remember, he kept the general hairstyle. I think my mom had a few pictures of him and he's still pretty much the same. So are you, but you have almost this... Mature peace about you. I can see it no, but you still have a little bit of growing to do**."

" **So I get to be even taller**?" The blonde teased and she rolled her eyes.

" **Not much, less than a hand, but yes. But we need to wake him up, he's starting to drool** ," Annabelle said with a smile.

France nodded and poked him, " **Hey, wake up**." As England opened his eyes, France smiled, " **It's done. Hurry up and take a look**."

England grabbed the mirror and gasped, "HEY THIS IS MY OLD HAIRSTYLE!"

France grinned and ran off, " **THAT'S THE HAIRSTYLE THAT FITS YOU**!"'

"SCREW YOU!"

Annabelle chuckled and sat next to him, "He was right you know. Long hair doesn't suit you. You both look much better with shorter hair."

England paused and sighed, "Well, I went through all of that trouble for nothing..."

She ruffled his hair, "True, but lived through it. But England, you have your own charm that most of Europe doesn't have. Don't change it just for them."

"Fine, fine. But what you were saying earlier... Was that true? I stay the same?" He asked with a small blush.

Annabelle blinked in confusion and then realization as one of his emerald eyes turned to a happy sapphire, "Oh, Ollie! But yeah, you do stay the same. A little less impatient, but you seemed to get older, unless my memory is starting to fail me. But Ollie, how are you doing?"

Arthur rolled his eye still in control and let the other out, "I've been good, Bethy! France recommended a better name, Oliver! I think I might take it, but it is from those French dogs..."

"Really? Well it suits you, but Ollie, you have to be careful with the french. I actually thought that this whole haircut thing was some huge metaphor, but trust me, in the long run, they'll do you some good. It'll take time, but... It gets to be worth the years of pain. I'm not saying that you can't mess with them, but don't take things too far."

He paused and nodded, "I-I know. But-"

"Oliver. Please. Don't cause yourselves more pain," His sister whispered, grabbing his shoulders. Ollie froze and stared into her eyes and nodded.

"O-Ok, thanks, Bethy," Oliver said. She smiled and sagged.

"Thanks, but now go show them how you cook. You especially Artie," Annabelle grinned. Arthur took control back and ran off.

* * *

 **Yelp that sucked and I'm back. I have no idea what I'm doing so... Same as normal.**


	101. Chapter 89

I can FINALLY use one of the tidbits from the 'final' chapter. Also, should I take that down? But anyway, onto the story. I'm still really sorry I haven't updated in a while though.

 **Early Middle English**

Latin

Old French

 _Old High German_

 ** _Greek_**

 **Italian/Vulgar latin (Italian)**

* * *

England stretched his arms above his head and hummed, " **Bess, I feel like today is going to be better than the others.** "

Elizabeth hummed as she turned over on her bed and hit the cold wooden wall and hissed, " **I guess, but do these castles have to be so cold**?"

He shrugged, " **It's not my fault. Are you coming, or are you going to read today**?"

" **I'm coming, give me a minute to wake up...** " She groaned as she put her feet on the floor. " **Yeah, that'll do it** ," She muttered under her breath. " **We need to start measuring your height. You're going to skyrocket up one of these days and I want to be there to point it out**." He shook his head, but went up against a wooden beam. The woman came over and grabbed a dagger and marked the area right above his head and carved '70 next to it. The child stepped away and nodded in satisfaction. After another moment, they left to grab breakfast and begin work.

When the Normans invaded and intended, they did as anyone would do, they made themselves at home. They brought their traditions and lifestyle and one such item was castles. They scared the locals, but France and the Normans shrugged it off and continued with the construction. The buildings themselves were a little crude but, at the same time, masterpieces. They would defend those on the inside while keeping those they wished, out. Because of the lack of time and money, the Normans built Motte and Bailey castles (1), and it was a brilliant form of defence.

Not only were castles built, but the Normans weren't anything if not French themselves and loved art. They began building and rebuilding many of the damaged cathedrals and churches throughout the island in their own style and many would be last until present times.

After a few months of waking up early and working until sundown, Elizabeth's peregrine falcon rested on her shoulder with some news. England frowned at the bird, but waited silently as she took the letter off and grinned. " **What happened**?"

" **Romano is asking me to come down help this one man translate some medical texts and some of his citizens feel like they're beginning to break through to the Byzantines in Bari. He wants me to come down immediately** ," Elizabeth said as she looked it over. " **There's a small note...** " She chuckled and shook her head. " **Someone wrote in the corner that Romano keeps following him and calling him suspicious**."

England cocked his head, " **That sounds like your brother alright. You bag is in your room and there should be some bread and cheese left in the kitchen.** " She smiled and leaned over to pull him into a hug.

" **Thanks, you two. Be careful. Resisting France is a bad idea, but don't change who you are, ever. Um, make sure Oliver doesn't kill anyone and Ollie, make sure Arthur doesn't kill anyone. I'll be back at some point** ," Elizabeth said as she ruffled his hair. He grumbled and pushed her away.

" **Bloody he- Just go already**!" She laughed and left. She grabbed her bag from their room and also took some food from the kitchen. She looked up and remembered it was later in the day so she followed the sun's path. It was low in the west and tracing her finger across the sky, the woman found south and headed that way. It had been a trick her mother had taught her when she was seven: EW. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

A port town wasn't hard to find and she managed to get through without much trouble. She travelled through and one day, a commotion grabbed her attention. Fortuna growled and climbed above deck. A few crew members were rough-handling a child who was obviously starving. " **No good stow-away**!"

She cursed and approached the men, " **Please unhand him. I'll pay for any trouble he's caused. I'll take care of him when we get to shore**."

The man huffed and shoved him over, " **Fine, whatever. He's your problem, keep him out of our food**."

She nodded and put a hand on the trembling boy's shoulder. He looked up at her in worry and the auburnette glared at the men as they walked away before sighing. "C'mon, hon. Let's get you some food. What language do you prefer? Latin? _**Greek**_?  French? _German_? **English**? What?"

" **I-I...I'm from...** " He looked down and she kneeled and smiled.

" **Hey, hey, look at me. It doesn't matter where you're from, because guess what? I've been everywhere in the world. I'm going to go see my brother in Naples, do you want to come with me? You'll have to travel a lot and I can't always guarantee that you'll be happy, but I can keep you safe. But first, a few things. Call me anything you want, but what's your name? Where are your parents? What language would you like me to speak**?"

He shrunk even more, " **I, um, call me Christian. They're dead. I... Could I come with you**?"

She nodded and took his hands in her's, " **Well then, Christian, welcome to my family. You're more than welcome to come with me and I'm sorry. I lost my parents early on too. But still, what languages do you know**?"

" **I know how to speak German, French, English, and Latin. My mama was German and my Papa was french and they made sure I knew how to read the bible** ," He said.

Fortuna grinned, "I also speak latin. And many more languages, but that's a story for another time. Let's get you fed, Christian." His face lit up and he stumbled after her. He would stick to her side and the next few weeks would consist of teaching the boy latin while worrying how Romano would react to the new boy. After a bit of travelling, it was time.

She peeked her head into the home and held a finger up to her lips. Christian nodded and watched from the doorway as his mother-figure walked into the home, " **Roma~ I'm home! I brought a fri-** "

Christian gasped as a small flying projectile launched itself into Fortuna's stomach, making her laugh and fall backwards, " **Damnit Ragazza! It took you long enough! Constantine was getting bored translating!** "

" **Sorry, Roma! But I got a little sidetracked by a little stowaway.** Christian? Do you want to come in?" The other child's eyes narrowed at the stowaway as he entered the room, rubbing his arm. "Romano, be nice..."

"Who're you?" He grunted. "What do you want with my sorellona?" Christian meeped and hid behind the doorway and Romano rolled his eyes, "For the love of- Asshole! I'm going to get even madder if you don't get in here!" The child slowly came into the room and ran to stand behind Fortuna, who stroked his hair reassuringly.

"Romano, please don't be so mean. Christian, Romano's not going to hurt you, he's just a little... rough around the edges. You're safe here," She whispered, pulling him into a hug. Romano glowered at the boy and pulled on his sister's dress.

"Fortuna, Constantine needs help translating some text! Get your ass up! Your new kid can help me cook in the kitchen!" He growled and the french boy stared at her with terror filled eyes.

She smiled at him, "Chris, trust Romano like you trust me. He's not going to let anything happen to you if you do the same. Romano, where's this guy?"

Romano puffed out his chest, "He's in Nonno's old study. Christian, c'mon, we're making peach tarts."

Fortuna's face lit up and she tackled him into a hug, "You little jealous shit!"

"Bitch, get off!" He laughed. A few gentle footsteps came into the foyer and the person chuckled.

"Romano, it is not nice to call your sister such. Ms. Fortuna, can you please release your brother? I believe we've got some texts to translate?" She looked up to see a man standing in the doorway with a cocked eyebrow.

She nodded and stood, still carrying Romano and Christian, "Right. Give me a moment to reunite with my brother and put my stuff away." The man nodded and walked back into the study.

Romano clutched his sister's dress as he glared at Christian, "I don't like you."

Fortuna grunted, "I'm not asking for you to like him, Roma, but don't be a complete ass." With a look at her newest adopted child she looked back at her brother, muttering in Gothic, "He's lost his parents and I'm taking him in until he can make his way again." Romano frowned and nodded, leaning on her shoulder more. "Thank you." When she got to their shared room, the woman placed the boys on the bed to drop her bag.

Christian looked at the room in wonder, "Whoa... How old is this place?"

"Old," Romano grunted as he sat cross-legged. "Speaking of which, where did you come from this time?"

He shrunk again, "I-Um..."

Fortuna smiled and ruffled his hair, "He's a child of war and expansion. I found him on my way back from England and his parents are from France and Holy Rome."

The Italian rolled his eyes, "Those assholes? I almost feel bad for you." He paused and looked at Fortuna, "What languages does he speak?"

"I speak French, German, and Latin. Papa wanted me to know how to read the bible," Christian answered and Romano laughed.

"Good luck with Ragazza, she's about as unreligious as a rock. But I have a bible I can lend you while travelling with her," He said and the other child nodded. "Oi, Ragazza, Constantine's waiting."

She grinned and sat on the bed, "You know, my mom had me learn about this man. Constantine the African, he's known as. He brought a great deal of medical techniques to Europe. He already knows plenty of languages and he has you to help him out. Don't tell you don't know the languages in your own land."

Romano blushed and turned over, "Shut up." Christian chuckled quietly, but Roman still glared at him, "What are you laughing at, jerk face?"

"Peaches, weren't you going to show him how to make peach tarts? And Roma, I swear that if you hurt him..."

"Yeah yeah. C'mon, jerk face." Romano pulled his nephew after him and they went off to the kitchen. She sighed and shook her head and went out to the study where Constantine was pouring over a tome.

"So Romano had me come down to visit him to help you translate, but I also know that you have this covered. Did he just write me because he missed me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Constantine jumped and turned around. "Dear girl, please don't scare me like that! But... yes, I believe so. Do you actually understand all of this?"

Fortuna looked over his shoulder, "Well, it's been a while since I've read... Oh. Perisa never really taught me Arabic, but he did have me learn Persian. But most of these other texts I can easily translate. How's the school?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's... a learning curve, but I've been managing better at-" A crash from the kitchen made Fortuna run into the room. Romano was shaking as he gripped his knee and Christian was backed into a corner. "Romano, what happened?"

"Nothing! I fell!" Romano yelled as blood continued to pour down his leg. Fortuna growled and reached into a low cabinet and pulled out some clean water and took Romano to an empty water basin.

"Constantine, there's some clean bandages in the cupboard to your left, can you get them out for me?" She asked as she poured the water over his wound. Her brothers gripped her sleeves as the wound stung. The man got them out and she quickly set to work on drying the wound and stopping the bleeding. It wasn't too bad, but she still wrapped it lightly. "There, I'll check on it and wipe it down later tonight, but be careful, Roma."

He nodded and jut his chin out to the boy in the corner, "What about your newest adopted kid?"

The woman looked over and carefully sat in front of Christian, "Hey, Chris, it's me, everyone's ok. You're safe and I'm not mad. You're alright." He stared at her and lunged at her and cried into her chest.

"M-Mama! T-They're dead! T-They're dead!"

She nodded and kissed his forehead, "I know, hon, but they're watching over you and want you to be happy. You're safe right now." She continued to rock him and hold him to her chest and whisper nothings to him until he fell asleep. Romano looked at her, but quickly looked to the floor.

"R-Ragazza, put the bambino to bed. I want to talk to you outside," He muttered. Constantine picked up the atmosphere and left. Fortuna looked at her brother and nodded, picking him up gently. She walked to the bedroom and tucked the sleeping boy in with a kiss on the forehead and took Romano outside. The peach trees were in full bloom in the mid-year and weren't even forming the fruit. She set him on a low branch and climbed up another. With a small swirl of her hand and whispered words, two flowers formed fruit and she passed one to her brother.

He munched into it absentmindedly before talking, "You're treating him like you're treating us. What happened to him?"

She sighed and looked down, "He doesn't talk about it, but from what I've gathered, his family was killed recently and in front of him. It was probably the English if his father was a Norman, but he doesn't react well to blood. But I have a feeling you don't like him because you're jealous."

"N-No, it's..."

"No lying, Roma. Remember, no more masks and lies," Fortuna growled and chomped into the fruit.

Romano rolled his eyes, "F-Fine, yes. You've known him for what, three, four weeks? But then again..." She hummed.

"He needs someone right now. I was thinking on raising him enough until he's strong enough to go on his own. But really, are you ok? Why did you trip?"

He looked down and rested the peach on his stomach. He was silent for almost a minute and Fortuna opened her mouth to ask again, but he cut her off, "You need to go to Salerno. The Schola Medica Salernitana."

She sat up and raised an eyebrow, "The medical school? Is it even open to women?"

Romano frowned, "It is, I'm not like those other assholes. I can talk to the headmaster, but-"

"Romano?" He looked at her and blinked.

"Why are you crying?! I just offered the option to go to college-"

Fortuna shook her head, "It's more than that! It is so much more than that!" She cried as she went over to her brother's branch to hug him. "My mom never let me go to college on my own and to learn!"

"Ragazza, get you ass off of me! You smell like those Norman assholes!" She laughed, but did as he asked and smiled.

"Thank you, Romano. It means a lot." They stayed out there the majority of the day and Constantine had to come out to remind them to come eat. Christian was feeling better and watched as Romano and Fortuna rushed around the kitchen to make dinner and smiled as he listened to them bicker over how well done the vegetables were. Dinner was a lively affair and Constantine would be happy to take Fortuna on as a student, both for medicine and teaching her some of the languages he knew, mostly Arabic.

Later that night, Fortuna was finishing a few letters to France, Turkey and China when she felt a tug on her cloak, "Mama?"

She turned around and Christian and Romano were standing side by side, "Oi, Ragazza, where is bambino going to sleep?"

"Peaches, I forgot..." She pinched bridge of her nose and Romano rolled his eyes and tugged the boy away. The woman cocked her head, but finished up the letters and gave the first to Henry to send off first thing in the morning. With a stretch, she wandered off to find her boys and she didn't have to go far. The two were sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, peacefully for once. Then, just as she was about to crawl up the middle, Romano started twitching in his sleep again.

Fortuna knew what he was dreaming about.

She hissed and tried shaking him awake and flinched away when he kicked out. Her child whined next to her and she knew that this was going to be hard to explain if he asked questions. She growled and picked up Romano into a hug, being mindful of his flailing limbs, "Shh, Roma, I'm here, wake up. Wake up, Fratellone." His struggles lessened, but still continued, so the woman carried him to the kitchen and grabbed a rag and wet it.

With a swipe across his forehead and a gasp, he woke up with a shout. Romano panted and clutched his sister, "R-Ragazza? I-Is everythi-"

"Everyone is safe right now. Was it _them_?"

He nodded and his sister took him outside to rest at the foot of the peach trees. "Can you tell me the story again, Ragazza?"

She smiled and looked up at the stars and then at Romano, "Once upon a time, there was a king and queen who couldn't..." As she recounted the story, they two noticed the presence of another child in the doorway. After some prompting, he came out to join them. Romano threw less of a fit than she thought and eventually, they fell asleep under the cool night air. Fortuna left later that week for Salerno with the three males and college began. Because of various reasons and wanting to continue her education correctly, the woman refused to leave for other countries. Salerno was also special. It allowed men and women to study and teach there, unlike many later universities.

Romano would dub Christian one of his citizen after a few months and gave him the last name Esposito because he had been exposed as an abandoned child. Fortuna had choked on her food and Romano had to jump on her to get the food out. The other child was just as surprised, but Romano had blushed and told him he didn't need to explain his reasons, but if his sister gave that much of a shit, then it might as well be for one of his citizens. Christian was overjoyed and promptly passed out. Romano looked at his sister and huffed, "He's a weakling."

She rolled her eyes, "Well, he just got claimed, soooooo. But still... William's going nuts over there with his castles and so much has happened in the past nine years but..."

"Just take the degree and do something with it," He whined, punching her leg.

Fortuna chuckled and ruffled his hair and paused, "Hey, Romano, I think I'm either getting shorter or you're getting taller."

The boy paused and looked up, "I think you're getting shorter."She squawked and a quiet chuckle from room over made them growl.

"Shut up! Go find a wife, slacker!" He soon left home, but kept in contact. It was 1080 by the time Fortuna graduated from one of the most prestigious colleges of the time. Romano was still in a minor glory period because of being a crossroad between advanced middle east and christian europe. He was growing several inches, but was still rather short. She sighed, knowing that they all had a long way to go.


	102. Chapter 90

**Sorry again for the wait, but shit keeps coming up. That and I might be slipping into the holiday blues, so my writing might take on a more depressed note. It shouldn't be too bad. Also, we are going to focus on Christian for a while longer, but don't worry, he'll be out of the picture soon.**

 **Norman**

Italian

Old French

Fortuna sweat as Christian's wife swore as the immortal called for her to push, " **C'mon, just a little more** -"

A baby's scream entered the world and the new mother panted, exhausted, " **I-Is it a...**?"

" **It's a boy** ," She said as she cleaned off the child and passed him over. Zoe smiled at her son and Christian entered the room shakily and looked at her. " **It's safe now, Chris. It's a healthy baby boy**." He breathed a sigh of relief and went to his wife's side. She smiled and left and Romano was instantly at her side the moment she stepped out of the room.

"Are you ready to leave? Robert's ready to go. He's already over there and waiting for reinforcements on Corfu," He stated as he trotted beside her.

Fortuna frowned, "Are you going to fight?"

Romano rolled his eyes, "I'll stay back, but I'm coming. I have to prove to France that they're my people now and not his. Happy?"

"Very. I'll meet you out by the gate. Make sure you have your cloak," She reminded him and went to the guest room to get her travel bag. With with a sigh, she looked over her four weapons and wrapped up her germanic blade. With a sigh, she tucked it under the bed and put the remaining two blades at her waist and her axe on her back, as well as her travel bag. Romano was waiting outside for her and they left for the port.

Romano wasn't able to help much, other than to help cook, but Fortuna helped out more above deck with steering. Trouble came when thunder cracked overhead and she growled. The woman dove to the cabins underneath the deck and bumped into a few people, but brushed past them to get to Romano. The woman paused in the doorway when a group huddled in the corner peeked at her while sobbing and praying. Romano still had his hands clasped together and jerked his head towards the ceiling. She smiled and nodded, leaving the weeping group to their faith.

It was still hell when Fortuna got back and she worked with the rest of the Normans on deck to battle the raging storm. They had to watch several ships go down around them and a large collective sigh was taken when they finally landed. But things weren't all that happy for long. Several Venetian ships appeared overhead after the Normans took control of the strait between the Byzantine empire and the peninsula. Romano peeked over the deck and Fortuna paled when she saw them.

"Roma, we have to go!"

He blinked in confusion, "Why?" She picked him up and ran to get their stuff. The ships were far enough away to grab their stuff and escape, but they had to hurry. "Ragazza, what's going on?" He demanded, tugging on her sleeve.

She frowned as she slung her bag and weapons over her shoulder, "I think I remember telling you and Venie to trust no one but yourselves. People rarely act in your interest, so do what you have to. Veneziano thrives on trade and, well when Robert took control of the sea..." Romano swallowed and they quickly went to grab an escape ship. They had barely made it to shore when flames erupted over the water.

The child's eyes opened as he gripped his sister's shirt, "H-Ho- what?"

Fortuna looked back and swallowed, "That's what's known as Greek Fire, Roma. It... It's an impossible force. It's fire that can burn underwater, and it's really deadly... I'm going to give Veneziano a talking to later."

"Was it Feliciano or Luciano?" Romano growled as he faced the burning ships.

She looked down, "I... I don't know. Those two have a dangerous relationship..." Her brother hummed and they continued on. Eventually, they reached Dyrrhachium, and it led up to a battle. Robert forced her and Romano to stay back with his wife, Sikelgaita. The women respected each other a great deal and Fortuna would gladly protect the woman if it came down to it. 'If' as the woman was a quick learner in weapons. Fortuna taught the woman under her asking and had not regretted it yet.

The battle was heard a ways away, but then, thuds of feet charged the beach. The women left the tent and Sikelgaita growled to herself to go fetch something from inside. Fortuna was surprised to see men leaping over the hill and into the water, but the mortal woman reappeared with a weapon in hand to charged them."How far will ye run? Halt! Be men!"

Fortuna swallowed in awe as the men stopped and looked at the woman in wonder. With a battle cry loud enough to scare Rome to death, the duchess charged her husband's men. They took inspiration and ran back into the fray. Thrusting the spear's butt into the sand, Sikelgaita looked over the retreating men happily. The auburnette looked down at her brother and smiled. He was staring at her in amazement and Fortuna kneeled next to him. "I want to do that someday. Inspire men to pick up arms and fight again."

He nodded and they kept an eye out for any more deserters. There were none and despite everything, the Normans won.

* * *

Annabelle cooed over the new child as he grabbed her finger, "You're going to be a good king, aren't you?"

"Getting attached, Annabel?" France asked as he sat in a chair next to the exhausted queen.

"Of course. History tends to favor this little guy, but he won't stay little for long," She said with a grin. France sighed and rolled his eyes, but she huffed a laugh, "Frank, he's not like the others, this is an amazing man, trust me." He nodded and stood.

"It's nice to see you again and not at my throat, Annabelle," He said as he ruffled her hair. She chuckled and stood to put the young prince in his crib.

"Same, France. I'm going to go sit in the foyer if you want to join me," The woman said and he nodded, following her out. She reached to pull a chair closer to the fireplace, but the blonde beat her to the punch and gestured for her to sit. "Frank, you better sit in that fucking chair or let me move my own."

He gasped, "But Annabelle, it is what a gentleman would do!" She paused and quickly left the room to go outside. France blinked in confusion and ran after her, "Annabelle!"

Once she got outside, the woman laughed to her heart's content, "H-Holy, France! I think I need to spend more time here, I've been forgetting what you're like!"

He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair, "Perhaps indeed, but come back inside, it's cold. Reminds me too much of England."

"Oh, that reminds me, Louis is going to have to put up with him when he invades, demanding Normandy," Annabelle responded with a large grin. France sighed and slumped.

"He is going to kill me someday, isn't he?"

Auburnette hair bounced as she nodded, "But you get back at him. That's what banter is for. But let's get inside, the weather outside is frightful..." A sorrowful expression popped into her eyes and the woman turned to head back inside while muttering under her breath. France didn't hear what exactly what it was, but it was enough for him to leave her be. Louis VI would grow up to be a decent king in her book, even if his nickname later in life was 'the fat'.

France let her stay with him, but eventually came news of Henry IV. She would describe him later as a ruler who had not been prepared. People hated change and the relationship between the Holy Roman Empire and Church had altered so much that it had been a shock when Henry wanted to appoint his own pope, as had been the way before Gregory VII. He was placing Rome under siege again after he had been refused to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor, but this is where Nicholas II came in. In telling the Germans that they couldn't appoint Popes and formed relations with the Normans, they were able to storm to the current Pope's aid.

Indeed, Robert Guiscard had to come back from Greece to do so, but he pushed the Germans back. After finally pushing back the Germans, the woman traveled back with him to Greece. Again, Byzantine and Venie tried to block him off, and combined with a shortage in supplies, bad weather, and the horrifying hygiene practices, it was a setup for disaster. Robert and many others fell sick, and his nephew, Bohemond sailed back to Salerno for treatment. He had refused to let anyone treat him except those actually on his land. Robert was more stubborn and refused to leave, and like most stubborn rulers, it came back to bite him as he died of a fever on July 17, 1085.

He was one of Fortuna's favorite rulers by far, dying at the age of 70.

England would also begin working on what was known as the Doomsday book, for no one could escape it, just like one could not escape judgement day. Oh yeah, and Gregory died in May, so that happened. The newest Pope was Victor III, but he had been reluctant as his health was rapidly failing and he actually did everything in his power to hold off on not becoming Pope. He finally agreed in 1087, but soon died later that year. Then came Pope Urban II and Fortuna instantly went outside when she heard.

Romano trotted after her and frowned when he saw her draw her axe and swung it at a spare tree, "Oi, Ragazza, don't hurt yourself-"

"THIS GUY!" She screamed as she swung at the tree again. The axe embedded itself in deep and she panted. "Let me tell you about what he's well known for." Romano slowly came over to stand next to her and she plopped next to the child. "Pope Urban II is known for being the Pope who allowed the first crusade to happen. It's this war that makes me hate religion sometimes."

"What's a crusade?" He asked and leaned on his sister.

Fortuna ran a hand through her hair and growled, "It's a series of wars that pop up every once in a while over the next few hundred years and it's over Jerusalem." Romano stiffened and growled.

"The Holy See? Why are-"

"Because Byzantine is scared of Turkey coming in and they conquered the city. They used that as excuse to edge the Pope, and from there, the rest of Europe, into charging towards it. It's ironic, that all the religions that fight over the city hate violence, yet so much blood is shed because of it," Fortuna snarled.

Romano nodded slowly, "Well, the world is full of assholes. I thought you knew that, Ragazza."

The auburnette laughed, "True. But this brought about a large amount of bloodshed that... The estimate later provided is about 1 to 3 million people, Romano. That many people shouldn't die for what they believe in. Of course, it wasn't just in the name of religion, as the participants have been clashing for years, but they learned how to mostly co-exist. I just came to hate the crusades a lot growing up. Mom would always tell me that even though it helped Europe grow into what it was today, people shouldn't have died."

He hummed, "People fight and there's not much you can do about it."

"True. Both sides are guilty, but let's get off the topic. Didn't Saint Nicholas's bones get moved here earlier?" Romano nodded and he launched off into that story with a smile.

* * *

 **Yelp, we're almost at the crusades and we're rounding the turn of the century. But something that everyone in a America learned that I'm going to elaborate because I never got this in school: The separation of Church and state.**

 **I always thought that it was to keep the Church out of the government, but we also learned that it was the other way around, but it was never elaborated for me, and I finally learned what it meant with this. Germany had been sticking their hand into the Church's affairs by appointing Popes and that's what Nicholas II fixed with the elections. Gregory II also fought to fix it (later known as lay investiture) more permanently, as to prevent the emperor from appointing bishops, anti-popes, etc. The people wanted someone that their actual servants of God had chosen, not some ruler who didn't know what they were doing half the time, miles away. So that's what separation of church and state is.**


	103. Chapter 91

**Heeeey y'all. Finals are coming and are being assholes, as is work. I'm swamped. I'm going to try to write up a few chapters soon though.**

 **AnonChan1: I've gotten better, but still get hit every once in a while/ PokeSpe Hell? Nuuu! But yeah. Those were the Byzantines they were fighting. Also, Venie was mad because, while he does control the North and has better land connections, Romano was taking over the sea on the right side of the peninsula, and that scared the Venetians because they relied on trade. I don't blame you on the memory, I have the memory of a dead wombat. DUDE SHE WAS! THE DAUGHTER OF THE EMPEROR OF THE BYZANTINES WROTE THAT SHE WAS LIKE FUCKING ATHENA. WTF. She does and it's been straining a little bit because they haven't seen each other in a while, but I'll try to work on that, but my fingers do the work, not me. She does, and she remembers most of it. He was awesome. And fuck.**

 **Guest: He will definitely in this story, but I don't know how soon.**

 **Middle English**

Vulgar latin/Medieval Latin

Middle Persian

* * *

Elizabeth growled as she held down England. He cried as he chomped onto the fabric in his mouth as he trembled, " **Shh, Al, it'll be over soon**." He whimpered as the castle shook. Dust came down from the ceiling as the earthquake and Elizabeth kept whispering small reassurances to him as his limbs tried to flail. It lasted a few more seconds, but it eventually calmed down and England sagged back onto the bed. She carefully took the cloth out of his mouth, " **Are you ok**?"

He nodded and curled onto his side, " **I blame France for making those counties. Northumberland's being an asshole to me already and it's what caused the earthquake**!"

She rolled her eyes and passed him a cup of water. He took it carefully and sipped it. " **Be careful. I don't want any aftershocks making you seize up again**."

" **Fine, but I need to tell you, next time, don't hold me down. My shoulder hurts** ," He complained. Elizabeth nodded and sat on the floor by the bed.

" **Alright. But I don't want you to accidentally hit yourself** ," The auburnette said. He nodded and set the glass down. They sat in silence as they waited for any aftershocks and if there were any, they were too minor to take serious note of. They soon had to rise to help take care of the damage. Relations were still having to be repaired as well after Odo of Bayeux had revolted against William II the year before, but it wasn't looking good. Tensions were tightening and they snapped.

Robert Curthart, William's older brother, had failed to show up at the rebellion with Odo, and when William caught wind of the betrayal, he invaded his brother's lands. William crushed his brother's forces and after the warning, England set off to defend Normandy and fight France for more of his land. France had laughed and fought the group back successfully. It was rather hilarious when the three of them secretly got together the night after some of the fighting died down.

"Is the small Britain trying to get back at me on the 25th anniversary?" France chuckled as he took a sip of his wine.

England rolled his eyes and flicked a piece of cheese at him, "You can go stuff it."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and popped a grape into her mouth, "You two, can't yo- Never mind. But it is a little weird that it happened this year, isn't it?"

France cocked his head and leaned back in the chair, "Hmmm, I suppose. But how have you been Annabelle?"

"I've been dealing. I'm going to have to go see Turkey soon. There's going to be a long series of wars, so be careful. They're bloody and, in my opinion, not worth it."

France nodded, "Romano wrote me a while ago. I believe you called them the crusades?"

She growled and gripped her beer mug tighter, "They are. I know that you can piece together the name, you two."

"From the word meaning 'to cross'?" England asked. France got a look on his face of understanding and England soon followed. "Bloody... No wonder you don't like them, Bess, they're religious wars!"

Elizabeth huffed, "The death caused by them is unneeded, but... I guess they turn you both into what you'll become. It'll make chivalry a big thing, but..." She looked in between them and froze. The look in their eyes made her scared. "Gaul, Britannia." They looked at her with wide eyes and the woman stared them down. She had never called them that. Those titles had been their parents and it was passed to them. It was the equivalent of someone's full name being said. "It's not worth it. The amount killed is... The Huns killed fewer people!" France froze and gave her a dangerous look. She glared back and England blinked.

"But.."

The woman shook her head, "England, please. Don't. You know what, do whatever." She stood, drained the last of her beer and left. Elizabeth took the first boat she could back to England and made it just in time to deal with the F4 tornado that ravaged a village. It stuck 26 foot rafters into the ground to the point that only 4 feet were sticking out and destroyed the london bridge, but even after all of that, only two people were killed. She continued to stay with England, fighting off and killing Malcolm III in 1093, who would later be known as one of Shakespeare's masterpieces.

Then came the year that Elizabeth had been waiting for. It was 1095 and it was time for the crusades. It was the age of chivalry and the start of a new age in Europe. She started by going to visit her brothers.

* * *

Fortuna pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to voice that it was the Byzantines simply trying to get the rest of Europe to fight their war for them. Romano and Veneziano clung to her sides as several voices protested, but it wasn't until Urban raised his arms that the room finally quieted. He looked at Fortuna and lowered his arms, "One of many names, why are you so against this holy war? We would regain our holy city from those who taint it with their presence."

She frowned in turn and rubbed her brother's trembling backs, "Because this is a war that ends in more blood than it should. The byzantines are simply trying to get us to fight their battles for them."

A burgundian bishop stood and the room's attention went to him, "Tell us, Lady Luck, how do we know that you won't betray your brothers? And those are not the words of a good Catholic woman." Veneziano growled softly as his darker side was bubbling underneath the surface, gripping her dress tighter. Romano did the same, but looked up at her in worry. Fortuna kissed their foreheads in reassurance and pushed them away.

"Go to the Pope. He'll keep you safe. I may have to go to Turkey for a while, but I'll come back when I can. Stay out of this, please," She whispered and they walked towards the Pope reluctantly. Fortuna sighed and stood, gripping her travel bag tightly. "I would never intentionally betray my brothers. I have been unwillingly been used against them before, but never would I attack them with any intent to actually harm. And in all honesty, you are correct. They are the words of the godless." Quickly, the nobles and clergymen caught on and various blades were drawn, but she was already out the door and escaping town. She let her aura pulse and her brothers responded in kind. She would travel on until she hit the stiletto of the peninsula and then took a ship to Turkey.

* * *

"Just my luck," Neylan said as she was thrown into a tent. She stumbled, determined not to fall, when she fell into a teen, whose green eyes glittered in confusion. "Who, wait... Turkey?"

He blinked and grinned, pulling her into a hug, "Abla, it's been too long! I've gotten your letters, and is it true?" Neylan frowned and nodded, wrapping him into her arms.

"Yeah, they're coming and I needed a place to stay for a bit. They _affectionately_ nicknamed me 'heretic' and 'godless heathen' as I was leaving ," She said with a grin. When she pulled away, she frowned, "You're getting taller, Turkey. You're almost as tall as me." He grinned again and pulled her into a hug again.

"You're not going to be taller for long! But come sit, it has been too long, Neylan. Do you know when the Europeans will be coming?" Turkey asked as he pulled her towards the benches near the center of the room. Neylan plopped onto one and waited for Turkey to do the same. "Abla?"

She sighed wearily and closed her eyes, "Turkey, they are going to slaughter your people in the next year, but you get back at them. Too much blood is shed. This is all in the name of 'taking back their holy city'," the woman said with air quotes. Turkey suddenly tensed up and glowered at the center of the room.

"I see why you ran. I've heard some stories from some migrant citizens, Christianity is..." Neylan hummed.

"You're not going to be completely innocent either, Turkey. It takes two to sword fight," She said.

He huffed and leaned back, "Whatever. I'm going to focus on my territory for a little bit and then I'll worry about them when the time comes."

"For the love of peaches, be careful, Turkey. If it wasn't for everyone I know, I wouldn't even be here right now." They sat in silence for a while, but the conversation slowly turned towards happier subjects and old memories. Turkey tossed her a wooden block and took one himself and they carved in peace.

* * *

News finally arrived of the attacks in the west and Turkey grinned. "They chose the wrong city to hole up in," He smirked with pride. Neylan shot him a look and they travelled to the west. During the trip, Turkey explained that the Germans and Italians had apparently formed their own group with the command of an italian man named Reinald, but the French left them to raid Nicaea, a stronghold fort. The Germans couldn't stand being outdone by the French's successful pillages, so they attacked Xerigordos with 6,000 men. It had been a horrifying mistake.

Turkey besieged them so fast that they had been unprepared and had no source of water. Neylan didn't know what happened, but it only took eight days. By the time the gates finally opened... Those inside looked like death and many were covered in dirt and blood. The moment the gate was opened, the Turks fell upon the city and those who didn't convert to Islam were put to death. Those who did were forced into slavery, but Neylan pulled two men out of the crowd. Turkey shot her a look, but he let her and bring them back. One wasn't even a man, but a boy and he gulped down the water canteen she passed him. He drained it, and the other, older-looking man carefully sipped from the other canteen.

Neylan smacked the taller, "Christian, I expected better from you? What had I told you about staying out of wars?"

He shied away from her and rested on the warm dirt, "Sorry, Mama. Z-Zoe wanted me to-"

"Are you the fisherman? Just because she wanted you to-"

"She cried, Mama. Her parents were going to get attacked. I'm sorry, but-" Neylan sighed and pulled him into a hug.

"Damnit, Chris, you should have at least stayed with Peter. And you-" The woman stood, glaring at the boy, "Why are you not with Peter?"

The boy glowered at her and punched her leg, "I don't have to explain myself, Amalia."

Neylan glared at him and kneeled, "Where is Venie?"

"She's back in Rome. She and her bastard of a brother are adamant on staying there for whatever re- Are you behind that?" Holy Rome yelled. Turkey stood over him and growled.

"Don't talk to her like that," The man growled.

Holy Rome shrunk for a moment and Neyland shot them both a look, "Knock it off. Turkey, we're going to need messengers. Can I let these two go?"

Turkey paused and looked at the both of them, "Fine, but they're not getting any help from me." Neylan nodded and took them back to her tent to get them supplies. She fed them and got them ready for the trip.

"I would let you rest, but you need to go. Get as many people as you can to turn back, please," Neylan begged.

Christian nodded and packed the food and water up carefully, "I'm going to return home. Jordan is growing into a fine young man and Amata is learning how to walk."

Neylan smiled, "You had a daughter? Remind me to come by if I can."

"I-I was also wondering i-if you would like to take one of them under your wing, like you had with m-me?"Holy Rome sent her a look as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Of course. I'll try to make it back soon, and you two better wash your mouths out before you go. Holy Rome, tell my siblings to keep their eyes to the sky," She said before leading them out and out of camp. They parted quickly and she could only hope that they didn't come back.

* * *

Not even a month later, the crusaders returned. They set up camp on the road to Nicaea and were told to wait for Peter to return from Constantinople, but they were impatient. They charged and passed through a alley, three miles from the camp when the Turks attacked. Again, Neylan stayed on the sidelines, but when she walked back with everyone back from the camp, Turkey performed an act of humanity and allowed the women, children, and any who surrendered to be spared. The three thousand retreated to an abandoned castle to wait until someone retrieved them. France and his unprepared military leader were waiting for help, and she approached them. Geoffrey recognized her and drew his blade when she approached, but France waved him down.

"Annabelle, how are you doing?" He asked nervously.

She huffed and crossed her arms, "Doing well, considering I was practically run out of Europe. How are you doing? I'm hearing nearly 20,000 were slaughtered out there."

The blonde sagged in his chair and waved at an empty one next to him, "I... I should have known. They weren't prepared."

"Of course they weren't!" Annabelle growled as she took the seat. Geoffrey frowned at her and she rolled her eyes, "Get over it, Burel. I can by an ally or an enemy if you wish." France huffed and she took one of his hands, "Sorry, Frank. But they really weren't. They needed to wait and you've seen what happens when the untrained fight. You'll get another shot with the real army, but you just have to wait this time. I want to stay out of this, but I promised my brothers-"

"How can such religious brothers have godless wench for a sister like you?" Geoffrey growled, gripping his blade tightly.

France stood and faced the leader, "Annabelle has been more of an advisor to me than you have ever been a general. She does not need a god because she is unbiased and if you cannot face that, you incompetent man, I welcome you to fight her." Annabelle smiled at the pale look and she gripped the handle of her Norse axe. "She has been all over the world and seen many gods kinder and eviler that our our own. I will not have you speaking to a friend of mine that way."

"Fine. My apologies, Lady Luck," The man spat and left the room. France panted in anger and looked at her.

"May we?" Annabelle stood and brushed off her dress, grinning.

"Of course. I'll meet you outside." They dueled for the next several hours, but they were simply waiting for a trip out of the castle. The people's crusade was largely over with at least 26,000 dead in Asia Minor alone. Who knows the number of casualties on the way to Constantinople, against the Jews of Europe, various other skirmishes, and other attacks on the trip. It was a thought that Annabelle banned from her mind.

* * *

 **I have to go, but I'm trying to get this done. I'm sorry it's not done in my normal style, but I really hate this time period. This chapter stretched over the late 1080s and into 1096. But what happened in the eight day siege was that no one was ready when they got holed up, so they had to resort to VERY unpleasant tactics. They had to drink animal blood, urine and they dug holes in damp ground and covered themselves lightly when naked to soak. It was bad.**


	104. Chapter 92

**AnonChan1: Dude, I am so not jealous of you. I know, I've had to get stitches on three different occasions before- it really isn't fun. They do, but that's them. I feel kinda bad for Romano though. Sicily is kinda in the middle of the mediterranian and if an enemy was going to use any place as a launchboard, it would probably be there, but Veneziano also protects Romano land-wise. The joys of being on the lower part of a peninsula. Apparently. It depends on which side you're on. Honestly though. That's the people. The countries already knew about her religious choice. He will, but it's only in this crusade that he mostly gets his ass kicked. One was Christian, the most recent adopted, and the other was Holy Rome. I don't know much about him, but from what I've gathered, he wasn't the best guy.**

 **Also, GUEST! HOW DID YOU KNOW?! The time is a little smudged when I went looking, but I have a national geographic book that said that Henry of Chalons was given the area between the Minho and Tagus rivers in 1097, so let's go with that. But that was scary good timing.**

 **Late Latin**

Italian

* * *

The woman was walked into the room by France, who smiled reassuringly at her, " **It's ok, Annabelle, he's very nice, so long as you're not an invader**."

She rolled her eyes, " **Isn't that anyone? But it is a little odd, meeting someone without meeting the larger neighboring country**."

" **My brother has his own issues, leave him be** ," A thick accent came from the hall. The words were an odd mix of an old visigoth, latin, and other words. She stiffened and bowed at the new man without looking up. A preteen came to stand in front of her and he smiled lazily, " **People older than me shouldn't have to bow, lady. What's your name**?"

She smiled and stood, " **I am one of many** -"

" **Call her Fortuna, it seems to be popular** ," France cut in, giving her a wild grin. The woman scoffed and smacked him on the back of the head lightly, causing him to laugh.

" **I was going to let him choose, dumbass**!" They broke off to argue, but the kid's chuckles broke them out of it.

" **I don't see anything wrong with Fortuna. Isn't that what Uncle Rome called one of his grandkids? Odd... You're not a country...** " Portugal frowned at her and Fortuna puffed a laugh.

She shook her head, " **Uncle Rome, huh? I guess Nonno did do a lot of travelling**."

" **Indeed. So, what pleasure do I own the heretic of Europe**?"

Suddenly, the room went cold and Fortuna stood taller, " **I came to greet a renamed country, that's all.** "

Portugal nodded ambiguously, " **Well, what kind of host would I be if I threatened my guests? Welcome to the Second County of Portugal, Lady Luck. I hope that you enjoy your stay**." Fortuna smiled and bowed again.

" **I hope so as well. You've surprised me. Many nations aren't as easy-going or... what's the word... welcoming, when they first meet me,** " She explained and France squawked indignantly. " **Oh, don't give me that, you welcomed me a little too much**." France shut his mouth and the other two chuckled lightly. Fortuna eventually decided that she liked Portugal as an ally. It was either that or fight one of her 'cousins' and that would not end well.

* * *

Fortuna pulled her hood over her head tightly and stood outside a line of hedges. She began whistling a simple tune and waited. It took five minutes, but another shaky tune joined it to turn it into a beautiful piece. A third, stronger player joined in as well, adding crescendos and decrescendos and it got a life of its own. When all three finished playing, the two ran outside.

"Sorellona!"

"Ragazza!"

Fortuna laughed as she pulled her hood down and kneeled to welcome her brothers in her arms, but laughed harder when they paused. "R-Ragazza? I-Is that you?"

Feliciano opened his eyes and one was magenta, both burning nervously, "S-Sorellona? W-What happened?"

She rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair, "It was a safety precaution and it'll get out in a while, but the hair was too much an icon for me. Don't worry, Venie, I may look different, it's still me. Turkey gave me some dyed henna to change my hair color."

"Veneziano, you can be such a scaredy-cat sometimes! Always jumping at the small sound!" Romano complained. The other two shared a look, but the woman came over to pick up her brothers. "Oi, Ragazza!"

"Shut up, Roma," She teased as her long black hair travelled behind her.

They went into the backyard and they lounged on the lower branches, "Ve, Sorellona, you look like an actual local!"

She chuckled as Romano threw a stick at him, "Shut up! Your citizens are too pale and blonde!"

"But they're from all over~! But Sorellona, I'm just saying, you look nice, but we'd lose you in a crowd!" The family paused and she hummed.

"But that's why we can read auras. You've been practicing, right?" The brothers nodded and the woman hung her head against the trunk, "Then trust those instincts. Something might happen and you need to find me. As far as I know, there's nothing that can block them."

Romano shivered, "I'm going to kill the jerk who develops that. But Ragazza, have you heard? The Crusaders besieged a Turkish city again, but the byzantines double crossed them and claimed it for themselves, not allowing them to raid it."

Fortuna guffawed, "That must have pissed off France! What did he get?"

Veneziano took over, "The Byzantines gave them horses and gold, but..."

"We all know what invaders are like. Venie, do me a favor and milk them for as much as you can with those trading deals," The woman said. Romano growled.

"You mean like the one that nearly killed us a few years ago?"

Veneziano paused, "What?"

Fortuna waved her hand, "It was a decade or so ago, your people were using Greek fire against us. We got out in time, but-"

"You almost killed us you idiot!" Romano yelled and began to chase his brother around the garden. The woman smiled contently as she watched her brothers enjoy themselves for a while before jumping from the tree and scooped them up. "Put me down!"

Fortuna readjusted them, "C'mon you lot, it's time for dinner. Let's just be happy we're not over there right now." The boys nodded and they went to eat. She stayed with them over the next two years, staying under the nose of the church and nobles. Over that time, the Crusaders were a band of strong willed soldiers. Their leaders constantly fought, but they worked their way down, constantly battling the elements. The locals hadn't been prepared for the warriors, so except for the occasional stronghold, they didn't have actual military backup.

This allowed them to seize Antioch and Bohemond of Taranto to become its prince. Romano had been very happy with its result and was happy to open trade ports with his brother in July of 1098. Then, news came of Ma'arra. Fortuna, as soon as she got word, ran to the garden to throw up into the compost pile, taking the paper in hand. Romano and Veneziano followed her questioningly, but she only sobbed and leaned on the ground. "I-It's not worth it. I wouldn't tell Nonno if he were to ask." The brothers gulped, but managed to get it out of her.

She curled up and opened the letter, "This is one reason I hate the crusaders. T-They put this one town under siege and then they convinced the Muslims to open the doors, and from what I understand, it was under the terms of peace."

Romano rested on her side to try and get a better look, but Fortuna crumbled it up, "Well? What happened?"

"T-The crusaders massacred everyone. I-It didn't matter who it was. Men, woman, child, anyone," She wept, pulling her brothers close. "20,000 people..." Veneziano cried and wrapped his arms around his sister.

"S-Sorella, don't cry, you're making me cry," He sobbed, burying himself in her arms.

Romano stood off to the side and clenched his fists, "Is this why you didn't want us going?"

She leaned back, "One reason, yes. You both have heard the screams and the cries of dying. I don't want you two in a group where they can kill everyone. But..." Fortuna stopped there and didn't speak up, only offering the teary-eyed Romano an arm. He walked closer to her and curled up. His heart was mad. His own people had been Muslim and while the Normans kicked most out, they had made him a part of one of his higher points in an empire. But he couldn't reject the christian part of him either, and he yearned for the hope and comfort that it provided for him.

He looked at his sister and wrapped his arms around her. She was lucky and unlucky. She refused to attach herself to a religion, allowing her freedom to not trust a power to tell her what to believe, but at the same time... It must be lonely, not having a guiding hand helping you throughout the day. He shook his head and let himself relax into her hold. That was her issue, not his.

Fortuna kissed their foreheads and hoped that they would never hear of a secondary part of the siege of Ma'arra. It was recorded that the crusaders had been running dangerously low on food and had taken alternative measures to curb to hunger. They had apparently boiled and grilled the victims of the massacre, but it was still debated later in history. That was another reason: she didn't want to put her brothers through that. They would never forgive themselves.

More news came in late July 1099, and Veneziano was happy, "They retook it! They finally retook it!" Romano shot up from his place under the tree and growled.

"Shush! What's going on?!"

The younger brother was practically buzzing with energy as he handed the note over, "The Crusaders, after many days of trials, finally took back Jerusalem! But... There's a line that I can't read..."

Romano took it and read it over and paled, "F-Fratellino... This is no cause for celebration. They..." He sat and growled to himself. Veneziano backed away and went to go get his sister. She had been meditating in the bedroom when he burst in.

He ran up to her and shook her, "Sorellona! I-It's Romano! He's acting like a dog!"

Fortuna opened her eyes and looked down at him before picking up up and ran out to the garden. Romano wasn't fighting the tears anymore and when she pulled him into her arms, he fought to get her off. "Let me go, Ragazza! They-"

"I know, Roma! We couldn't have done anything about it!" She yelled back, and pulled him into a hug. He growled and slapped her. Veneziano paused as he watched this happen. Luciano was alight with anger, but the host refused to let his darker side show. Both were calmed down slightly when Romano broke down and curled into his sister's arms. She smiled and kissed his forehead, rocking him back and forth.

The middle child cocked his head, "Sorellona, what did those lines say?"

Fortuna sighed as she took the note from Romano and summarized it, "Basically? The crusaders massacred 30,000 to 70,000 inhabitants. Women and children weren't spared either. Blood ran through the streets until it was ankle deep. But they got it. The kingdom of Jerusalem has been founded and Europeans are going to try their hardest to keep it." Veneziano swallowed. He remembered the gladiator fights he had seen with his grandfather and remembered how the sand seeped in effortlessly. "This is why I can't stand religion. It separates people because of what god they worship."

"I don't blame you, Sorellona. But-" The woman shook her head.

"The church had its amazing moments, and many officials condemned these massacres. The religions provide a comfort where there was nothing else. Let's just celebrate the fact that we're not over there right now. Come here," She whispered, opening her arms. Veneziano smiled and stepped into them again.

* * *

Romano hummed as he flipped through the history book's pages and paused on the section of the Crusades. He frowned, but decided to look through it, for old time's sake. It started off as normal, with his sister ranting about how wrong the holy wars were waged when he came across one passage:

"As a testament to human's desire to stay alive, they will do whatever humanly-fucking-possible to do so and while not straying from their original purpose. This has rarely been shown better than with the siege of Ma'arra (or the downed soccer team from 1972), according to strictly Crusader sources. Historians doubt this actually happened because of a lack of Muslim sources, but Chroniclers Radulph of Caen and Fulcher of Chartres write that the Crusaders had little to no food and they had been forced to resort to more deplorable methods. The Crusaders reportedly boiled and grilled the massacre victims simply to stay alive."

The man slapped a hand over his mouth in horror as his stomach turned and he threw it down in a rush to the toilet. He threw up his lunch and leaned on the wall, "Damnit, Ragazza... No wonder you hated the Crusades." Romano shakily stood and flushed the waste away when his phone rang. "SHit, um, pronto."

"Hey, Roma, I was wondering, did you want to come over for dinner tonight? We're having veal-"

"NO! No meat, please," He begged as he walked back to the study.

A confused hum met his ears, "Romano, what's gotten into you? You never turn down my food."

He let his head rest on the cool surface of his desk, "I just read about Ma'arra." There was a long pause, followed by a sigh.

"Yeah, suddenly, I don't feel like veal. Want some salad?"

"I'll bring the spinach."


	105. Chapter 93

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but it seems that that's going to be the pattern, update, wait until I have time, update a while later, and repeat.**

 **AnonChan1: Dude, I hope your mom gets better! And he does, just a little bit taller. I think it's more that Spain's trying to get some of his brother's favor. I've done this with my own sister sometimes, I do something to piss her off and I do everything in my power to get her to not hate me anymore, and of course, she milks it for all she can. I might be reading into that wrong as well. Anyone else, thoughts? And I think heretic can be a loose term sometimes. It goes against a set of teachings, and in this case, it's what's gone against the Europeans' teachings. She really can't, she's going to thrive in them! It depends on the person, really. Most things, it would be an agreed grudge within the populace, like how Americans kinda held against the British for a while after independence, but we don't hold much of a grudge against the Canadians for fighting against us in the war of 1812. America shrugs it off for the most part. I don't think they're catch fire, they're just singe a little. Imagine what with California right now, and may the best of luck be with them. History sucks, but it has to be retold. Always research where you're invading first.**

 **Portugal Guest: Dude, that's awesome! If you hadn't asked about that, I might not have included him. I might want to ask you a bit about viewpoints, so could you help me out a little? I don't want to misinterpret views on other nations, and pretending like you know isn't ok, so I need outside sources. You don't have to, but thanks again for the recommendation with Portugal!**

 **But shout out to others from other nations, if there's an event that happens in your country's past, I can see what I can do about including it if you bring it up. It might be a small battle that no one else has heard of, but it's small things that are awesome! Enough of this, onto the story!**

Late Latin/Italian

 **Greek**

Middle English

 **Old French**

* * *

Elizabeth laughed quietly as her horse dashed through the woods, England quick behind her, and even more noblemen next to him. A herd of deer was racing away from the hunting trim. "Bess! Go left!" Her brother routed right as he said this, and she nodded, moving her bay mare to flank from the other side. She notched her bow and took aim. It landed in the skull of a seven point buck and it tumbled to the ground as England landed his own nine point. Several more arrows flew, but shouts came from behind the immortals and they turned in alarm.

"The king is down," England growled as he turned his horse around and went to see the king. Elizabeth did the same and she immediately began looking over the wound, but paused. "Who shot it?" England asked as he looked up. "WHO DID IT?" The men paused and with a seemingly agreed move, they got on their mounts and fled. Oliver came out as he shook in anger, "Bethy, did you see who did it?"

She sighed through her nose, "I'm sorry, Al, but I don't. No one ever does. Historians always say that Henry was a good option, but it doesn't make any sense. They're not going to be coming back. Can you go to the next town and get help?"

England looked down at William Rufus sadly, "He doesn't need any help now."

"No, but he does need to be buried. Go get someone, please, Ollie," Elizabeth asked as she began removing the arrow. It came out with a bit of a struggle, but the dead owner wasn't complaining. He bowed his head and his shoulders slumped. She smiled slightly, wiped her hands on her leggings and pulled him into a hug. "It's going to be ok. You couldn't have done anything about this." Oliver nodded and wrapped his arms around her to cry. She continued to rub his back as he sobbed, eventually pulling away.

"I-I'll go to the next village over and bring some help. Wait here?"

Elizabeth nodded and tore a corner of cloth to give to him, "Always. Take this for your eyes and hurry. It's cold out here." England nodded and left, switching to Arthur.

Henry I of England was crowned on August 5th, 1100, three days after his brother was killed, even in the same forest as another brother a few decades before. He had a rocky start, but calmed fears with the Charter of Liberties. It was one of the most logical charters Elizabeth had yet seen, and it looked almost... modern. It rendered things the way William the Conqueror had things, stated that former grievances were forgiven, the king should be consulted on matters, and those who gave service did not owe grain to the crown.

Henry also took advantage of his new title to gain a new bride, Matilda of Scotland. At the wedding, the royalty made sure to keep a close eye on their respective charges. Scotland continued to glare at his brother, and England did the same, but Elizabeth told them to put up with it. It was an Alliance marriage and they needed to get used to them. She ended up in a drinking contest with Scotland and some of the other men, and while she did manage to defeat the mortals, the woman passed out. Scotland made sure to rub it in her face the next morning, after their heads had stopped throbbing.

* * *

Fortuna crept into Rome quietly, making her way to the familiar home, when two kids playing in the street caught her attention. "Danny! Danny! Come back!" The older teen, probably around 16, ran into the street to get the little girl's ball, when a horse's braying echoed. A loose horse with a large gash in it's side was racing up the street, and it wasn't stopping. The teen was frozen in horror and the woman growled. She tackled the boy as his sister screamed. The large equine passed without damage, and the boy was trembling when she got off of him. "Danny!"

"Hey, kid, are you ok?" She helped the tan teen to his feet and dusted his hair out.

"Y-Yeah. I'm just fine. Amata, are you ok? Papa would have my head," 'Danny' said as he held his arms out for his sister. The child nodded as she climbed into his arms.

Fortuna smiled, "What are you two doing out playing in the street? There's a perfectly good field three lengths away from the city."

The boy looked at her oddly, "Papa used to play in that field, but it's been built over by now." She blinked and Danny waved her to follow him. "Well, Lady, it's been a while since you've been to Rome, and Papa would kill me if I didn't bring a lost foreigner home. Mama can get mad all she wants."

" **Danny! Mama would kill you if she heard you talking about her like that**!"

Fortuna laughed again, " **Little one, I am not going to repeat any of that to your mother, don't worry**." Amata paled and she buried her face in her brother's shoulder. They walked for a little longer before stopping and bursting in.

"Papa! I brought a guest home!" A clatter came from the kitchen and a middle-aged woman came from the room. Fortuna and the woman paused before screaming.

The immortal grinned and went to pull her old friend into a hug, "Zoe! It's been too long!"

"Fortuna! It hasn't been nearly long enough! I can't believe you have to see me when I'm this old! Husband, get out here! Jordan, Amata, don't just stand there, go get the wine!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Slow footsteps came from the bedroom and and the man paused, "Hey, Mama, it's been a while." A second person came from behind him and ran into her arms.

"Christian, it's nice to see you again. Roma, what are you doing here?" Romano huffed and slugged her arm softly.

"Bitch it's been a while. Why are you here?"

The children returned from the kitchen and Christian grabbed his children, "Mama, these are my kids, Jordan and Amata. Kids, this is Fortuna, the woman who raised me."

Amata's large golden eyes blinked, "You're not old." The room burst into laughter, Jordan facepalmed, and Amata looked around in confusion. "What? She's not! She looks younger than Papa!"

Fortuna kneels in front of the blonde, "Bambina, I'm the second oldest person in this room."

"Hey! Don't make it sound like I'm a grandpa!" Romano yelled, hitting her shoulder. Christian laughed again, but let them be. The kids stayed off to the side for the majority of the time. Throughout the night, Christian kept asking if she would take one of the two with her, and reluctantly, Fortuna agreed to take Amata. The child resembled her slightly, with reddish hair and amber eyes, but it was too early to tell.

News came the next week. Roger I of Sicily was dead and his kids were too young to rule. His wife was reigning for him and of course, rebellions rose up. Adelaide was quick to push them down, and she ruled the area well, if a little strictly. Romano brought her to meet the brothers, Simon and Roger II, and they got along well enough, but their attitudes were a little odd. Simon was older, but he obviously had a superiority complex under his brother, who actively said that while he would be king, Simon would be appointed bishop or even pope. They reminded Fortuna of her own brothers in their own way.

Simon would come to the throne soon, but he wouldn't survive long enough to make a large impact. His brother on the other hand... Jordan nudging her snapped her out of the it. She looked at the black haired teen in confusion and he grabbed her arm gently, "Take care of my sister. Papa's told me stories, but she's my everything."

Fortuna smiled and took his hand in hers, "Jordan, I'll take care of her like my own. No harm will come to her. She'll come back home safe and sound in a few years, and I'll make sure she writes."

"She'll learn to write?" He asked incredulously. "Papa's tried to teach her, but she..."

"Don't worry, I'll manage to teach her. I had to teach Christian, didn't I?" Fortuna joked, and they shared a laugh. She and Amata left for Venice later next spring.

* * *

Veneziano was happy to meet his sister at the city of water, and he swept the women to meet Ordelafo Faliero. He was the newest Doge of the city and it was obvious that he was a strong willed man. He had sent men to help Matilda of Tuscany take Ferrera and her brother had a very high opinion of him. They didn't stay long, but they went to go visit the Countess. She and Fortuna had met a few times, but it had been brief meetings.

The woman was in a large study and looked up from her book, "Ah, Italy, what brings you here?"

"Ve, Miss, am I not allowed to visit my favorite countess?" The boy praised as he kneeled in front of her.

Matilda chuckled lowly as she covered her mouth, "My, do not let Matelda of Venice hear! And Fortuna, it is a pleasure." The Countess stood and Fortuna kneeled. Amata yelped and did the same and Matilda again laughed, "Little one, do not panic so. Please stand, your place is by your mother's side, not on the floor."

"She's not my Mama! She's in Apulia!"

Fortuna smiled as she stood and gently pat her chrge's hair, "Indeed, Amata. Apologies, Countess, I just took her under my wing. This is my granddaughter, Amata Esposito." Matilda cocked an eyebrow at the last name, and Veneziano sneezed. "Cover your mouth, Venie."

Matilda nodded, "Bless you. Come, where will you be going after this?"

"We're going back to Venice, but I wanted to visit. I travel too much these days and never stay long enough to greet friends," She said and her brother came to her side. She picked him up and smiled.

"It has been a while since I've seen you. The conflict with the Germans is tiring me out," The woman complained as she rubbed her hands. "Please sit, it's far too tiring on these old feet to stand for too long." Fortuna nodded and sat in the chair opposite and pulled the smaller beings onto her lap. Amata played with a small doll and Veneziano played with his sister's fingers.

Fortuna crossed her ankles and breathed deeply, "You won't have to worry about it for too much loner. The remaining German son will take over. He settles the dispute reasonably with the Pope." Matilda nodded and sighed. They continued to talk about minor issues until Amata's stomach rumbled and they left for lunch.

* * *

Veneziano grumbled quietly as he looked over the plans, "No, that one goes over there! Sorellona, help me out here!" She sighed and looked over the plans, and he pointed to a tower, "That is heading in that direction, and it's going to turn out backwards!"

Fortuna blinked, "Venie! I can't read this! I came to see the work! Why aren't you talking to Ordelafo with this?"

He growled and rolled up the plans, "He's over fighting in the east! Can you pick me up, Fortuna?" The woman blinked as Luciano's voice emerged and nodded. She heaved him so he could stand on her shoulder, "HEY! HOLD ON! WE'RE GOING TO BUILD THIS WRONG!" Amata giggled and tugged on Fortuna's dress.

"Nonna? What's going on?"

"Veneziano is building the Venetian Arsenal. It's an area that will build and store boats and supplies for war and trade. At least it's largest? It'll take up fifteen percent of the city," Fortuna said, wincing as her brother stepped on her hair. "Oi, Venie, stop squirming so much!"

"Sorry, Sorellona!" He smiled and she chuckled again, but grimaced when he went back to yelling. She cut her hair to mid-chin again, and only the tips of her hair were black. It was 1104. They soon went up to England and the boy was surprised by the girl at his half-sister's side. The thirteen-year-old was almost two inches shorter than his sister, but she still had to drop a bit of baby fat.

The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm not even going to ask. Henry is planning to attack Robert."

Elizabeth sighed, "Well, what goes around, comes around. Are you ready? France's next king isn't going to stand for this." He nodded. Henry, king of England, had been attacked by his brother a few years before, but Robert was forced back to Normandy. The Treaty of Alton confirmed that he wouldn't be getting the British crown after that. Now, Henry I wanted his brother's land, and nothing was going to stop him.

England insisted that the two women stay on British soil as he went to invade Normandy. Elizabeth took this time to teach the woman two things: how to fight and how to read. "The pen is just as mighty as the sword. Your Papa sent me a letter the other day. It has some big news. I'm not going to tell you," The immortal said.

Amata whined, "But why? Nonna, women aren't supposed to be able to re-"

"Don't you _ever_ talk like that again. Being able to read can mean being informed, and in this time, nothing is more important. Now, I'm going to teach you English as well. It's going to resemble Latin a bit, but don't lean on it too much, ok? This is the word 'CAT'..." Elizabeth continued to teach Amata the written word, and in the afternoons, she would take her outside to teach her sword fighting. The girl had a knack for blocking, and it pleased the elder woman greatly.

It was three weeks later that she could read the note Christian had sent, "D-Dear Amata. I-I want you t-to k-now-"

"The k is silent, try again," Elizabeth encouraged.

"-Know t-that Jordan i-is m-marr-ried... What? Danny is married?" Fortuna smiled and nodded.

"Nipote got married a little while ago, and he wished his best. His wife is very pretty and they wanted you to know that they're going to name their first baby after you, oh, sweetie, why are you crying?" Elizabeth smiled and hugged the teen.

Amata sobbed into her arms, "H-He still loves me! C-Can I write him back?"

Elizabeth held a hand up to her ear, "What's this? You want to read and write?"

"Shut up! C'mon, Nonna!" Elizabeth grinned and went to help her out. England returned from Normandy a short time later and he was quickly thrown into politics again. This time, for the better. Henry gathered several nobles and several Bishops with the help of a religious ally of his, who he had exiled a few years ago.

It was 1107 when the Concordat of London met, and after a few hours of arguing, England stood, "This is outrageous, gentlemen! It is impossible to chose to is a greater power, bishops or kings!"

Elizabeth stood, "England, sit down. Bishops rule from God's domain, and king's from the land. Why can't they work together?"

Another bishop stood, "Well, why cannot a king grant the Bishop's candidate land? He still choses if he can claim land, whereas the Bishop still appoints from God's hand?" The meeting took a turn from the better, and Elizabeth breathed easier. Amata tugged on her dress.

"Nonna, what are they fighting about?"

Elizabeth sighed, "Do you remember what I've told you about the old French kings?" The teen nodded lightly and the immortal smiled, ruffling her hair. "Good girl. But they took up the habit of appointing Popes and bishops. Don't ask me how, but they did it to secure power so they could say that God supported their reign. This was known as lay investiture. Before you were born, the Pope Gregory VII had enough and wanted to reform the Church so this would stop, but it happened too fast, and Henry IV was the wrong emperor at the time, so they clashed. That's why there's an anti-pope. It's who the king wanted installed, not the current one. They clashed on who should be able to put bishops into power, because they can be used to amass support. We just managed to agree on how to conduct those proceedings, so one power isn't going to get above the other."

Amata nodded slowly, "Ok, Nonna. Do Gregory and Henry still hate each other?"

"Well, Gregory's dead, but he probably knows that work is being made to restore the Church's power. He might be turning in his grave if he knew how, but we're making the right steps," She said. "Now, shush, they're writing it down."

* * *

" **Annabelle! It has been too long**!" France took the woman into his arms and kissed her on both cheeks. Her face turned a bright red as she yelped and backed away from him.

"Nonna! He's being really weird!"

A chuckle came from behind him as he spun, " **Well, Frank. Hitting on my granddaughter? How could you**?"

" **Wait, Anna-** " The blonde wiped his head back at face Amata and then Annabelle. " **How? I don't understand**."

The woman smiled and went to stand by the 16-year-old, " **It's a long story-** "

" **Annabelle, tell me it's not that letter you had us all sign in 973? Cod** -"

" **Don't say it out loud, but no, it's not. I would let you know, and this isn't it. Meet Amata, a child of a family friend** ," Annabelle introduced as she gave France a cold stare. He sagged in relief and nodded.

" **Don't scare me like that, Annabel. This old soul can't hand those frights! But it is a pleasure to meet you, belle. Annabel, would you like to meet my new king**?"

She nodded and took her ward's hand, " **Lead the way. It's... Louis VI, right**?"

" **Indeed. Be careful, he... tends to** -" France opened the door and a young man looked up. " **Louis, may I present Lady Luck and her charge, Amata.** " Annabelle bowed deeply, and Amata, used to royalty at this point, did the same.

" **Rise. Lady Luck... Frank has told me much about you, and I hope that we can get along** ," He said, standing.

The woman smiled and stood to her full height, " **Indeed, I hope we can. What are you going to do about Frank**?"

The man looked at the nervous blonde before facing the auburnette, " **I'm going to get him back from the robber barons. And you**?"

" **I'll help if you need me. It's nice to meet you, king Louis**." He was crowned the next day, August 3rd, 1108.

* * *

 **So, I had to go hunt down some information, and it took me for-fucking-ever.**

 **Alfonso VI is father of Urraca. Urraca married Raymond of Burgundy, and had a kid with him, that being Alfonso VII. Raymond then died and Urraca married Alfonso I (the battler). They didn't have any kids, but they did fight a lot, like, A LOT. Urraca fled to Henry's place (he was her brother in law), and he died in the commencing siege. Afonso I (not the battler(spelt without an 'l')) is now count of portugal and is upgraded to king later. He will be succeeded by his son Sanho I, and then after, his son, Afonso II. That is portugal's side.**

 **Time for the fun part. For note, there are three main parts to worry about: Castile, Aragon and Leon.**  
 **Back to Alfonso I and Urraca**  
 **Urraca annulled their marriage, so Alfonso (ruled Aragon) was succeeded by his brother, Ramiro II, on his death. When Ramiro II died, he was succeeded by Petronilla, and then it went to her son, Alfonso II.**  
 **Back to Urraca and her kid, Alfonso VII. When Alfonso took back over, he was 'king of all spain' when he was honestly king of Leon, Galicia, and Castile. When he died, his eldest, Sancho III took over Castile. A different son, Ferdinand II took Leon.**


	106. Chapter 94

**Hey guys! So, um, I'm not dead. Turns out AP Euro is harder than I thought. Basically whenever I'm not a work, I'm doing homework.**

 **AnonChan1: Long time no see! And that's awesome! To each their own, I guess. Hunting was a big thing, and as everyone knows, it still is. I... Don't know. I think that every time they try, the bartender calls their siblings before it can get too out of hand. Kinda. Yes, it is. I guess, but Amata has known her as Nonna in stories and under her wing, so it's all the same to her. They can be. I think that out of all of the 1P-and-2P pairs, I think they would get along together the best. He really is done with her. They do, and I need to stop drifting so far from the canon characters. Are you kidding me? This is the king that begins to weaken the nobilities power, of course they're going to try and kill him, even if it were more in a series of revolts. Louis VI has it together.**

 **Portugal Guest: Thank you so much! I do have a few (sorry if they are invasive!): Are there any country relations that can be seen as a little or more tense? Are there any moments that I should bring up (I've been learning what a huge part the Age of Exploration has been for Portugal)? Are there any odd stereotypes that I need to know in order to portray Portugal more correctly in Hetalian terms? Sorry about these, but you're basically the only person (that I know about) I'm getting sources from that isn't American.**

* * *

 **Middle English**

Late Latin

Italian

Annabelle snarled as she struck down a Frenchman that charged her. The blood splattered on her armor, but she didn't care as she moved to the next soldier. The battle cries of the French echoed in her ears as a presence swung his sword. She ducked and the blade passed over her and into an enemy. She rose and grinned to France, who seemed to look rather ill. She couldn't blame him.

He grinned back, but she drew a dagger and threw it past his head, where it landed in a peasant's head. France yanked it out, and handed it back. She nodded in thanks.

It was 1108-1109, and Louis was fighting to assert his type of reign. He was fighting a two faced war, both with powerful nobles, but one had the power to cut off his domain, but the other was show of power. Hugh of Crecy had kidnapped Eudes, count of Corbeil, supporter of the king, and thrown him into prison, but at the same time, he was attempting to secure a minor back to his hereditary ducal title which had been stolen from him. Louis was trying to stand up for the lower nobles. It was a smart move- he was a protector for those who had their rights oppressed.

She was currently fighting for the second cause, and she had yet to meet the child, but France insisted it was for a good cause. Annabelle agreed regardless and took up her swords. Amata decided to stay back at the camp with a blade of her own, so she wasn't forced to partake in the battle. It was fine with the immortals and they went off. They soon wrapped up the battle with a victory on their end, and headed back to camp.

When they got back to their tent, the two shared a look at the state of things. The room was in disarray, Amata was sleeping on the bed, and her hair was tangled something awful. Fortuna frowned and pulled the blanket back a little and sighed in relief. France's shoulders sagged in relief, and they both got ready for bed. The two cornered her the next morning, but the girl insisted that she was fine. The seventeen-year-old panicked when Annabelle said they were leaving, but put up not outward protests. During a month-long trip North, Annabelle kept a closer eye on the teen. England had been sending Amata letters to help her practice her writing, and he had been adamant about them coming to see a play. Amata had begged her to.

It was in Dunstable, 1110, and the play was Ludus de Sancta Katherine, or the play of Saint Katherine. England was bounding all over the place the night of the play, and Amata was fidgeting with the hem of her shawl. Finally, Elizabeth had had enough and dragged both of them into the building they were calling home to talk. She forced both of them to sit and growled, " **First off, Al, are you ok**?"

He crossed his arms, " **Indeed, but I'm just excited for the play. Geoffrey's gotten some copes, capes, something from St. Albans' for the performance, and I've managed to get a part in the play**!"

Elizabeth grinned and clapped her hands lightly, " **Wow, Al, I'm proud of you! Which part**?"

" **One of the visitors of Catherine**!" He said and his hair began to fluctuate a light strawberry. Elizabeth chuckled, but tugged on her hair. He noticed, and Arthur reigned Oliver back in. " **I mean, I total deserve the part, right?** "

" **Careful, England, or you're going to get a big head** ," She warned before turning to Amata. " **You. You have been terrified out of your mind for the past month and a half. What the hell is going on? No matter how bad it is, I'm not going to get mad at you**."

Amata swallowed and quickly broke down sobbing. England sent his sister a glare before handing her a handkerchief and holding her hand. " **I-I'm sorry, Nonna, please don't tell Papa and Mama! Heaven's already going to bar me for life, but just let me live with them in peace**!"

Elizabeth sighed and took a seat, " **Is it about what happened back in France**?" England's head shot up in alarm and he growled.

" **What in the bloody hell did that monster do**?" He snarled. Oliver began to peek out more, and he was just as angry.

She shook her hand in his direction, " **It wasn't him. We left Amata behind in a camp tent while we were fighting, but when we came back...** " The women shook their heads.

" **I'm sorry, Nonna, I shouldn't have done that. But... I... I loved him, and I thought I was going to be able to have time to stay, but...** " Amata trembled more and England gave her a hug.

" **Shhh, Amata, all will be fine in the future-** "

She looked at him with a glare, " **How do you know? Are you some kind of fortune teller**?" England took a step back with his hands up and he looked over to his sister for help.

Elizabeth smiled, " **Because I am your family and I do whatever it takes to keep my family safe. Do you know what you want to do for the child**?" Amata swallowed and sighed, slumping. The older woman ran a hand through her hair and kissed her head, " **You don't have to decide right now, but think on it, si?** " Amata nodded and they went to go see England's miracle play. The play went wonderfully, but there was a ruckus the next morning- the director's house had partially caught fire and the books and copes he had borrowed had gotten destroyed. He never forgave himself and dedicated himself to service.

* * *

Fortuna embraced Matilda as the old woman led the small group into the study. Veneziano took his ruler's side as she eased herself down into a chair, and smiled as he looked at Amata and Fortuna. "Sorellona, you came!" He went to tug on her dress, and she pulled him into her arms happily.

"Of course. Matilda, you also wanted to talk?" Matilda lowered her head into her hands and hissed, "Matilda?"

"Fortuna, I have a question to ask. You surely heard of Henry coming down to seize the title of Emperor, yes? He has seized the Pope?" Her tired eyes peered up at her friend and her country. They both nodded, and the countess sighed. "I am getting too old for this life. If anything Veneziano has told me is true, he will attack Rome, but he'll have to get through me first. I am old and tired, but I have provided aid to my lands for almost 40 years. I love my home, but I do not know how well I will be able to defend it should the Germans force themselves into our streets. I am looking for advice."

Though Matilda's eyes were old, they still burned brightly, and Fortuna smiled, "Henry V is not his father, he understands how important your home is to you. All he wanted was the title, trust me. Meet up with him on friendly terms, and you might be surprised." The sixty-nine year old woman nodded slowly and sighed again. "Matilda? Is everything ok?"

"I fear I am beginning to grow weaker. Your brother has been a great help, but I believe I'm not going to last much longer," The countess stated wearily.

Fortuna gripped her chair as she felt Veneziano's clenched hands in her dress grow tenser, "Matilda, you are not going to die without a fight. I have heard stories about you hunting down what you desire, and my brother does not grow deeply fond of a person easily. You will last a few more years or so help me peaches, I will drag you back to the world of the living and throw you back on that throne." Veneziano blinked at her with tears in his open eyes before burying his face in her dress.

To her joy, Matilda burst out laughing, "My dear, I hope it will not come to that. Come now, tell me about your latest travels. Is that snivelling Briton still crying for his fairies and the Frenchman still giving him hell?"

"You don't know the half of it," The auburnette sighed, resting her head in a free hand. The group chuckled, and Matilda redirected her attention to Amata.

"Child, where is the father? I know a new mother when I see one." She tensed up and Fortuna rested a hand on hers. Matilda pursed her lips and nodded, "I see... You are lucky, Child. Either your parents do not know who the father is, or Fortuna has already found out." Fortuna lifted her head to fan her fingers out in a 'I don't know, nor do I care' motion. Amata smiled and hoped she could get back to her daughter, Tristessa, soon.

* * *

Matilda was staring out the window when Henry V entered. Veneziano was standing next to his ruler, and Holy Rome was next to his. Fortuna gestured to the grand chair across from the countess, and the Emperor nodded silently. Before he sat down, he smiled at the old woman, "So, you are the powerful woman who raised hell for my father."

The woman turned her head, "Henry. It has been a while. The last time I saw you... I was helping you also raise hell for your father." The two rulers laughed, and they began to talk. Fortuna stood nearby and filled each leader's cups as needed, and smiled as they spoke about the future. Matilda discussed how she left her land to the church, even if it was unofficial, but she wanted to leave the lands to the people. Henry nodded along and respected each decision, but he asked if he could take unofficial claim of them, as a distant overlord of sorts. Matilda pursed her lips, but agreed, only if Tuscany remained free.

After the next few days of discussions, Henry crowned Matilda the Imperial Vicar and Vice-Queen of Italy. Two monarchs had ascended in 1111 AD. Fortuna had to make a few singles day jokes.

* * *

An easy smile greeted her as she walked into the home, "Ah, my favorite heretic, how are you?"

Fortuna chuffed and pushed him off, "Shut up, Portugal, stop calling me that! I had to flee to Turkey once, I'm not afraid to do it again!" He chuckled lightly, but eased into a smile. "So, how's life as a county?"

"Life could be better, could be worse. How are you? I notice the bags under your eyes," He noted and Fortuna swat at him again.

"Don't worry about it, I'm raising a child for a friend. She's back home with her family until I come to see her again or Tristessa is-"

Portugal frowned, "She named her daughter Tristessa? Why? May she grow up in the North where they don't speak Latin much, but what caused...Oh." Fortuna nodded and yawned.

"Yeah. She's the Pearl to her Hester, but you know, mothers want the best for their children," She mumbled, frowned and gazed at her hand idly.

Portugal hummed and tucked his arms behind his head, "Iberia cared for us, but when Rome came by..." Fortuna blinked in alarm.

"Wait, Iberia? I haven't heard of her before..."

The man nodded with a distant smile, "Sim, Mama really was something... It took Rome two centuries to finally kill her, you know. Spain and I didn't know her, but Rome told us stories about her. One was that rumors of her viciousness caused him and the general to go running back to Rome!" He laughed and Fortuna smiled weakly.

"Well, the new has to move in a some point, right?" He nodded and she elbowed him, "Hey, the County's going to have to move over for the Country, right?" Portugal blinked for a moment, and he grinned.

"I guess so. Now, go get your little bundle of Sadness and go sleep. I'll keep an eye on her." Fortuna smiled gratefully and went back into town. Although Portugal would not become a country for another few years, he took a step in 1112.

* * *

Fortuna sighed as she carried the squirming child to the home which Amata had come to live in, "Nipotina! I'm here!" A familiar face opened the door and her shoulders fell. "Roma."

He nodded as he crossed his arms, "Si, Ragazza, is this a new adopted kid?"

"Tristessa! My baby!" Amata burst into Fortuna's sight and took up her child, "Nonna, thank you so much! I've missed her so much!" Fortuna facepalmed and shook her head.

"I need a drink," She mumbled as Romano snarled.

"Child? Amata?! What did you do?!" Amata shook herself out of her daze and shrunk behind her grandmother.

Fortuna growled, "Romano, back off." The siblings glared at each other, but the cries of the child broke their argument. Fortuna spun on her heel to address the toddler and Romano huffed.

"Screw it, Ragazza, I want to see the Bambina!" His sister sighed and picked him up, grunting. He slugged her, "Oi, I'm not heavy!" She chuckled and they cooed at the baby. They all, at some point, drifted into the small home and sat at the meager table. "You know that Tancred died a few years ago, and the Pope just recognized a group of Hospitallers in the Holy Land, right?" The woman whined and rested on the table.

"You know, I actually respected him a little bit before the Crusades. Then he took part in the slaughter," She spat. He nodded and Amata raised an eyebrow. Fortuna waved it off and sat up, "But the Hospitallers? I thought they weren't until later this century, or the next... 1099 founded St. John, 1113, the pope fond; 19 with Solomon, but 39 left him callin'; and St. Mary was 10 before 12... Yeah, those are this century with the templars next, then the Teutonics. Mom used to tell me to look out for all of them, they loved to sing too much, but had different styles. I'm wonder what they're like."

Romano hummed, "The teutonics are Germans, right? Well, they can go all eat a bunch of figs for all I care." Amata snorted at the immature, but vulgar language and Fortuna poked his cheek.

"Don't go judging them before you meet them. I'm sure they're going to be respectable... Well... Their history... Mmmm. Ok, yeah, they're assholes. But then again, so am I, so as long as they don't try to kill me or anything, I'm fine." Romano hummed and leaned on her.

"I'm tired..." At that moment, the toddler began to cry and the siblings just groaned in annoyance.

* * *

 **Alright, so a few notes. First off, if anyone else from various countries that are still somehow reading this want to chip in dates and events, don't be afraid to! Second: Tristessa means Sadness. Third: I have way too much shit I have to do. I hate work, classes and chores so much. Fourth: I AM OVER 11,000 VIEWS HOLY PEACHES.**

 **HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY AND ITALIAN UNIFICATION DAY!**


	107. Chapter 95

**Hello, gonna try to get out one more chapter before things get really busy! Also, what are some things I can do to improve this fanfiction?**

 **AnonChan1: That's awesome, but of course. Same, but my dad is on occasion, but he's as humane as possible. Lol. Maybe? Truuuuuue. Louis VI is, in my opinion, one of my favorite kings so far. The first scene was at one of the battles Louis fought, the one with a younger noble. You've seen that when the next generation is ready to take over, some don't think so, and will run to take over the title, as happened here. The other one was fought because one of Louis's supporters had gotten kidnapped, and the man that did so had castles that, if he decided to, could cut the king's domain in half if they were put on 'high alert'. And Amata just let a guy into the room, same as any rebellious teen, but something. Considering how religious some people were, she kinda had to. Matilda is my hero. They do. Kind of. Completely, but if not that, then just a regular friend. She and Iberia... Hmmm... There isn't really a character description for her, but I can imagine her being sarcastic in a gentle way, lol. True. Sadly, he will not be popping up for a little while, in all honesty, probably around 1210s because, ya know, Hungary needed their help.**

Latin/Italian

 **Old French**

* * *

Elizabeth frowned as she stared at the young couple. England and Holy Rome were standing next to their respective royal, and both were remaining passive throughout the ordeal. Adelaide didn't look to her betrothed with love her eyes and Henry didn't either. Elizabeth gripped her cloak as the priest declared the couple man and wife and she turned away and left. Holy Rome and England shared a look and the latter shook his head. The short blond nodded and stood by his ruler's side. Adelaide would be renamed Matilda to fit with her husband's country and she fit into her new role well. She would learn so much from her marriage in 1114, even if it would leave her childless.

The auburnette snarled quietly to herself and the countries would find her skipping stones in a nearby pond and they sat down next to her. "Oi, Bess, what's eating at you?"

She growled and threw the next rock particularly hard and as a result, it only skipped twice before sinking, "Because, children should not be getting married."

"That's great, coming from you. Everyone's a child compared to you," England huffed.

The woman growled and grabbed the front of his shirt, "You don't get it. When I was her age, I was trying to find myself out as a person. Twelve-year-olds shouldn't be marrying people, they should be children and out playing in the sun. But I can't make this disgusting habit go away."

Holy Rome shrugged, "It's better to stay in your parents' favor with the marriage. And she's going to have to learn to rule sooner or later."

Elizabeth released her brother's shirt with a growl to grab a stone. She let it bounce over the water's edge a few times and then plopped down next to them, "One of her descendants gets pregnant at her age. Because of her small size, the girl's insides get messed up and she can never have another child after her first. I thought you both remember how many women die because of childbirth. Henry treats her well, but she should not have to take on an adult's responsibility so early. You both know that pain."

Indeed the blondes were silent and Holy Rome bunched his fist, "But women have their husbands to rule for them-"

"That is no justification!" Elizabeth roared. A few birds flew off into the sky and she paused. "You know what, I'm leaving. Good night you two. I'll see you two soon." She trudged off into the night. England stared at her and shook his head.

"She's too strong willed, but don't doubt Bess, Otto. She gets very angry, very fast." Holy Rome hummed and threw a rock into the water.

* * *

Fortuna shook as she wept, "Matilda..."

The queen chuckled weakly as she pet her friend's hair, "Do not be silly child, I am not dead yet." Fortuna clung to her trembling. "Bambina, why are you shaking so much?"

"My queen..." She mumbled. Fortuna wiped her eyes and as Veneziano curled up next to his ruler, she could have sworn behind bleary eyes, that she saw... "Mama..."

Matilda froze and wrapped her arms around Fortuna, "I've got you Bambina." Venie paused as he saw this going down and remembered his sister's first few years with him. He understood that she missed her mother a great deal, and he desired for his own. Matilda ended up filling in a large part of that hole. She raised him a great deal and he appreciated her help with the Germans and the Pope.

With a final sigh, Matilda closed her eyes and slipped away. Fortuna sobbed and held the woman's hand tight. "M-Ma- Don't leave!" Veneziano wept silently as he kissed his ruler's forehead and began to pull his sister away.

"S-Sorellona, we have t-to go!"

Fortuna sobbed heavily as she wrenched her arm away, "I-I can't leave! I did once, and she's dead!" A tear fell down her brother's cheek as he pulled again.

"F-Fortuna, you're scaring Feliciano," Luciano muttered as he continued to pull on her dress. She paused and crumbled to the ground. "Fortuna, get your ass up. Wallowing isn't going to do you any good. Get up."

She nodded slowly and stood, casting one more at Matilda before picking up Luciano and moving away from the body. The pair were quiet for a few weeks after her death in July 24, 1115. Veneziano didn't let it bog him down too much as in the next year, he sailed across the sea towards the hungarian coast. His doge (1) went across the Adriatic Sea to push the croatian-Hungarian forces that had been stealing their ports back. Ordelaffo was done and so was Venice as the two took back the valuable ports between 1116 and 1117. In the later year, Fortuna received a letter from the North and grinned as she read it.

"Sorellona?" Feliciano asked as he was curled in her lap. She grinned and kissed his forehead. "What happened?"

Fortuna's grin grew more as he looked at her behind closed eyes, "Well, Fratellino, one of the Norsemen's brother just took a huge step forward in morals." He cocked his head and she brushed his hair back. "Iceland has just declared slavery illegal."

His eyes flew open, "What? But, how-why? I don't understand."

Her face contorted, "There is still a hierarchy like most other places, but Icelanders vote on most issues, and problems get resolved easier with less angry people. He... He's a bit of a free spirit and Norway's going to be putting some pressure on him soon, but that's not for a while. He doesn't need it; his population is tiny."

"Oh... I-Is that what's going on within my states?" Veneziano asked, leaning back on her.

Fortuna nodded, "The Papal states thinks Matilda donated the land to them, but Henry is also the overlord as he's the 'Holy Roman Empire'." He nodded and closed his eyes. Her heartbeat echoed in his ears and it sent him to sleep. His sister smiled gently and wrapped her arms around him before drifting off as well.

* * *

Luciano roared as he stabbed the meat over and over and over again, "WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!"

Fortuna frowned, "Luciano, dinner knifes are for cutting. If you're going to stab something, use one of the knives I just got you." He looked up at her with anger burning in his eyes as he threw the knife in his hand at her. She moved her head to the side and sighed. She interlaced her fingers on the table, "Luci, calm down."

"What did you call me?!"

She snarled, "If you're going to act out, you're going to need to be treated like a baby. Now, finish stabbing your steak so we can have a semi-civilized conversation about this."

"Well sorry for just being a kid!" He yelled, reaching for the balanced knives she had gotten for him. Fortuna bowed her head and nodded.

"Sorry, Luciano." He growled again and went back to stabbing his steak. After it resembled hamburger more than a steak, he put the blade down. "So, it was Alexios's son, correct?"

He nodded and began eating what was left of the steak, "It was. That bastard thinks he can take away the deals that we had received? He's got another thing coming!"

The woman chuffed and nodded, "Nothing will sink the floating city." He grinned and nodded. The child gave her a look and she shook her head, "Are you serious? No, I'm not giving you this knife back after you threw it at me!" Upon the death of the old Byzantine emperor, his son John II took over and cancelled the previous deals that they had held with the Venetians. But you don't try to pull the rug out from under one of the greatest trading empires at the time without consequences. Venice went on to war with the Byzantines.

* * *

France grumbled quietly as he looked over the map and was slowly scratching a indent into his chair. " **Louis, are you sure you can pull this off**?" He asked, tapping his other hand on his chin. The king was pouring over supplies and troops as he sighed once again.

" **Positive, Frank. I know what I'm doing**."

" **Perhaps you do, but are you willing to place this in the hands of a bunch of untrained fighters**?" Annabelle asked as she took a sip of her wine.

Louis's face twisted as his chest rumbled, " **Perhaps, but my men know of my power and will not fear England**." France chuckled under his breath.

Annabelle looked at him from the corner of her eye, " **You've made a monster, France**."

" **Oui, oui, you don't have to remind me, Belle. I almost regret letting Edward the Confessor come stay and getting me mixed into this mess** ," The blonde mused, waving his hand back and forth.

" **Oh please, you've always been wrapped up in each other, but it's going to get so much worse soon** ," Annabelle noted, punctuating her statement with another sip of her wine.

Louis knocked on the table, " **Children, may I direct your attention to the matters at hand? So England has taken the neutral castle between our lands at Gisors, and we have to take it back. I was planning on negotiations first, and the best place would be... Here.** " His eyes scoped over the map, and he put a finger down and instantly France cringed. " **France, what's wrong**?"

The blonde pursed his lips, " **Well, Les Planches de Neaufles is known for the agreements made there to go wrong**."

The king frowned, " **Well, all the better. We'll be able to push them back and take Gisors for ourselves**." France and Annabelle shared a look and they both downed the rest of their drinks. They would cap off the rest of the alcohol, but it was barely enough. At the castle, England was smug and grinning at the nations. A very informal speaker was talking to the Normans and England rolled his eyes at the man. Annabelle and France ended up speaking to the Brit for a short time, but it ended a little tensely. England talked France into letting him take the woman, and France's pride was on the line ("Hey Francy-pants, if you really think you can defeat me, why don't you leave it all up to chance?" "Fine then, mon ami! We'll see who's the better combatant!").

France lost that bet when the majority of his troops turned tail and forced the king with them.

Either way, before the year was over, a new, almost tealish sky-blue, aura joined the comradery of countries. Sadly, Elizabeth wouldn't be able to find out what had happened as she travelled to the coast to see England and his soldiers off. She and England frowned as Henry's son gave the captain and crew of the vessel, the White ship, wine in plenty. Luckily, the king was on a different ship. England frowned and before the king's ship left, he turned to his sister and asked her to go with the king. She grumbled, but boarded Henry's ship.

Night soon descended and the pair were waiting on the top deck as a large crash resounded through the darkness. Screams and shouts echoed over the water and there was an instant chatter on their own boat as it slowly went quiet. Elizabeth's eyes teared up as she gripped the boat's side. England growled lowly as he listened closely to a familiar voice cry for a crew to return for his sister. That voice was silenced eventually as well.

Three royal children died that night in 1120, but the kingdom would fall onto the shoulders of Matilda, wife of Henry V of Germany. The current situation was unknown as he was hoping to have another son. Elizabeth wouldn't stop shaking her head.

* * *

Fortuna smiled as she watched the Concordat of Worms get finalized. Henry V and the Pope were finalizing it and Holy Rome and Veneziano were breathing sighs of relief. Veneziano still clung close to her side, and Holy Rome was on her other side, sneaking glimpses of him every once in a while. She sent a knowing look to Veneziano, and when Feli let Luciano show, the magenta eye rolled and seemed to be laughing. She shook her head, but they still cheered as it was declared official. The Lay Investiture was over and modelled after the Concordat of London; The Pope would appoint positions, and the ruler would grant land as needed.

Fortuna settled in after the long night and Veneziano was curled up onto her side, "Ve, Sorellona, do you know about the new order over in the holy land?"

She hummed and pushed his hair back, "That was the Templars, right? Why are you asking?"

"Because he sent me a letter asking for recognition!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms out. She laughed and raised her brother above her head so that he was 'flying'. He giggled the entire time.

A knock on the door drew their attention and Fortuna put Veneziano down. Luciano came out and they grabbed a dagger from the bedside table. "Who is it?" She yelled.

"It's Holy Rome. Can I come in?" Feliciano returned and put the blades down.

The auburnette sighed, "Come on in." He toddled in with a large pillow and Feliciano grinned.

"Ve, Holy Rome! What are you doing here so late?" Holy Rome looked down and mumbled under his breath. Venie cocked his head in confusion and hummed.

The blonde flushed and hugged the pillow tighter, "I-I COULDN'T SLEEP!"

Fortuna blinked and after a quick glance to Veneziano, she smiled and patted the bed next to her, "Well, you're more than welcome to stay here tonight."

He blushed brighter and lingered in the doorway, "I-I shouldn't be here. It's wrong to sleep with two women."

Veneziano hummed, "When I can't sleep, Sorellona knows the best way for us to fall asleep! She tells the best stories!" Holy Rome stayed quiet for another moment and Fortuna sighed and went to scoop him up. Holy Rome struggled, but Veneziano chuckled as they fell into the bed. "What story tonight, Fortuna?"

She hummed and grinned, "I think the timing is getting ok. I'll tell you about the Pied Piper of Hamelin." Holy Rome's face drained of color and Veneziano chuckled.

"Isn't that one of your towns?" He chuckled nervously and Fortuna waved her hand nonchalantly.

"It's not that bad, don't worry, but it does serve a lesson," She said, hoping the message about the rats and paying back debts. Holy Rome eventually calmed down and the two children drifted off to sleep. Fortuna smiled and kissed their foreheads. She curled around the blonde and drifted off herself. She trusted her brother more with her back turned.

* * *

 **Well, this might have sucked, but I tried. It's too late for this shit and I'm busy.**

 **(1) YALL WE HAVE BEEN OVER THIS. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE DOGGO, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE POLITICAL LEADER OF VENICE.**


	108. Chapter 96

**Hello, hello, hello! I'm trying to get back on my roll! But um, yeah. I gave a lecture to my AP Euro teacher on Brunhilda and the whole thing between the visigoths and Franks, so that was fun. I also saw a tumblr post recently on YT that describes LL so well: Do you have that one OC that you're always like "Yes, you shall have every single bad thing I can think of happen to you." Describes this FF so well.**

 **AnonChan1: I'm pretty good and happy late easter! He hasn't really been hunting lately, so it's all good. It's the Elizabeth to Europe during this time... But, yes, I am. I wanted to pitch it in that direction, but I decided against it. I know, I know, I can't wait to get there! The thing is, it was mostly royal kids doing this and it was common back then. It affects more of the people around her than anything. Legit, Matilda though. I've said it once, I'll say it a million times, ICELAND HAD THEIR SHIT TOGETHER MORE THAN MOST OF EUROPE. Eh, that's Luciano for you, and they try to be chill around each other. FUCK THIS MAN. I understand, one of my friends who I claimed as a 'daughter' in band used to call mah fam 'children' including me. Well, it's France. They are!**

 **PortugalGuest: It's fine, I want to! I feel some responsibility to readers, but don't take this too weird (I have no filter, stop me no!), but I feel like I owe Portugal and mostly Brazil a serious hat tip (1). But can you explain the France issue? That was the Windsor treaty, right? I'll see what I can do, and thank you so much! And I'm sorry if this is insensitive, what do people think of the colonies (Brazil, Macua, etc)?**

* * *

Italian/Latin

 **Old High German**

Veneziano grinned as he welcomed his soldiers back in 1123. He had told his sister that they had defeated the egyptian army and while they had killed most of those aboard, they took nine of the ships for themselves. Fortuna frowned and kneeled next to her brother, "And why did you attack Egyptians?"

"Because France needed help in Jerusalem, and the Pope gave me rights!" He grinned and held his arms up.

She smiled weakly, slightly exasperated, "Fratello..." She tapped him on the nose and picked him up, "How many?"

The boy frowned and poked his fingers together, "4-4 thousand..." Fortuna sighed, shaking her head. At least Feliciano was right to be ashamed.

"Was Egypt there?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She hadn't seen the child in a millennium, but she was interested in seeing him again.

Veneziano shook his head, "Not quite, but there is someone else I met! He's a T-Templar? He sings very well, but he said he's hoping to talk to the Pope soon!"

She paled, "T-Templar? You're sure? Oh my..." Fortuna swallowed and went to the nearest bench to sit down. "Peaches..." She ran her hand through her hair and Veneziano grabbed her jaw carefully.

"S-Sorellona? A-Are you ok?" He asked nervously.

The auburnette laughed and threw her head back, quickly pulling her brother into a hug, "I'm so sorry for them, but I hold respect for them, maybe not as much as deserved, but I respect them nonetheless!" She stood and spun several times, and Veneziano giggled as she did so. "So, was he the one I sensed a few years ago?"

"Si!"

The Venetian crusade might have been more of defending the French possessions in the Holy land and raiding the byzantines rather than starting fights, but it still showed off the power of the Venetian fleet. Later that night, when Venie was sleeping, Fortuna smiled and placed a kiss on his forehead, "Sometimes I can't believe that my little brother is one of the most powerful regions in Europe..." He fidgeted in his sleep, but he was peaceful. She closed her eyes and reveled in the silence. Crickets chirped outside and she edged her way to sleep. Veneziano peeked an eye open and smiled, crawling closer to her.

He put a kiss on her cheek and curled up in her arms, "Good night, Sorellona."

"Goodnight, little one," She joked with a smile. He chuckled and they quickly drifted off.

* * *

Fortuna facepalmed and chuckled at the news, "Honorius II is pope." Veneziano and Romano cocked their heads.

"Oi, Ragazza, why are you laughing like that?" The latter grunted, crossing his arms.

She coughed into her hand to try and stop the laughing, "He is like an angry parent with too many kids. Romano, you start a war with him, Honorius gets mad at France, Spain, England, and I think Holy Rome."

Veneziano looked at his brother with a lost look, "Fratello, why? Why the Pope?"

Romano growled, "Well, it hasn't happened yet, so I don't know!"

"Don't worry about it, the no one gets really hurt and the Pope just gives up," She chuckled and went back to baking the peach tarts. She frowned as she looked around for something, but forgot. "Damn, still no sugar..."

Romano blinked, "Sugar? What's that?"

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I-It's this very sweet crystal that is put into foods to make them taste very good. They're usually put into pastries." He grinned and Veneziano nodded. They ran off to the pantry, and returned a moment later, carrying a small pot.

"Try some, Sorellona!" The younger yelled, holding it up.

His brother frowned, "Hey, don't try to take the credit for my food!" They bickered lightly as the woman peeked into the jar and raised an eyebrow at the chunky yellowish powder. "Oi, Ragazza, are you going to taste some of not?" Fortuna carefully took a few grains between her fingers and put some on her tongue. A sob escaped her throat as she fell to her knees. "R-Ragazza?"

"I-I thought it wasn't until the 15th century... W-Where did you get this?" She asked, looking at her brothers. They cocked their heads.

"We found it when we were going on the crusades. We're still having a rough time transporting it, but we'll find a way!" Veneziano said, rocking on his heels.

Romano nodded in agreement, "Si, Sicily has a few mills and plantains around and we take very good care of them." He looked to his sister and put down the jar, "Oi, Ragazza, stop crying." He toddled over and sat to lean on her arm. "It's not that big of a deal."

A melancholy laugh escaped her again, "Romano, sugar had become a huge part of some people's diets and I haven't tasted it in over a thousand years. It's a big deal. It's like if you lost your peaches for a few hundred years." He paled and climbed into her arms slowly. She opened an arm to Veneziano who also joined her. They silently sat there until Veneziano reminded them about the food. Mayhem ensued.

* * *

Amalia held the 23-year-old as she wept, " **Shh, he's in a better place.** " Matilda cried and clutched her form.

" **B-But how did he die**?" She asked, looking up at the older woman. Amalia sighed and rubbed her back.

" **We don't know, but you need to finish mourning soon. The Germans aren't going to let you stay forever** ," She said with a guilty admittance. An azure blue was hiding behind the bedroom door and was obviously listening in.

Matilda nodded slightly, " **W-We discussed this a little bit before H-Henry's death. I-I'm going to give up m-my former lands and go back home. I'm taking a few things with me, but I have no place here**." Amalia's eyes sharpened and she embraced her more.

" **Well, don't worry. England will take you back** -"

Matilda laughed, " **What kind of fool do you take me for? My brother is dead, and Father has tried to have me announced as heir. I know how those soul-sucking nobles are**!"

She chuckled back, " **I guess so. But still, your Father loves you and my brother will be happy to have you back.** "

The younger woman nodded and looked at the door, " **Otto, you can come in, you know**." The blonde stumbled in and coughed into his hand, looking rather ashamed. He peeked up at the women's amused looks and quickly went back to looking at his shoes. **"You aren't the best at sneaking around, you know.** "

" **I still need to teach you a few things about sneaking around. I'll begin when I come back** ," Amalia stated, walking out with Matilda. The women paused when Henry grabbed Matilda's hand.

" **T-Thank you. Take whatever you need** ," He muttered, blushing. Matilda blinked and smiled as she kneeled and pulled him into a hug.

" **Thank you, Otto. I shall miss this place, but I really must return home. Make sure Henry is taken care of,** " She whispered, kissing his forehead. Holy Rome nodded with a bright red face and they all left. Henry was buried not long after his death in 1125.

* * *

Feliciano was frowning in concentration as John II signed the papers with a sigh in 1126. Byzantine watched the procession with pursed lips and she looked up at the siblings, "So, Venice, are you happy now?"

"Si, Zia!" He chirped and Luciano's aura hover dangerously near the surface. Byzantine growled and an alternate color appeared as well, a deep brown, and the siblings froze. Just as quickly as the color had popped up, Byzantine's emerald green forced it down again.

Byzantine looked to her emperor and jerked her head to the door, "I shall meet you outside. I have some business to take care of." John looked between the three immortals and nodded. He left without another glance and Byzantine stood up. "You two think you're hot shit, don't you? You have no idea what bear you're poking." Feli trembled and she snarled at him, "Oh please, I know about him. Let me meet the true power behind you."

Fortuna stood as she growled, "You have no right to talk about my brothers that way. They both have their own strengths, but maybe you're too busy repressing your's to see her as an actual equal."

"I will rule my people exactly as I see fit. And what did I tell you about letting your brothers grow without interference?" Byzantine got closer to Fortuna and the women stood only inches from each other.

The Italian frowned, "They've turned out fine. Enjoy this reprieve while you can, because you die in three hundred years." Byzantine sucked in a breath and spit in Fortuna's face. She growled, but before she could wipe it off, a blade went flying in front of their face. It sliced off some of the Greek woman's hair and she flinched backwards.

Luciano was practically growling. His eyes, covered partially by his hair, almost glowed under the shadow. He snarled, " _DON'T TOUCH MY SORELLONA_." Fortuna stared at him and her eyes drifted towards the other empire. The woman looked absolutely horrified and froze. "Leave if you want this peace to last," He spat, and Byzantine paled even further and all but ran out. The second she did, Feliciano took over and he crumbled to his knees.

"S-Sorellona? Are you ok?"

Fortuna finally wiped off the spit and laughed, pulling her brother into her arms, "Feli, of course I'm ok! Luciano, thank you for defending me. It meant a lot."

Feli frowned in concentration before giggling, "He's so embarrassed, but he said no one can hurt his meat shield." They chuckled and she kissed his forehead.

"Still, thank you for standing up for me. I love you both so much."

* * *

Fortuna pinched the bridge of her nose, "Romano, what did I say?"

He poked his fingers together, smiling the tiniest amount, "Not to piss off the Pope."

"And what did your king go off and do?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

"He went and pissed off- wait, king?" Romano looking at her. She paused and turned around.

"I said nothing. You heard Duke," She joked. Romano growled and punched her leg.

He huffed, "Ragazza, you can't lie to me. Does Roger become king?"

Fortuna sighed and looked down to her brother, into his hopeful eyes and kneeled, "Romano, it's going to be a rough few years, but your Normans and you can do it. You can raise hell. It's what you will always be good at. Don't let it be a bad thing." His face deflated a little and she kissed his forehead, "But yes, Kingdom of Naples or the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Which would you prefer?"

Romano choked on air within a laugh, "Ragazza, I'm Romano, and don't you forget it!" She laughed and ruffled his hair as he jumped into her stomach. "But still, how made will the Pope be?"

She sat up from her position lying back, "Well... Roger is going to claim the title of the Duke of Apulia for himself, and the Pope is going to say that the former duke had donated the lands to the See. He doesn't want the Normans to be too strong, of course he claims this. Roger kinda goes like, 'WTF dude, no,' and goes on to take it for his own." Fortuna took a deep breath and took Romano's hands in her's, "He is then going to declare a crusade against Roger." Romano froze and all the blood drained from his face. "Luckily, it is not a real crusade and it will fail. The Papal forces and Roger will face off on opposite banks of a river and Roger plays the best strategic game in the world, which is?"

"The waiting game?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

His sister nodded and began fiddling with her dress sleeve, "He waits and eventually the Papal forces break apart to go to Roger. The Pope finally quits while he's still ahead and decides 'fuck it', and goes to Roger to say, 'yeah, you can be duke or whatever.' Roger gets the duchy and everything is ok for a few more years."

Romano nodded and sat down, "The Pope really is like an angry parent that can't handle their damn kids." Fortuna laughed.

Fortuna waited outside the d goes to Roger to say, 'yeah, you can be duke or whatever.' Roger gets the duchy and everything is ok for a few more years."

Romano nodded and sat down, "The Pope really is like an angry parent that can't handle their damn kids." Fortuna laughed.

* * *

Fortuna waited outside the Lateran Palace as she twiddled her thumbs. The true blue was dancing about with both of her brothers' auras and she hunched in on herself. A few minutes passed and soon the door opened with a bang. "Sorellona!" She panicked and ran to catch her brothers, knowing they'd be flying down the steps rather than walking normally. The two jumped into her arms and they laughed.

"Who are you two and where are my brothers? All I see are hooligans!"

A throat being cleared caught her attention and she froze. "And how may you be?"

She smiled, "Do you prefer Arabic, French, or Latin?"

"Latin, please. It would place Veneziano at a disadvantage, would it not?" The blonde asked, smiling at her.

"Probably. It is nice to meet you, Templar Knights," Fortuna said, nodding in his direction. He smiled again and bowed.

"The pleasure is all mine. Turkey, France, and several others have said many things about you," He stated, coming down the steps.

Romano huffed and poked his sister's cheek, "Ragazza, you know what that means."

"But everything they say tends to be true."

"It does make me wonder if what they say about your fighting is true," Templar spoke up, shufffling his feet. "Turkey used to tell me stories of hiding under a bef with his little siblings as you and Sa-"

"Templar!" Romano yelled as his sister got a distant look in her eye. Veneziano looked at his sister in worry and began shaking her shoulder lightly. The religious order looked taken aback and took a few steps forward, but Romano snarled at him. "She doesn't like it when he gets brought up!" She finally snapped out of it and smiled woefully.

"Don't worry. If you want a fight, I'll give it to you. Let's just go home for now."

* * *

Fortuna swung her persian blade down towards the child, who blocked it easily. The two grinned at each other and pulled back. Her brothers were cheering her on from where they sat at the bedroom window. "Not bad from an ancient," Templar said.

Fortuna snatled, "Who the hell are you calling old?" She thrust the blade and forced him to sidestep, but she left her right side open. He swung for her shoulder, and she ducked. The blade zoomed over her head and she kicked out Templar's feet. He yelped and rolled, but his neck touched her blade, "Yield, infans (2)." He swallowed and nodded, dropping his blade.

"You win, ancient," He said, smiling gently.

She rolled her eyes, "Here's a life tip- Never ever bring up a natiom or a woman's age."

A snort behind her caught her attention, "You're a woman, Ragazza?"

"Shut up, Romano."

* * *

 **(1) I haven't told people on this website yet, but I wasn't born in America. Well, the USA. I was born in Brazil. It is going to be hell to write them because I might not have anything more than the first nine months of my life owed to them, I still feel angry and sad when something happens over there. But I don't have any claim other than my birthplace, and while I don't know much of anything about the history or culture, I still owe the country and its parent nation for raising it as such. Sorry about the rant, but it just feels a little weird, ya know?**

 **(2) Infans is latin for infant/baby (Go cambridge's latin books!)**


	109. Chapter 97

**Well, I had an eventful time. I had bronchitis, struggling to catch up to missed days, and work. I am so fucking done with everything and I can't wait for summer. Also, shoutout to the Canadians who have been my best viewers lately!**

 **AnonChan1: It did, but I think I pissed off more people than I care to admit when I said 'Happy April fools' over 'Happy easter'. Lol. Not really, my sister is more of the Superwhovian of the family and she's more territorial than a mopey Romano, but I watch Game of Thrones every once in a while. Venice was kinda into their own self-interest and the crusaders were largely French and they now had a new foothold within the Mediterranian, so why not take advantage of that? You'd want to trade more with a protector than a bystander. Kinda, but that's just a generalization, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't get along, as he stretches himself too thin. I understand, it's fine! I'll try, I love protective Luciano! There's always going to be that one moment! And yeah... Still always going to drag it through the mud, crying as I do so. Basically, and she's going to be getting very sensitive over her age soon, and her hormones will start wavering has the centuries go by because her body wasn't meant to stay young forever. Fun.**

 **OakForest: I use several free chronological and other specific history books on google books and 'Concise History of the World', produced by national geographic. I review them and then go back to look at individual events. Britannica is one of my favorite sites as it lists the sources in the first place. And I know that I may get some hell for this, but I look to Wikipedia for sources. If I can find the specific book that I need, all the better. I have too many small tidbits from all over, but the free books and britannica make up a large part of them.**

 **Italian**

Latin

Middle High German

 **Middle English**

* * *

Fortuna sat next to her brother as the two stared down Roger II. The Duke was kneeling in front of his supported Antipope, who carefully placed the golden crown onto his head. Romano's eyes began to tear up and she could feel his hand clenching her dress. She tightened her hold on him as she placed a kiss onto the top of his head. No words were spoken between the siblings as the crowd burst into cheers. He looked up at her and she nodded. Clutching her brother close, Fortuna crept out of the building and they stood next to it instead.

" **Congratulations, Sicily** ," She whispered, connecting her forehead with his.

He chuckled under his breath, " **Bitch, I said call me Romano**." As he said it, a breeze swept through and the two siblings paused to listen to the gust. Romano huffed and leaned on his sister as the flurry swirled around them.

Fortuna smiled happily as she gazed into the sky, " **I guess Nonno is just as proud**." Romano bit his lip and nodded. " **You know, it's raining pretty hard right now**." He nodded again and finally let the tears run. The woman smiled and kissed his forehead again.

" **I-It's so... Amazing, Carina. It's-** "

She smiled and nodded, " **I've heard. Do you want a light show later**?" His shocked eyes were enough of a yes and she laughed. " **Fratello, tonight is your night. I would give you the moon tonight if I could**." He huffed and hid himself into her shoulder.

" **Shu'ddup**." They returned to the house and making sure all the ways to the outside were covered, the woman concentrated and threw her hands up. Following the action, lights of all colors sprung up. Romano gasped and looked at them in wonder. Several orbs came to nuzzle him and he giggled. Fortuna peeked an eye open to smile, but her attention was needed to keep the colors around. She had them form different shapes and scenes. After ten minutes, Fortuna was forced to drop the spell and sighed deeply, worn out.

Romano looked around in confusion, " **Ragazza, why did you drop the spell**?"

She smiled and beckoned him over, " **I'm too tired. Spells take up a lot of energy. I can't do anything else tonight**." He crawled into her arms and nodded. " **But don't trust anyone who can be hyper all the time. They're trying to hide something from you. It's up to you if it's to hurt you or protect you**."

He raised an eyebrow, " **Why**?"

She frowned, " **Because it looks like they don't have low points. Everyone has low points. Happy people are a ticking time... er wait to explo-... um..**." Fortuna paused and looked like a fish gasping for air as she looked for the right word. Romano raised an eyebrow and she sighed. **"They're going to lash out after building up enough hatred**." He nodded and closed his eyes.

" **Thanks for not being happy, Ragazza**." She froze and stared at him.

" **Roma**..." He clenched his eyes shut and pretended to sleep. She exhaled, " **Good night, Italia. I love you.** " With a final kiss, they drifted off. It was christmas 1130.

* * *

England paced the hallway as France leaned on the nearest doorway. Screams echoed throughout the building and with every one, the two winced. "Angleterre, I'm not happy about this, but with this child..."

"...We're going to be even more wrapped in each other's politics," England whispered, casting nervous looks to the bedroom doors. Matilda was sitting inside as several midwives and Annabelle were trying to get the birth to go as smoothly as possible.

A particularly loud shriek made the two look at the door in worry, but a baby's wails quelled all of it. England played with the hem of his tunic more and France patted his shoulder in comfort. The Brit nodded shakily and France smiled, "It will be ok, mon ami. Time may not favor us, but we both have luck on our side." The two chuckled lightly and Britain pushed France's hand off.

"Shut up, you frog. I will gladly take any opportunity to punch you in your puny face," He taunted and the older man gasped dramatically.

"Angleterre, how could you?! I thought you care-" A door opening caught their attention and they fell silent.

Their friend stumbled out and smiled, "It's a boy." The countries gulped and looked at each other. She placed a hand on each other's shoulders and smiled tiredly, "You two are going to be fighting a lot more. Welcome to every war ever." The blondes shared a final look and gulped. Henry II may not be the man who started the rivalries between England and France, but he would play a massive part in the conflicts. His wails continued to echo outside the halls into Le Mans as the three stepped outside in the brisk march air of 1133.

France ushered Annabelle into an area draped in scaffolds, "Ok, Annabelle, what do you think?"

She frowned and squinted at the works, "W-What is this? It looks familiar, but..."

"It's the Basilica of Saint Denis, and I'd be surprised if you didn't know it. It's almost as old as me," France reminisce, a flashback clear in his eye. Annabelle smiled delicately and chuckled.

"Wow, it's ancient," She responded, giving her old friend a smirk.

He gasped and reeled from the comment, "Belle, how dare you! And it's interesting coming from you! How old are you?"

She smiled and stretched, frowning as her back cracked, "I'm not old."

France raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure about that?"

"Shush, Frankish, I don't want to talk about this," She said, looking away. Her hand went to cover the scratch that she had obtained when she was too slow to block France's blow. The woman knew her age wasn't doing her any favors; her reactions were slower and her guard was beginning to lower more in settings when she wouldn't centuries before.

"Annabelle..."

"Why did you bring me here?" She changed the subject and looked over the work.

France gave her a pointed look, sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I wanted to show you Suger's masterpiece. He's using some of Uncle's influences."

The auburnette blinked in confusion, "Uncle...?" He smiled, motioning to a completed arch and she grinned, "I forget sometimes that the Salian Franks were Germanic."

The blonde sent her another pointed look, "I feel so loved, mon ami." Annabelle rolled her eyes and they continued to tour the church. It was one of the first greatest uses of the Gothic style and Abbot Suger, one of Louis's main advisers, was its idealist. It was a beautiful work in the making as reconstruction began in 1134.

* * *

Fortuna pursed her lips as she returned home once again, " **So there's another rebellion? Who is it this time**?"

Romano crinkled his nose as he walked by her side through the streets, " **The Prince of Bari or something. Whatever. But I asked you to come down here for one reason**."

She frowned and tapped her foot, " **And**?"

" **I want to fight**." The definitive tone in his voice made her pause, but she remembered the first night he had night terrors because he had fought the Byzantines. Speaking of which...

" **Why do you need my permission? Byzantine, as much as I hate to admit it, was right. I hold you and Venie back. So why**?"

Romano shook and gripped the hem of his tunic, " **B-Because you know me. Can I fight**?"

The auburnette kneels to balance on the balls of her feet, " **Do you think you can beat me**?"

" **I think I can. Let's walk a little more** ," He said, walking a little faster. She raised an eyebrow and followed behind. A thought struck her and she paused, scanning Romano's aura, but it was a crystal peridot. That ruled out a second personality, so what...? A scream caught her off guard and she drew a dagger as she looked around. Romano was sitting on the ground in front of her, looking horrified, pointing at her. " **H-Help! S-She's trying to hurt me**!"

Fortuna looked around in surprise, but there wasn't anyone who looked even remotely threatening, well except the guards that were stomping their way towards her. " **Lower the blade**!" She swallowed and did as she was told, sending a glare towards Romano.

" **Please, there is some misunderstanding between my fratello and I-** " Her words were cut off with a blade being placed dangerously close to her throat. Her blood was roaring in her ears, but she could barely feel herself hyperventilating. Black dots danced across her vision and a mass latched itself onto her leg, causing her to fall back. Her head hit the cobblestones and she passed out.

She woke up in her bed and Romano was playing with her fingers on the floor next to the furniture. She exhaled roughly as her free hand traveled to the goose egg on the back of her head. Fortuna groaned and Romano's head shot up, " **Sorellona, are you ok? I'm sorry, I never thought-** "

" **It's fine, you did kinda beat me. Congrates on learning the skill of acting. Playing the victimized third party is a useful tactic** ," Fortuna said, pulling him onto her chest. He curled up next to her.

" **T-That's not the point! You went off and got yourself hurt! What happened**?" He pressed, crossing his arms.

She sighed, " **I-I think I had a panic attack? Maybe? I just remember the weapon and being unarmed and-** "

" **Shut up and sleep, Ragazza. You're talking too much again,** " Romano huffed, curling under her arm. She smiled and kissed his forehead.

" **Try not to get blood into the house, ok? Stick close to the commanders and I'll allow it until you can fight for yourself. I'll be here when you need me, my cunning little fox**."

He raised his head, " **Fuck that. I'm a wolf**." The rebellions against Roger II didn't win as much as they would have liked, even with backing from the Byzantines, Pisa, and Holy Rome. Fortuna warned her brother that it might not last, but he shrugged and said failure was meant for another day, not in 1136.

* * *

Annabelle smiled as Eleanor drank and danced, "She's happy, so that's good."

France nodded, "She's enjoying herself before she sets off to Paris."

"Well, Aquitaine is beautiful, I can't fault you on that," She muttered back. The chatter in the hall drew louder as the song shifted and a man came up to the group. He presented his hand and the woman paused. France pushed her lightly.

"It's a wedding, you're supposed to have fun. Go, I'll find a woman to dance with," He said.

Annabelle huffed, "Don't go getting slapped because you danced with a married woman." He waved his hand and they went their separate ways. All in all, the wedding between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII was beautiful, but the lack of the king at the wedding, or if he was off sulking nearby, was noticeable. Some of the gossip flitting around the room said that Louis VI was ill and likely not to recover.

True to rumors, the king died seven days after the wedding, August 1, 1137, and the two were crowned monarchs.

* * *

Holy Rome stared blankly at the Bavarian noble, "So you're refusing to take the oath?"

Henry X nodded, crossing his arms, "Jah, that's right. I should have been king, so why should I swear to a position I should have had?" Amalia shook her head as Austria raised an eyebrow.

"That's a rather stupid ideal," He muttered. It was 1138 and Conrad III was just elected Holy Roman Emperor. Like every important election there were hard feelings and Henry X of Welf was clearly showing his poor sportsmanship.

Amalia snorted, "Pride is a double-edged sword. Careful to remember that, ok?" She sent him a pointed look and he hummed and readjusted the hem of his shirt.

"I don't care, Henry, you need to or face the consequences!" Holy Rome growled, clenching his fists. Bavaria was an area too large for him to lose, especially when Henry held the Duchy of Saxony and Bavaria.

"Make me, you small knave," Henry sneered in the boy's face.

The room suddenly dropped several degrees as the child and Amalia sent glares his way. She clutched her blade, wishing she was able to gut him, but Holy Rome already was putting him back into his place. "I may be a knave, but you no longer have land. Austria," He stated, motioning for the small march to stand and approach them. "You're taking the Duchy of Bavaria. Your Margrave will rule over it until further notice. Saxony will be given elsewhere." Austria choked on air and sputtered to get air into his lungs again. "You are dismissed. Everyone," Holy Rome glared at Henry X again before departing, likely to talk to the Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II.

Henry X stared into space and growled. He spun on his heel and went to fight with Holy Rome, but a blade at his neck made him pause and look down. "I wouldn't do that, little knave."

"Woman, remove yourself," He growled. He reached for her, but she pushed the blade a little further into his throat. Blood beaded there and he backed away.

"Holy Rome has been working hard and he doesn't need your problems added to his. Do not press this," Amalia warned. She turned and began to leave, but a hand on her arm made her whirl around and embed her fist into his nose. He writhed on the ground and she leaned next to him, letting magic edge into her words, "You will die next year, Henry X, and I will make sure of that." She stood to leave with Austria again and the man let out one last shout before they were out of earshot.

"Witch!"

Austria cast her a sideways glance and she waved him off, "He's just mad that I beat him up."

If only. England arrived a few days later, " **I'm only here for Bess, not to stir any trouble** ," he assured Holy Rome. The German nodded and led them to the garden. The moment they were alone, England turned to her, " **What the hell was that, Elizabeth? You cast a death curse**!"

She turned to him, **"He was threatening-** "

" **I don't care, that is one of the curses never meant to be cast! Every death you suffer will be that much more painful, and how dare you try to defend it**!" He raged, clenching his fists.

Elizabeth growled, " **In the book, death curses aren't always inten-** "

" **Aren't intentional? So you didn't give meaning to your words? You are hundreds of years old, Bess, you knew what you were doing-** "

" **Maybe, but sometimes the only way to stop a threat-** "

" **Is for them to die on their own time, how dare you try to pull death towards a target! Death will maim the entire area! Do you know what agony you have subjected them to**?"

Elizabeth snarled, " **He was going to die in a fight-** "

" **Well no shit! Even if he wasn't going to die, a large group is going to die! Bess, I thought my sister was smarter than this! How could you**?!" These words rendered her speechless and England panted after the rant. " **Don't even try talking to me for ten years. I have enough shit to deal with**." With a shudder, he shifted to Oliver and his look sent shivers down her spine.

" **Make it fifteen. Bethy, I'm supposed to look up to you. Instead , you sign people up for a massacre. You're no better than any murderer.** " She went silent and her heart tightened. " **See you, _sister_.** " Elizabeth clenched her fists as England walked past, letting his pink hair shift back to blonde, and cried when he left. She must had been there for hours because the sun was down and a pair of feet were there that wasn't before. She looked up, but Austria frowned at her.

"Get out of the dirt, you're getting your dress dirty," He said, holding up a hand. She nodded and accepted it.

When she was upright, Amalia raised an eyebrow, "Someone got taller."

Austria sniffed, "Well, it would be expected, I did gain much new land. Holy Rome is talking of making me a duchy soon. I can't believe that I still have to answer to Bavaria."

* * *

"Heretic, you're late!" Portugal called as he waved her over. While normally, a small smile would be on his face, a large grin overtook its place. "You missed it!"

Fortuna entered the dining room and looked at the art on the walls. "I like what you've done with the place. These aren't European... They look more like-"

"The art was done by the former occupants. The moors are still in Europe, but Spain and I are working on it," He said, sharpening his blade.

"Reconquestia is a big deal, but is there anything else you want to tell me, kingdom of Portugal?" She asked, grinning.

The teen pouted, "Heretic, do you have to pull the fun out of everything? But I'm not technically a kingdom yet. Spain thinks I'm just going through a phase, I need to be recognized by him and the church. I mean, getting recognition from the church shouldn't be hard, but Spain?! It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to get him to give me my independence, really!"

"Hey, calm down, you're going to ruin your sword! I can talk to my brothers to see if they'll talk to the Pope, but you have to handle Spain. He's your brother, you know him better than anyone. You're probably going to have one of the weirdest relations with him than between any nations, but you can't ignore this, Portugal. If you don't get ready, Spain isn't going to wait for you. Be ready to fight for this."

He stared at his blade, "I-I guess you're right. But... Is this right? T-To want my freedom? I mean, Spain is my brother, but..."

She sat down and looked at him, "Port. Look at me." He slowly drew his gaze up, and the woman grinned, "You want to be your own person, so I'm not going to tell you yes or no. You have to make up your decision, the quicker the better, because time doesn't wait. I know, trust me. I have to go, but I'll hear about this, one way or another." Portugal nodded and sighed.

"Thank you, Fortuna. I can send a letter to your brothers myself, but how will they know if it's me?"

She looked over her shoulder and smirked, "Peaches. That's all. Peaches." He nodded and she left him to decide. It was 1139 and Portugal had declared itself a kingdom, but it would only work if they were recognized.

* * *

 **Y'all have mercy, I'm sick. Also, something I'm not covering much as of now is something called 'The Anarchy' in English history. So remember Matilda, who married the HRE super young? Well, her dad, the King of England, wanted her to take the throne as his one true heir, and when she pressed the claim, a family member, Stephen, stepped in and they caused a big civil war over it. It was pretty bad, but one of Matilda's kids, Henry II, gained the throne back, so it's all good and chill. I'm sick. Forgive me...**


	110. Chapter 98

**Ok, so I've spent the past few days going through years and the book 'The History of the Renaissance World' by Susan Wise Bauer (it's really helpful!) and I'm good up until roughly 1200, and there are going to be a few new characters, but no where near the level as the next century is likely going to be. I got more glass in my foot, fun.**

 **AnonChan1: I''m going to have to start cutting these a little shorter, but eh. I'll try to bring in more protective Luciano, but he buries his heart. I will always try to do fun family moments, but there's only so much I can do. I try to stick little life lessons in there, granted I can be a little ball of sunshine sometimes, but I still have my low points. And Henry II... from what I've seen, death is going to get tired of stamping up and down England and France, but the truly dumb one is his last son, John Lackland. And he's going to get shit for doing that, but he's proven that if things get bad, he can always cry innocent. The Welfs are kinda dicks, but what England did is completely reasonable. That's technically his magic she's using and she uses it to cast a curse? Sure, he'll do the same, but it won't be wish death, only suffering. Pseudo-independence.**

 **ALSO: INSTEAD OF SLIPPING YEARS IN, I'LL PUT IT AT THE TOP WITH A ROUGH MONTH OR DAY. ALSO, I KNOW THAT I'M DROPPING IN DUCHIES, COUNTIES AND COMMUNES IN RANDOMLY, AND I HAD REMEMBERED THAT THEY WERE PART OF THE STORY. I'M SORRY.**

Middle High German

 **Middle English**

 **Italian/latin/italian dialects**

Old French

 _ **Old Portuguese**_

* * *

1140

Roger II pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened to a few of his subjects argue over several various laws. Several of his advisers were of different backgrounds, some muslim, others Norman, and a few Greeks as well. Romano cast him a side glance and frowned, " **You know, all of these jerks are your subjects, right**?"

The king nodded, " **Yes, Romano, I'm aware of that**."

" **Well, why aren't they getting treated the same**?" He asked. He caught sight of his sister outside, sitting on a bench near the government building. She had been banned from the court after a confrontation that had nearly gotten one of the king's chief advisers killed. The boy had tried to stand in her defense, but Fortuna had waved it off. 'Some of the government's best work is done just observing. Let me be their eyes and ears on the outside.' He had agreed, but still had her within shouting distance if needed.

Roger looked up and around at the court, " **You know what... I need to gather the lawyers. Romano, you're a genius**!" The king stood and dismissed the court, disappearing into his chambers. Romano blinked in confusion and stood, walking outside. His sister met him and held out a hand. The child took it and tugged, and she took him into her arms.

" **So, did you plant the seed**?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded, reaching to play with a strand of her hair, " **He took the bait. He didn't say much, but I think it was enough**." Fortuna nodded and smiled.

" **Now... Now we wait**." It wasn't until later in the year, but Roger had it done: The assizes of Ariano of 1140. It placed all of his subjects on the same playing field, regardless of their background, and the king as the judge of law and church. The second part of that made Fortuna shake her head, but she wasn't complaining- this was a special document, especially for its time.

* * *

1141

France watched his friend pace and run her hand through her hair, "Annabelle, he'll get through this-"

"Damnit France, I know he will, but it kills me that I can't be there!" She growled, kicked a tree, but swore again, and grabbed her foot. "I am almost 1100 years old, I should know not to do that!" France shook his head, trying to stop the laughter that was bubbling up. "Go ahead and laugh, Frank. I fucking deserve it."

The blonde shook his head again, "That would be mean, but how did you get into this mess again?"

Annabelle swallowed and thought for a moment, "I'm... trying to remember if you know..."

"Know about what?" France asked nervously, cocking his head to the side. She paced a little more, looked around the empty glen, and threw out an arm. An array of different colors shot out, swirled together, separated and finally disappeared. He watched all of this in amazement before frowning. "Annabelle? You're a witch?"

She nodded and reached into her bag, "What did you think this was? A bible?" France went silent, opened his mouth, but closed it again. The woman laughed and quickly sat down. "Oooh, shit. I shouldn't have done such a big illusion. But I did a death curse. England found out and banned me from visiting him for 15 years. I don't blame him, I was being dumb. France, please, any information you hear from England, can you let me know? I can't stand not being there for him, especially now. The Anarchy is rough."

It wasn't a lie. England was split between two rulers: Empress Matilda, who had been daughter of Henry I of England and wife of HRE Henry V and Geoffery of Anjou, and Stephen of Blois, who was her cousin, but he was not the heir that Henry I had wanted. Blood was shed everywhere, but this conflict would have to be settled. Anarchy had descended on England in 1141.

* * *

1142

The court was quiet with chatter as Henry III entered alone, as opposed to several dukes who had their Duchies with them. Austria, although only a Margraviate, still accompanied his ruler. Albert the Bear strolled in with a teenage duchy next to him and Conrad III entered after. He took his place at the front next to Holy Rome and cleared his throat. Any chatter that had been present before died down and the king beckoned Henry III forward. The noble did so and kneeled.

"Henry III, son of Henry the Proud," The king all but spit out. "You recently lost in a siege against me, and it was thanks to the women in Weinsburg that many of your men escaped with their lives." The court laughed as they recalled the incident. Conrad had placed the city under siege and once a surrender was promised, told the women they could leave with whatever they could carry on their shoulders. Being cunning, the women threw their husbands onto their shoulders and carried them out. Amalia chuckled whenever she heard the tale.

"Now, Henry, I must decide what to do with you. Do you have any words?"

The young man swallowed and remained low, "I refuse to give up my right to my right. Those lands have been in my family since it became a duchy. It would be a blow if we were deprived of these lands, adding to my defeat earlier this year." Conrad hummed and looked over to Holy Rome. The boy frowned, casting a glance over to Saxony himself. The teen nodded and Holy Rome passed it along.

Conrad motioned for Henry to rise, "Henry, you are being granted your lands back. This is also with a warning. Do not make the mistakes of your father. War is not a good idea." The Duke stood and nodded, returning to his seat with Saxony by his side. Amalia frowned as she leaned forward in her seat. This particular family line was trouble. Henry would also be granted back another duchy in a few decades, but it was best to focus on the present day in 1142.

* * *

1143

Fortuna looked over the letter once again, raising an eyebrow. 'He wanted to talk, Heretic! My brother, under the name of Leon this time, is agreeing to meet with me! If you get here early enough, you finally might be able to meet him!' She rolled her eyes and continued walking on. A man trotting by on a horse snapped her out of her revere. She sent the brunet man a glare, ignoring the blinding smile he sent her way. The woman rolled her eyes harder and continued down the populated street.

Before she was even within three feet of the door, Portugal burst out and picked her up, " ** _Fortuna! He sees me! I'm not just a county to him! I'm a kingdom_**!"

She laughed and squirmed, " _ **Ok, ok, put me down, Port! I need to breathe! Put me down**_!" The happy nation did and his laughter bubbled down the street. "Well, imagine what it'll be like when the Pope sees you." Portugal's mouth clamped shut and he stared into the distance for a moment.

" ** _Wait, did you see my brother earlier? He was the idiot riding the horse_** ," The man said.

Fortuna's jaw dropped, " ** _What? That was him? I haven't seen him... ever_**!" Portugal laughed and ran a hand through his hair.

" ** _Well, today truly is a holy day_**!" Fortuna rolled her eyes, but laughed with him. The treaty of Zamora between the Portuguese and the kingdom of Leon forced the latter's hand in recognizing the independence of Portugal in 1143. Now, all he had to do was wait for the Pope to recognize him.

* * *

1144

France had extended the invitation and she had gladly taken up the offer. The Basilica of St. Denis was completed and it was reason for celebration. France was ecstatic and the feeling was contagious. Until he saw her fashion. Her friend refused to let her go to the unveiling in such clothing. He dragged her to the queen's room and knocked. A servant opened the door nervously and she squeaked when she saw the nation. The door closed, words exchanged, but they were ushered in without much issue. In all her glory, Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of France, stood regally, trying on her garments. The silk was set perfectly and she looked divine.

Said queen glanced over and smiled at France, "France! What a surprise! And who is this darling little mouse beside you? Oh, she shares the same hair color! Tell me, what is your name?"

Annabelle shook off her nervous and confusion stance and stood to her full high, shoulders squared, the full nine yards, "I am Annabelle, an old friend of France's. It is a pleasure to speak with you in person. I remember your wedding quite well. You still look like you haven't aged a day, Eleanor."

"An old friend? It might excuse the first name basis, but what is your last name? Or title? And France, why exactly did you bring her?" Eleanor demanded, and instantly Annabelle knew she had summoned the fiery temper of one of France's most well known queens.

France decided to step in, "My queen, Annabelle has spent a little too much time outdoors, so forgive her open speech. I was wondering if it were at possible to borrow some jewelry and properly introduce you. This is Lady Luck, one of my earliest friends. She has been there for me since the near beginning."

Eleanor's eyes widened as she realized who was in the room and swallowed, "Apologies, it is not often that one gets the joy of getting visited by one of the myths of Europe."

Annabelle gasped and glared at France, "Frank! How am I a myth?! Did you really want people to believe I was dead? What about all those times I visited in the past?!" The blonde backed up with his hands in the air.

"A-Annabel, t-that was in a different c-city from Eleanor. W-We can talk about this later, no?" The angry woman's eyes narrowed more and she finally relaxed.

"You're lucky you're taller than me. I'll beat you up in a duel later. But back to business. Frankish, you said that I needed an outfit. I can probably scrounge up some of my old jewelry-"

France huffed, "It is ancient Hibernia gold. It is nothing special. But with the help of a few hands, we can probably get a dress pulled together for you-"

"Nonsense. I have several dresses that do not fit properly and do not be afraid to go into my jewelry chest, France. I am happy to help," Eleanor stated. Annabelle stared at her with wide eyes and she chuckled.

"Eleanor, I do believe that we could be great friends," She stated. Eleanor laughed as well, taking the older woman's hands into her own.

"I would like that. Now, let's find you a dress. Foy, could you fetch the chest?" The oldest woman nodded and went to get it. It was dragged in with the help of several girls, but they were dismissed by France and Annabelle in favor of carrying it in themselves. The crate was opened and suddenly, Annabelle was a child again.

The woman remembered every single one of these dresses from her childhood, all replicas, of course, but they were a treasure in her heart. She reached in and her hands found her favorite dress. It was a sky blue, tight-topped dress that draped over her toes and it would tighten over her waist perfectly. Annabelle reminisced on how she and her mother would pretend to be royal ladies in the court, all dressed and ready to dance the night away.

Eleanor smiled when she saw the child-like glint in the woman's eyes. It had been the first thing she had noticed about the woman, not her wild hair similar to her own, not the worn and torn clothes that had obviously been around for several years, but her tired eyes. If it had not been for Annabelle's eyes, she would have been mistaken for a peasant. They were exhausted, lost, and full of horrors. It lifted her spirits to bring a fresh look into the battle-torn look of her new friend. "You can keep it, you know. I have no use for it. Any of it. You can take all of them."

Annabelle looked up to protest, but France held his hand up, "You may be stubborn, Belle, but never try to take on a ruler of Aquitaine." Eleanor glowed at the praise and Annabelle chuckled.

"Alright. I need to get back to my room to chan-"

"Nonsense! You can change here! There are no prying eyes from men, let me tell you that." The bitterness in her voice made France grip the chest tightly and Annabelle's mouth tighten in anger. Louis VII, as the original second son, was raised more as a religious man than a political man. He did not see love and temptation the same way Eleanor did.

Regardless, Annabelle paled, "I-I don't think that's a good idea."

France was quick to join in, "Oui, My Queen, it is not-"

"France, you have no say in this matter. Annabelle, please, humor me," The queen pressed. The immortal swallowed before reaching over her head to remove her cotton dress. "Wait, France, why are you looking?"

Annabelle rolled her eyes as she got her head out of the neck hole, "He's fine. I'm wearing a tunic underneath. He's also had to dress several of my wounds before and I've stressed to him that if he dares touch me-"

"-I'm getting castrated in my sleep with a dirty wooden spoon," France finished, flicking his hair back. His eyes were quickly drawn to his friend's figure, filled with sadness. Eleanor gasped as she saw the many cuts, scraps, and scars, several of which had nearly killed her. "This is why she wanted to change in private, My Queen." A thud behind Annabelle made her turn to see a noble woman had just been invited into the chamber and seen her. Annabelle flushed, this was almost a bad locker room drama! She quickly threw on the new blue dress.

"Alright, can we wake her up and finish getting ready? France, I forget, do need a wimple?" She asked in a panic as she began to loosely braid her hair. It had gotten trimmed, but it still hit her waist when braided.

He waved his hand, "No, you don't."

Eleanor shot her a look, "You're unmarried? How?" France and Annabelle shared a look and the second sighed.

"I can't. It's unfair to other nations." Eleanor hummed and beckoned her closer. She reluctantly did, and the queen swept her into a hug.

"Your life is so unfair. I grew up with tales of you, raising hell for your friends and family, but I never realized that you couldn't find the time for love," She whispered.

Annabelle clutched her back, "I never said I didn't. He died before I could tell him." She pulled back and wiped at Eleanor's tears, "Now now, don't cry, spirit of Aquitaine. You'll ruin your makeup." Eleanor chuckled and gripped her shoulders. "Eleanor, I will always be able to offer advice, but take it from an old soul. If you see a chance at love- take it. Don't wait for it to toddle its way up to you and you are one of the most important women in Europe right now. You have every chance to make a change- just make sure it're the right one." The Queen nodded and with a little bit of help from France, they were ready and presentable.

The church, oh the church! It was beautiful, with vaulting ceilings, flying buttresses, but the thing that caught her attention most of all was the stained glass. The sun filtered through and cast images onto the crowd, but the view was enough. Without having views like this from television anymore, the brilliance of color really stood out. The brilliance of Suger came to the public in 1144 and it was one of the best sights Annabelle had seen in a long time.

Except when she had gotten the notice that the Crusader state of Edessa had fallen in the same year and she just about set the letter on fire. Of course, she wasn't the only one, and soon the Pope and Louis VII were calling for a new crusade. France was nervous, as he remembered the results of the last crusade and how much blood was spilled, but this time... This time, they knowingly declared war. The cries for war were sent out throughout the next year, including the French Royal couple declaring that they'd march down to fight them themselves.

In 1146, the expedition began and soon, Annabelle was having flashbacks to the first road of Constantinople. It was bloodshed in every community they passed through, as the crusaders massacred Jewish population again and again. She praised the bishops, priests and abbots who denounced the murders. She stopped just before Byzantine's border and left France to his own business. No matter how much the crusaders failed in Jerusalem, in the Iberian peninsula, the native crusaders succeeded int their goal of pushing back the 'invaders'.

Portugal welcomed the help, especially when they won Lisbon in 1147 and the area around it in the following year, but it came time for her to leave, especially when she got a letter from France. It was an announcement of their impending divorce. Eleanor had pushed too hard. Her uncle, the ruler of Antioch, had pushed her to ask her husband to attack on Aleppo, but she had translated it too roughly. She had threatened an annulment and when he continued on his way, Louis was less than pleased. The Crusaders also discussed what their next plan of attack was. France said he withheld the plan as it could end up in the wrong hands, but Annabelle knew.

Damascus. It was disaster. The planned siege had not anticipated the reinforcements sent by the Sultan and had fled. That had been the final straw for this crusade and they marched back in 1149 to where they had come from, leaving the Crusader states without restoring Edessa.

* * *

February 1151

Eleanor sighed as she walked the halls, "Where did I go wrong?"

"It's a question only you can answer, but just remember that France and I are still here for you. Louis may not see it, but you're one of the most passionate women I've met in a while. Just hold on, your life is going to take a turn for the better soon," Annabelle promised. The queen faced her and blinked in confusion.

"Where's France? He's usually within reach of you or vice versa, so... Louis," She concluded.

Annabelle nodded, "Louis. He's trying to conduct a bit of business some of the northern lords before he loses your lands. I think you might want to come meet them." Eleanor perked up and quickly followed her. Inside the hall, Geoffrey of Anjou with his son, Henry of Normandy were dragging a man behind them, draped in chains. The family was obviously raging and Annabelle rolled her eyes.

How typical of the Plantagenets.

Eleanor sucked in a breath and the immortal chuckled. "Quite the looker, isn't he?" The queen nodded and peered closer at their hats.

"What's that in their cap? Is that the broomstick plant I've heard so much about?"

The older woman chuckled, "The planta genista, yes. And, have you heard about his wife?"

Eleanor deflated, "What about her? I don't remember one..."

"It's because there wasn't one! He's not married!" Annabelle joked. The queen giggled quietly and grabbed her hand.

"Annabelle, I need your help with this! I am going to ask for divorce again, but I need you to talk to them! Please!" She begged. The immortal paused and looked to her old friend. "Please, I will make sure that France isn't given too much trouble because of him! I'm begging you!" Annabelle sighed.

"I'll go talk to them after they leave. I know Henry's mother, she's an old friend, and reminds me of you," She relented. Before Eleanor could say anything else, she went by France and grasped his wrist. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. She frowned and scoffed and his eyebrows rose. She looked to Eleanor then Henry and the blond nation raised his eyebrows. Annabelle nodded weakly and he frowned. She raised a hand and he calmed down a little-

"Ah, Lady Luck, it has been a while. It is nice to see a familiar face, even if in such an unforgiving place," Geoffrey noted, turning his attention to her. The rage that he had been holding earlier dissipated a little and now, he looked to be all smiles.

She returned one with ease, "Indeed, it has been a while, but the palace is only as unforgiving as you can see it. But how is Maud fairing? And I see Henry is doing well."

"Well, I would hope he would be, considering that luck helped bring him into the world," He joked, and it solicited a few laughs from the immortals. Henry shot his father a sharp look and then Annabelle. "Yeah, yeah, she helped deliver you, get over it. But Matilda is doing just fine. Maybe you could come to visit someday?"

"Perhaps, she was nice to talk to. It's nice to know that she hasn't sent you running for the hills yet."

"Yet," As he agreed with a laugh. A throat was cleared and Louis frowned.

"I don't see any reason why you can't return him-"

The count of Anjou growled, "When will you come to your- You know what? I can't argue with you right now. I shall see you soon." With a spin of the heel, the family and their prisoner strolled out of the hall. France quietly sighed and Annabelle pat his arm in comfort.

"It will get better soon. Let's go get something to eat, and then I have some business to take care of." France nodded and they left.

* * *

A few days later

Geoffrey sat and pursed his lips, "Wait, so you want my son to hold off on marriage? Why?" Henry stood behind his father and stared Annabelle down with a near glare.

She returned the look and sighed, "Because, he's caught the eye of someone important, but she needs to arrange some things fir-"

"It's Eleanor, isn't it?" Henry asked. His father gazed steadily at Annabelle, awaiting her answer.

The woman sighed, "I would have preferred if I can keep my silence on this-"

Geoffrey sighed, "Henry, go get my map. I need to think about something." Henry nodded and did so. When he returned and laid it out, Geoffrey's finger landed on a very familiar track of land. "We need to have the king on our side, or this could be just as much as declaring war as anything else. The Capets have always fought over this land, haven't they?" He looked up to the woman for confirmation and she stiffly nodded. "Good. We give that ass back and the Vexin. We'll be good little subjects."

Henry looked up, "But did Eleanor threaten to divorce Louis earlier? What changed?"

Annabelle looked at him, "Suger died earlier this year. He was the only thing separating them from divorce. It didn't matter that they're cousins, he took pity on Louis. But now that Bernard is in his place, she's more likely to get a divorce. Now, can you two act your parts?"

"Of course. We'll take care of it." She sighed and stood, walking out. A few days later, the father and son would play their part well and Louis welcomed them back into the kingdom easily, but he wouldn't be celebrating long when the divorce was finalized. It was only eight weeks later that Henry and Eleanor were quietly married, without consent of Louis. France and Annabelle were invited and it was a happy union. France was a little less than pleased, as between Henry to curt, but it all for nought. France was forced to chase after him, but they did not engage each other. Sadly, Louis fell ill, but he would power through it.

* * *

1153

England was waiting for her on the docks. He knew that he shouldn't hold his breath, she might not be coming, especially when he had barred her from entering the country, but one could hope. He watched the coast as the last ship pulled in for the night and his heart fell. He looked over his copy of the letter once more. 'I know I've been angry, but it's time. I would like a visit if you could.' The startling lack of response worried him and he crumpled it up and threw the letter onto the street. The child spun on his heel and prepared to leave when something soft hit the back of his head. He turned around, "Hey! Who in the bloody hell..." His words died in his mouth as Elizabeth stood there awkwardly.

" **Hey, Al. What's up**?" His hair almost shifted to pink as he charged her and headbutted her stomach. She laughed as she let her aura reappear, ruffling his hair. " **Hey, attacking me is Romano's thing, don't go stealing it** -"

" **You miscreant! I thought you weren't going to show up! And how dare you wait for so long to show your face**!"

She sighed and kneeled to hug him, " **Sorry, Albion. I was worried you were still mad. You're the third sibling I wouldn't want to piss off**."

He looked at her, " **So I'm the third most important**?" He turned away from her and began walking away.

Elizabeth laughed as she followed him, " **No, you're the third scariest. You've seen Luci act out, but Romano will always have my citizenship**." He hummed in understanding and sighed.

" **Bess... I think I understood why you did it. The past fifteen years have been... And each battle made me angrier and angrier-** "

" **No one saw, did they**?" She interjected. He glared at her and she held up her hands. _If someone had seen Oliver..._

" **No one that lived to tell about it, but stop interrupting me! You're just like Scotland**!" She rolled her eyes and England coughed into his hand. " **Anyway, I just kept thinking 'is this why**?'" He looked back at her and it was her turn to do so.

" **Partially, yes. That particular German house is persistent in their ways and he was going to be nothing more than a pest. He also threatened Holy Rome with his back turned. It was cowardly**." England nodded.

They continued walking and they finally reached Westminster castle and entered quietly. They traced their way through the halls and eventually made it to their room. England opened the door and gestured to the bed on the far side of the room, " **That's yours, and they're going to get everything signed tomorrow.** "

She nodded and set her items down. She sadly had to leave the dresses with France, but she managed to take the blue one with her. Eleanor had also made sure she had new travel clothes, even, if to the queen's horror, hose and tunics. " **So what exactly does the treaty list**?"

England hummed as he set to remaking his bed, " **Well, it basically states that Stephen will remain as king, have a hold in Henry's properties, but Henry will still own what is his, and he's going to be the next heir**."

She sighed as she climbed into the bed, " **Thank goodness this mess is over.** " England hummed as he began to change his tunic. He still had his 'pant's on, but even in the setting sun, she could see the bruises, cuts and several fresh scars. " **Oh my god**."

He bowed his head, " **Anarchy, Bess. Anarchy**." It was all he said before he put on his night shirt on and went to bed. Elizabeth exhaled in shock as she stared at the ceiling. If only she had been there.

As promised, the treaty was signed easily and it was a good resolution to a fifteen year-long war. Luckily, Stephen didn't get to rule long and he was soon succeeded by Henry and Eleanor in 1154. The trip over had been rough, but worth the storm. There were cheering crowds and many coats in use for the december weather. Eleanor seemed to like the people better, a fact that England soaked up and would likely be rubbing in France's face in the future.

* * *

1155

Elizabeth stared down England, " **WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE GRANTED OVERLORDSHIP?! HE HAS-** " She roared and stormed around the room. The blonde passively watched her storm around.

" **Henry is ambitious, you know that** -"

She slapped her hands on the table, " **That does not give you a right to control your bro** -"

He looked up with a frown, " **When was the last time you saw him? Huh? How many centuries ago?!" She shut her mouth and he nodded, "Exactly. You haven't seen him since the 9th century and it's been 250 years at least. You haven't spoken to Hibernia-"**

 **"I send letters to everyone, and he still signs his letter Ériu. I have not seen him in centuries, but that does not mean that I have not spoken to him. And if we're using Roman names-"**

England's eyes widened and he tensed, " **Don't you dare**." (1)

Elizabeth glared him down, " **Give me one reason I shouldn't**." He stared at her, silently begging and she backed down. " **You're lucky I don't want to see you mad again.. But don't be surprised when they kick John's ass.** " England huffed and she left the room.

* * *

1156

Amalia glared at the King of the Germans as he continued the proceedings, "Austria, Bavaria, will you please led your leader up here?" The relatives shared a look and did so, anxiously standing next to Henry Jasomirgott. "Henry of Austria, I take Bavaria away from you to grant the territory back to the family line of the Welfs, current head, Henry Welf. In reparation of this land seizure, Austria is now to be considered a Duchy." Austria's eyes widened and he quickly kneeled. Holy Rome grunted and Austria rose quickly. "Currently, this meeting is adjured. Thank your for your time." Bavaria turned to his family and shook his hand. Words were exchanged, but Amalia couldn't hear them.

As everyone left, she joined the blond empire, "So, was this your idea?"

He hummed, strolling out, "I don't know what you mean. But I'm not going to get another visit from England, am I?" Amalia chuckled, but shook her head.

"No, I don't believe so. Is Austria going to have to get new clothes now?" They continued on their way and the Holy Roman Emperor was seen across the hallway. Amalia snarled at him and took a different hallway.

Holy Rome noticed this and ran after her, "Amalia! What is going on?"

She snarled and shoved her way outside, "I thought I would have time to get over what he and his family do to my brothers."

The boy paused as they walked into the nearest garden, "W-What exactly do they do?" Amalia stopped and her shoulders slumped before they began shaking.

Amalia turned around, sobbing, "They try to _subjectify_ Veneziano to themselves and Romano, but... The meaning gets warped. Romano gets it a little better, being further away, but still."

"I'll protect Veneziano, no matter what, Amalia. I promise," The blonde child swore, hoping his hand over his heart. Her knuckles turned white as she realized her point didn't get across, but... Holy Rome could try, but Venie was strong, stronger than she'd be willing to admit at times, and he could hold the Germans off. Amalia resigned herself, nodded, but didn't try to stop the tears.

Austria had grown a foot by the time dinner rolled around and he finally reached her shoulder. Holy Rome was not pleased the nation born decades after was already a head and a half taller than him.

* * *

1158

France had disappeared earlier in the day and Annabelle resigned to walking through the gardens when a familiar aura charged up behind her, however silent. The woman drew her viking sword and used it as a shield as she ducked. Templar soared over her and landed in a heap, "Darn! Foiled again!"

Annabelle stood and laughed in confusion, "What's going on with you, Templar?"

France strolled up behind her, "Oui, trying to bring down the heretic of Europe?" She hissed and elbowed him quickly in the gut. He whined airly and Templar rose to his feet, brushing himself off.

"No, I'm just protecting the holy land, and I don't think that Fortuna is much of a threat to it. Not with her brother's so protective of it," The teen admitted, pulling a stray flower out of his hair. Annabelle nodded in confirmation as France laughed.

"Yes, that seems about right. But Templar?" The carefree air surrounding France faded as a threatening smile overtook the tallest man's face. "The agreement?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it," He said, frowning. The men laughed together and Annabelle rolled her eyes. "So, what have you two been up to?"

Annabelle shrugged as she took a seat by garden bed of lilies. France groaned as he sat nearby, "We've just been lazying about after what happened earlier."

Templar nodded and came to sit by them, "I can understand, those battles were tough." He stretched and his sleeves fell down to reveal the scars lining his arms. Annabelle's eyes flew over them and he quickly covered them. She chuckled and pulled her own sleeves and a little bit of her dress up to show her lower leg.

"I understand, Templar, trust me. But you're still too young to fight-"

"Please, Annabelle, I was fighting when I was younger than him. You were there!" France scoffed as he looked to his old friend.

She snorted, "France, you weren't next to several large nations wishing your death." He nodded in agreement and she sighed. "Yes, there was Nonno and Germania, but Templar, you have... I don't even want to guess how many Emirates, empires, and Caliphates next you you, as well as the Byzantine empire, Holy Rome, England, and my brothers involved with the land. France, I think he beats you in 'people who want me dead'."

France chuckled, "I guess, Annabel, but we will never have as many as you." They all laughed and they continued to chat until the sun began to set. Annabelle sighed as she saw the sunset.

"I have to go, Eleanor wants me to tell her children stories." The boys wished her well and Templar frowned as he looked to France.

"May I ask an invasive question?" France hummed and the teen leaned back on his arms, "So, are you and her courting?"

France's face twisted, "No. I know we may seem close-"

"I heard a rumor that she was changing clothes with you in the room-"

"On Eleanor's insistence. I have had to help treat Annabelle with her wounds before and when some physicians only do it if you are of the same religion? My god, it's a nightmare, but we really are close friends. She's a little too... something for me. I don't know." The blonde waved his hand, "So, what of the agreement earlier?"

Templar sighed, noting the subject change, "I will take care of the Vexin, don't worry. As soon as Henry's old enough, the land's his."

France nodded, "The friends you make on wars." Templar nodded in agreement. From behind a bush of violets, Annabelle smiled as she walked away. It wasn't until her feet touched the castle floors that she let her aura reappear.

* * *

1159-1162

Amalia breathed deeply as she stepped through the woods. The chirping of birds was peaceful and she eventually reached a small brook that ran through the forest. She removed her shoes and dipped her feet in, walking in the river for a little while when she heard a whimper and some whispering. The woman's guard went up and she quietly pulled out her blade. She walked to where the sounds were coming from and giggled. A small golden puppy was all but tackling Holy Rome down as he tried to get it to sit. "No, no, that's not sit!" Holy Rome whispered frantically.

Amalia smiled and just about moved back when the puppy caught her scent and began barking in her direction. She sighed and came out, "Shush, little one." The puppy continued to bark and she kneeled, holding out a hand. It scrambled in her direction and was quickly sniffing and licking her hand. With a move that a _family friend_ taught her years ago, she closed her hand and held it above the pup's nose. " Sit." It tried sniffing her hand and she frowned. The woman repeated the command and pushed its butt down. She rewarded the pup by giving it scratches, but continued it several times. By the end of the mini-training session, the puppy was sitting. Amalia looked up to Holy Rome, "An old friend showed me this trick once. So, it your's?"

"He's not an it! And kinda. I don't want to lose him in a few years," Holy Rome muttered as he took the puppy into his arms. The small ball of fluff licked his face until he distracted it with a hand instead.

She sighed and mumbled, "Well, what if there is a way?" The woman thought about it and stood. "I need to write a a letter to England. And bring your little ball of fluff-"

"Aster, his name is Aster," Holy Rome interrupted. She chuckled and began walking back, putting her shoes back on. "Oh, and you've heard that Victor is getting close to Frederick, right?" She frowned and nodded. Since the death of the Pope, two new 'popes' had cropped up. Alexander III would be considered the true pope, but his opponent, Victor IV, had the backing of the Holy Roman Emperor.

"Yeah, Barbarossa is just a mess..." Holy Rome nodded and they continued on. When they got back, the auburnette ran to her room and got out a paper and ink. She reached out her soul to her bird, a new black eagle. It had been a gift sent from Turkey with a request to visit soon. She had agreed readily and looked forward to visiting him.

The bird, named Henry after its successors, perched at her window and she tied the letter to his leg, "Get this to England. It's important." The eagle screeched and took off. The woman sighed and leaned back on the bed. "Mom, am I making the right choice?" A rustle of wind was her only answer and she sighed.

A few days later, a note arrived from her half-brother and she sighed in relief. She needed to talk to him _now_. She called him into her room late one night with Aster and he nervously showed up. She sat them down and Aster sat at his master's feet obediently. She sighed. " I... I can make your dog live as long as you do, but I need your help."

Holy Rome's jaw dropped, but he growled, "What magic-"

"It's a white magic, it's a soul link. You know that everything gives off energy, an aura, but some last longer than others. I think you know which, but all it would do is connect your spirits, nothing more. He lives for as long as you do, but it'll tire you both out. But... I've never done this before. Also, this can only be done once and can never be undone. This will be the only animal you will be able to keep immortal and Aster will stay this age, no matter what. Would you accept these risks?"

Holy Rome tensed and looked at Aster, who looked over his shoulder to his master, 'smiling'. The child closed his eyes and nodded, "I accept. What do I have to do?"

Amalia sighed in relief, "Mesh your auras together and I'll do the spell. Don't worry." He nodded and he began intertwining his and Aster's weaker aura together. Amalia whispered airly as she began forming the knot that would link them and it was over quickly. She fell back onto her bed, panting and pointed to the door. "Leave. It's taken care of." Holy Rome nodded and quickly left, his new pet following close behind.

When the news was announced in 1160, Amalia charged into Frederick's study. The king and nation were there, Aster at the latter's feet, and they looked up. The woman slammed the door closed, making several wall decorations shake and a log in the fire slip, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING." Frederick jumped and he quickly stood.

"Amalia..." Holy Rome warned, but Frederick raised a hand.

"Lady Luck, I understand that you have helped my empire in the past, but this is of no matter of yours-"

She snarled, "No matter of mine. _NO MATTER OF MINE?_! YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN CHARGE INTO THE ITALIAN PENINSULA, THE HOME OF MY BROTHERS, MY HOME AND THINK THAT I'LL BE OK WITH THAT?! NO, I'M NOT! YOU CAN'T JUST CHARGE IN AND SAY THAT I'M THE KING HERE!"

The king stalked around the side of the table and came to stand in front of her, his hand on his blade threateningly, "Amalia, this is your last chance to back down, or I will have you locked away." The woman snarled and clenched her fists. Holy Rome stood, but his ruler roared at him, " _SIT DOWN, HOLY ROME._ " He turned back to the Italian, leaning in, "You're going to watch your brothers _burn_." Her heart froze and she began to walk away, but Frederick grabbed her arm. He proceeded to drag her throughout the halls, kicking and screaming, ignoring the glances of several duchies, margraviates, and their rulers as they looked out of their rooms.

Eventually they reached a dark room at the top of a flight of stairs. Frederick threw her in, and Amalia landed on her hands and knees, "You'll stay here until you see it my way or until we leave. I will get you a front row seat to watching your family turn to ash." He slammed the door and a thump from the outside signified the door was either locked or blocked. Amalia took this time to rage and look around the room. It was a stereotypical room-in-a-high-tower with a basic bed and some straw on the floor as a lose covering. She went to the high window and swallowed- it was high. She normally wasn't afraid of heights, but with this as her only other way to the world, it was frightening, as for any normal human being.

Except, she wasn't any normal human being. Amalia pulsed her aura, and as summoned, her eagle showed up as before. She growled as she looked around for paper and pen, but her eyes only fell on the dirty bed sheets and her own hands. She sighed, grabbed the sheets to tear a chunk off and went over to her bird. "Henry, leg," She whispered. On command, the bird held out its outstretched leg and she pricked her left pointer finger and began the message. _'HRE 1004_ '. She cried as she tied it to his leg and waved him off. "T-Take that to Veneziano. H-He'll know."

Amalia cried more as she knew that Veneziano knew exactly what it meant. She remembered what that year was for them. It was rummaging through ashes as screams, cries and anguish was echoed throughout the night. It was pain seeing the 'childhood' home she had grown up in reduced to nothing but a shadow, a ghost of what it once was. It had been the year Holy Rome had burned Pavia to the ground. It was a warning of what would come.

A response would come shortly after, a simple piece of magenta cloth and she smiled, gripping it tightly. Between Veneziano's dual personalities, he would take care of keeping Barbarossa at bay.

Sadly, Luciano had underestimated Holy Rome and, true to his promise, Frederick had her watch as Milan was destroyed as an example after its rebellion. She growled and swore her revenge, pulsing her aura out, hoping to connect with her brother's. It was weak, but she grinned as she felt Luciano's anger. Oh, how it _burned_. She knew that he would never forget this like he had the first time. Not long after, he wanted to make council with Louis VII to determine who really was Pope. France had agreed to it and they were making their way to the arranged spot, and they were almost close enough that she could let France know- Yes! She tried to wrap her aura around France's and it barely did. The woman let her panic seep into her very being and a powerful surge from France let her know that he had heard.

As the day shifted into night, France moved closer and eventually, he appeared outside her wooden cage. "Holy, Annabelle! What happened? Louis forced us to turn back, but... what happened?" He reached for the bar withholding her and raised it.

The auburnette growled as she was finally able to clamor out. The past two years had been hell and she looked like it, but she was still out. "Frederick is an asshole. He's destroyed Milan, but he doesn't know the demon he's awaken."

France's eyes scrunched, "I didn't know sweet little Italy could be scary." She laughed and with a particular glint in her eye, she faced him.

"Trust me, Veneziano can be very scary when he wants to be. But we need to hurry. Frederick likes to come by to brag every once in a while. We need to leave." France nodded and they were headed on their way. On their way back, France explained why they were leaving.

"Louis found out that Frederick had put all the favor on Victor and it was a false vote. It would have just seemed more legitimate if another monarch had decided with." She growled, her hatred for the German king growing even more.

* * *

1163-1167

France and Louis VII had treated her much better than what the other monarch had been. She was allowed clean clothes, a bath, and materials to fix her hair. She brushed out her hair, let it go to just at her shoulders, and finally relaxed. She changed into a violet dress and France knocked on the door, "Annabelle, there's another-"

She raised a hand, "I-I'm sorry, Frank, but I... I can't. I know that you're getting gorgeous new buildings left and right, but... I'm tired. I need some time. I-It's the one dedicated to Mary the Virgin, right? Notre Dame?" France smiled and nodded, staying in the doorway.

"It is. But, I'll leave you to get some rest. I'm sure that Veneziano will be fine. He's sweet enough to pull himself out," The man said as he left to watch the first stones be laid. She sighed and looked around the room.

"If only you really knew. But Venie, kick his ass," Annabelle whispered, as tears began to fall. She stayed with her friend for a few years until Veneziano managed to get a letter out, asking for her presence. France didn't even have to know what was written to know who it was.

* * *

1167

The moment Fortuna charged into the hall, her eyes latched onto her brother, and she didn't care that all the city-states were there, she ran to him, kneeled, and started looking him over. " **Peaches, Veneziano, are you ok**?" He sniffled as tears came to his eyes, nodding.

" **Si, si, Sorellona! W-What happened? H-Holy Rome said you got out one night. He said that you abandoned me! Abandoned Romano**!" He wailed, crawling his way into her arms.

She was sobbing, but when she heard that, the woman snarled, " **Was it Holy Rome? Or Barbarossa? Because Otto owes me and if he...** " She growled, clenching her fists.

Her brother began trying and failing to get his tears under control, " **I-It was Barba. H-He tried to tell me, b-but w-we refused to listen**!"

" **Sh, sh, Venie. Tell me, has the League been formed**?" Fortuna asked, brushing his hair out of his face. (2)

Milan stood shakily, **"N-Not yet. V-Venice would not let us start**." Her eyes brushed over his bruised and battered form, including a large slash that trailed up his arm and a hint of a burn mark under his shirt collar. " **I should have heeded the warning**."

Fortuna stood, " **No, you stood up to those who need to be brought down a couple notches.** "

Bologna nodded, " **Yes, we cannot stand for this anymore. I am sorry for bending to his will**."

 **"It is done. There is nothing we can do about it now except fight back. Sorellona**?" Luciano asked as he emerged. Several communes tensed with his arrival, but they nodded in agreement.

His sister grinned, " **Let's give them hell, Italia**." Luciano nodded in satisfaction. He tugged on his sister's gown and she lifted him up onto her shoulder as she stood.

" **Brothers, we cannot let the German devil to keep his hold over us! We cannot let what happened to Milan happen to the rest of us! With Luck on our side, we will show those Northern devils to keep their hold on us**!" The immortals cheered and Feliciano emerged, smiling down at his sister.

" **Thank you, Sorellona**."

Fortuna grinned as she lowered him back into her arms, " **Italia forever, Venie**."

* * *

 **I'm cutting it off here. I'm going to keep writing in this kid of way (longer chapters, if a little more time to write them), but if ya'll want more, shorter chapters, let me know! Again, I apologize about randomly throwing in the communes (Italy), the Duchies and Margraviates (HRE), and maybe some French and British provinces/districts or whatever, but I realized that the story kinda needed them, soooooo, if anyone's confused as to how she knows them, they're still a part of the government, which she tries to visit, so they would likely end up talking if she hangs out with the nations so much.**

 **I also feel like I've been almost pushing France and Lady Luck together recently and I wanted to make a remark on that. They're... like those childhood friends who, under any other circumstances, would have gotten together, but they're both just stuck so far in the friends zone that it's almost weird. Does that make sense?**

 **(1) Britain's roman name was Britannia, but it was actually his dead mother's name, so he reacted kinda badly.**

 **(2) I've kinda been skipping this for a large part, but most of the Italian cities (florence, milan, Pisa, Genoa, etc) all _really hate each others guts_. They all want to get the upper hand on one another. It's amusing, but because this northern d-bag comes charging in, wanting to take away their autonomy (HRE is more their ruler in name only at this point), all of these communes join together to form the Lombard League, so every formidable thing that you've heard the cities doing on their own? Imagine that with them united. I hate to admit it, but Barbarossa showed that they could unite for a common cause and when united, powerful things can happen. Rant over.**


	111. Chapter 99

**Ok, so I had a long day at work, but I should be able to plow through at least five years. ALSO, I WAS UNABLE TO MAKE A CERTAIN PART EXACTLY MATCH WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN OTHER CHAPTERS, SO SORRY.**

 **AnonChan1: LL has taught her brothers to survive any way possible, so if they have to give her up, however unlikely, she'll push for it. It was a form of equality, putting EVERYONE under the same laws. It can possibly be a mistake, but it seems to work fine. But no one did, and while Eleanor said she wouldn't let Henry fight, she said nothing about her children. OMG. Eleanor is a ball of fire and she's amazing to write! The thing I forgot to put in there was that the Pope granted the British king overlordship of Ireland, even though they didn't have much claim to it. From what I've read, Frederick is usually praised for being a strong emperor, for his ambition, but he didn't do much good for the peninsula, other than temporarily uniting them.**

 **Live-to-forever: You want to save people, that much is obvious, but I'm not really interested...? Thanks for being concerned for my soul, but... I don't know a polite way of turning you down, but I don't want to lie to you about being able to believe when I really don't. Thank you though, but please don't do this again. This is a place for a story, please. If you wished to correct me on any part of religion, I would more than welcome you to, but only if it pertains to the story.**

 **brazenyeah: That's awesome! But yeah, anytime, I've said before that I kinda owe Portugal and Brazil before, so no way in hell am I ignoring them. Oh damn, and thanks! Lol, my mom has told me about the whole 'different versions', but yours is kinda the original, so I can understand the jokes! Again, thanks for your help!**

 _ **Middle Irish**_

 **Middle English**

Middle High German

Old French

 _Arabic_

 **Italian/Vulgar Latin/Latin (I need to save room, and use context clues for which one)**

* * *

1169-1173

Annabelle watched passively as the queen raged, "I don't understand, I thought he loved me! I thought he cared!" France sighed as he watched this again and waited it out. Eleanor had had this rant many times over the past few years. "I mean, who does he think he is? Bringing a mistress into our home, into the rooms that are mine?"

France removed himself from the wall and he placed himself in front of the queen, "My Queen, may I make a recommendation?" She turned to him in anger and France raised his hands in surrender, "Do as Annabelle does and return to halls that are your's."

"I hate to say it, but I agree," England stated as he entered the room. He turned to France, "I'm not going to question why you're here, but get out soon. But Eleanor, I can see you aren't happy and I fear what you may do to Rosamund." Eleanor frowned deeper when she heard the name and France sighed.

"Home is where you are happiest, Eleanor. Let's go back to Poitiers," France said and Eleanor sighed.

"Ok, I trust your judgement France. And England?" The teen perked up at his name, "You don't have to worry about me going after Rosamund. _She's_ not the one who betrayed me." England paled as Eleanor walked past him and her friends walked out behind her.

The briton swallowed heavily and looked around the empty room, "Well, this is going to be fun."

Following France's advice, Eleanor returned to her home territory and set up one of the most important courts of her time. Where once had been joy, hatred for Henry reigned and with help, she reestablished herself. From there, she ruled a new way. Men were forced to appeal to the whims of women, not the other way around. France laughed several times as several men actually tried appealing to Annabelle, much to her embarrassment. A few more came and went as she participated in several tournaments, a range if mini-battles used almost as gambling through skill. She got rather close to Richard of England and one of his best friends, William Harvey.

France had left to conduct some business with Louis and England when the queen's children began whispering. Annabelle wasn't allowed in for a few years, but Eleanor finally pressured her sons to let her hear.

Henry, the oldest son if only because his brother before him had passed, was the angriest. He had been promised Normandy, but he was also his father's heir. Richard was being groomed to take over for Eleanor upon her death. She was _not_ going to let Henry take over her people.

The eldest turned to the Queen, "Mother, will you come to our aid?"

Eleanor smirked, "My men are itching for a good fight. Annabelle, would you wish to take up the sword?"

Richard grinned as he slung an arm around the immortal's shoulders, "Oui, Bel', fight with us?"

"I... I can't. An old friend of mine is calling in an important favor in. I haven't seen him since the first fight for the holy land," She admitted.

"Oh... Well, I can't fight with that. Go on, old friend. Give those Saracens what for," Henry jested. Annabelle chuckled nervously and scratched her elbow.

"Yes, um, I'll make sure of it," She smiled.

* * *

1174

" _So, I've been told to give you hell_ ," Neylan grinned as she crossed her arms. Her old friend sat in a chair across from her and he stood to greet her, but when he turned around, she paused. " _T-Turkey_?"

He froze and his hand lifted to the white mask that shielded his face, " _Oh, yeah, this. I-It's for my own protection_."

She growled, " _From what? If you don't don't say the sun, I'm going to be mad_."

" _Well, it doesn't help that with my eyes_ ," Turkey said, pointing to the thin silk covering his eyes. " _Look like a European's eyes. Yusuf wanted me to be safe from capture by our own allies, so he had this commissioned for me. China did a very fine job_ ," He noted, taking it off. She smiled sadly when his eyes portrayed agony.

" _You know, I really don't care if you wear that, right? And is it only when you're fighting? Why not just then_?"

Turkey sighed, " _Abla, it's just easier this way. Please. But I want you to meet someone. He is someone very important to me. While his personal name is Yusuf, he is ok if you call him Salah ad-Din_."

Neylan's eyes widened and she smiled, " _There are mixed reactions about him, but he is a smart man from what I can remember. Is he ok with meeting me? Sister of the Italian Peninsula and the heretic of Europe_?"

Turkey smiled, " _It's just fine with him. When he heard about what happened when you spoke out against the holy wars, he was happy to know that you fled here_."

" _Well, if word began getting out, I would have had trouble finding a boat more than a short distance away. I couldn't exactly go to China for help_ ," Neylan joked and the nation hummed. She sighed and looked at him. _"Turkey, can you take it off, please? I want to see your eyes. Please_ ," She begged. The man sighed and reached for it, removing it. Sad green eyes stared at her and she smiled, " _Turkey, you don't have to be ashamed of what you look like. Do you know how many nasty looks I've gotten because of my red hair? I look nothing like a Roman and I've gotten many glares because I look like a German or something. But I'm not going to preach about following your true look_." Turkey smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. " _You do whatever you have to to keep safe, because I'm not wasting all those years I-we spent keeping you safe_."

" _Thanks, Abla. I remember just waiting for you two to come home and patch each other up before making dinner. You hated him sometimes, but... It got easier, didn't it_?" He asked tentatively, releasing her.

Neylan nodded sadly, " _I... It did. Did I ever tell you why I came to be more ok with him_?" Turkey shook his head and put a hand on her arm.

" _You don't have to tell me right now, let's meet Yusuf first_ ," He said. The woman nodded and watched in agony as he put the mask on and ran his fingers along the edges to make sure it was sealed. He led her out of the war tent and into another nearby one. He called inside and another voice beckoned him in. Turkey held up a hand and she nodded. He entered without her and the auburnette waited to be summoned. Finally, a call in and she entered.

Neylan pushed the curtain back and smiled at the usual set-up before her eyes settled on the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, Salah ad-din. She bowed deeply and rose, " _It is a pleasure to meet you, Turkey has said many great things about you_."

Saladin smiled, " _And to you as well, his sister of the west. My condolences on raising him, however_." Turkey scoffed with a hidden smile as he looked to his leader with amusement dancing in his posture.

She laughed, " _Thank you, it really was an adventure. I assume he's told you stories_?"

" _Oh yes. The time you had a little too much to drink..._?" He raised an eyebrow and Neyland faced Turkey in horror.

" _Turkey, I thought we'd never talk about that again! You know what, if you're just going to tell your rulers my stupidest moments, I should just leave-_ "

" _Ok, ok! I'm sorry, Abla! I had a little too much to drink myself_!" Turkey exclaimed,holding his hands out to stop her.

She laughed, " _But remember, I'm your older sister, I have plenty of memories_." The nation paled and Saladin raised an eyebrow. " _May I call you Saladin? It is a name that I am most accustomed to_." The ruler nodded and she smiled, " _Well, did you know that Turkey couldn't sleep on a bed the normal way and usually curled up on the top, right on top of the pillows? He would look so much like a little kitten._ " Turkey tried reaching to cover her mouth, but he failed, only being about as tall as her, but still a little weaker.

Saladin chuckled for a little longer, but he soon stood straighter, " _Well, it was actually his stories that prompted me to ask- would you like to help us capture Damascus? I have been requested to help rule for the predecessor's heir, as he is still but a child_."

Neylan frowned, " _From what I remember, Baldwin was moving in on that city as well_."

" _Turkey, I thought you said that she would fight for-_ " The ruler frowned, turning to his nation. Turkey stood his ground and turned to his sister.

" _Abla, is Baldwin an issue_?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair under its cover, " _Not particularly, Frank is going to be angry with me that one of his houses gets impacted, but that child isn't going to live for much longer. He and I both know this, and while he won't be pleased that I was under your roof during all of this, he won't stay mad forever. Just remember, this may not go as well as planned. The Europeans are unorganized, but an attack on the wrong spot will lead them all running here_."

Saladin nodded seriously, " _I am willing to accept all of these risks. I will not fail_."

" _You will. All military leaders do. But it is up to you how you will handle that failure_ ," Neylan stated. Turkey sent her a warning look, but Saladin nodded again.

" _Your years are evident. So, what would you have me do_?" The man asked, taking a seat.

She remained standing, " _Don't start an uprising. Establish yourself as a regent, but don't you dare think that people will be just fine being taken over without a good reason. They are more likely to accept a protector_." Saladin nodded and began to process the words.

" _So you would recommend my presence as merely an overseer_?"

Neylan shook her head, " _Over see the land, but let the child be nothing more than a puppet_." Saladin nodded again and looked up to Turkey.

" _So, what do you think? Can we manage that_?"

Turkey smiled as he looked to her, " _I trust Abla. If she says it's wise, then yes_." She smiled, but soon looked down. Baldwin would indeed push to get the land taken, but then that idiot Raynald would be getting out of jail soon. Also, Guy de Lusignan would be the infamous king of Jerusalem soon as well, but... " _Alba? Let's go outside so you can tell me that story from before_." Turkey muttered, pulling her away. She nodded and let him lead her out without resistance.

Saladin would go on to take over for his old boss's child, ruling as a regent before slowly instilling himself as the true ruler.

* * *

1175

Luciano snarled at the woman across from him, " **So, Zia. Is this going to be another back-stabbing agreement**?" Fortuna stood behind her brother's chair, gripping the wood almost painfully tight.

Byzantine scoffed, twirling the blade in her hand, " _It is what it is, Nipote. Now, take it or leave it_." Veneziano's hair began to shift back and forth as the two sides deliberated and Feliciano won out.

" **We'll take the deal, but remember, Zia** ," He chirped. Fortuna couldn't see it, but he had opened his eyes and was glaring at his aunt with his amber eyes, " **No bullshit**."

Fortuna stood straighter as the words were stated in the eldest's voice, and Byzantine sighed, " **Certo, Nipote. You're starting to look like your Grandfather the older you get.** " Silence echoed in the room and Luciano took back over. " **Especially you**."

" **Zia, stop trying to mess with our heads. You aren't getting anything fixed for your favor. Face it- you need Venice's help when it comes to the holy wars and don't you dare try anything more under your current emperor. You're barely hanging on as it is-** "

Byzantine scoffed, " **Please, I defeated Hungary and Serbia after they tried invading-** "

Veneziano laughed, " **You're beating up children! You think you're still powerful? You know, Sorella used to be terrified of you. Romano once told me that they had a fight because of you. She was terrified. Now**?"

" **Shut up and let your sister speak, you insolent child-** "

Fortuna snarled, " **So now you treat me with respect? I don't fear you anymore. Your power lies within your walls, not out. You're not Rome, Byzantine. And again, enjoy your time. Greece will still feel your power, but he won't have you anymore soon. Enjoy your time, Byzantine**." The empire growled, but learned from the last trading treaty and simply retreated this time. Luciano sighed and leaned back in the chair, looking up to his sister.

" **God, I hate her**."

She snorted, " **Get in line**." After the previous violation of the trading rights, the Byzantine emperor reinstalled them, but it was bittersweet. He had had several thousand Venetians on his land arrested a few years before, but Veneziano fought back with futility. Now, the several Muslim kingdoms were beginning to push again and they desired help through trade.

* * *

1176

Luciano was trying to hold back tears as he looked over the battlefield, " **I-I...** "

Fortuna smiled and kissed his forehead, " **Luciano, that was one of our history's favorite reference points. Legnano is forgotten for a bit, but its memory is revived when we needed when we need it the most. Are you ashamed of what you did out there**?"

Luciano looked at his hands, bathed in blood, " **I don't know. Feliciano's gone dormant, but..**."

 **"You're worried about him, I can understand that, but Luciano... you both are going to be fine. Yes, this battle was unplanned, yes it was an absolute blood bath, but you protected your land with the only way you knew how. You are never going to forget the lives taken here, but... you need to know that Barbarossa wasn't going to give up. He only wants power.** "

Her brother paused and growled, " **Feli's waking. H-He said that Holy Rome kept screaming to come live with him, but he didn't want to go. He knew the pope wouldn't be happy, and Nonno would want him to remain free from someone else's control. I don't know how, but he blocked me from seeing this. How**?"

Fortuna smiled and pushed some hair out of his face. He normally would have threatened her or tried to get away by now, but he was looking for comfort and she was more than happy to offer it. " **I've known Feliciano for years, and you are literally a part of him, so you know that he'll try to do whatever it takes to protect those he cares about. Well, so long as it is for his own good**." Luciano chuckled and leaned into her arms.

" **Si, you've drilled that pretty hard. Grazie. It has helped, or else, those Genoese bastards would have taken all our trade deals** ," He snarked and Fortuna chuckled.

" **Be careful, but protect your interests. Remember, Feliciano is also taking care of you, as much as you are taking care of him. You are everything the other wants to be. You are his strength, but he is your emotion** -"

" **Hey**!" He growled, struggling for a split second, his normal attitude returning, but she quickly backtracked.

The woman leaned back, loosening her hold minutely, " **Now, I'm not sawing you're heartless, or he's weak, but they are your strong suits. Now, Holy Rome wanted to protect you from his rulers**."

Luciano frowned and growled, " **How do you know this**?"

Fortuna sighed and leaned back so that she was completely laying on the bloody ground. Her eyes were looking to the setting sun, but her throat was also completely exposed to her angered brother, " **We had a conversation. You know he loves Feliciano. I told him what he and his grandson do to Italia, and he was angry. He wants to keep you safe from what happened-** "

Small hands wrapped around her neck, not tightening yet, but still a reminder of how angry he was, " **And look what happened. Milan still wakes up screaming and his siblings are rushing to repair the damage that that _child_ did to us.** "

" **I know. I know I fucked up, but I wanted you to know. I wanted him to know to leave you alone, but-** "

" **You know he loves Feliciano. You knew he would come down** -"

She sat up, sending Veneziano crashing to the ground, " **Damnit, Luci! I tried to tell Barbarossa not to-** " Fortuna paused as her brothers began shaking and she tightened her hold on him, holding him close. " **Peaches, Venie, I'm so sorry-** "

Finally, a case of halves was settled, and Feliciano's left side looked at her in betrayal, but Luciano's right side looked at her in savagery. A garble escaped their throat and Veneziano sighed collectively, stopping to deliberate before saying a few words.

* * *

1177

"What did I tell you, Holy Rome? It would end up backfiring," Amalia said as she looked up at the night sky in Venice. The city of water was beautiful as always, allowing the sound of water lapping against brick to make her sleepy.

The blonde sighed through his nose, "I... I never knew. I didn't know this is what would happen. I never meant for that to happen to Milan, but-"

"Holy Rome, sometimes, control has to be gained slowly, but you can't go charging in. It never works. I have seen and read more history than most would care to," She said, looking at the night sky. The stars glittered pleasantly, but the woman was not comforted by them this time. "Give Veneziano time to recover before giving anymore grief. Then... Give her something to work with and she might give you more privileges. The world isn't all take. You have to give something first." He nodded and Amalia sighed this time. "Come here, lay down next to me. I want to tell you about America and their fight for independence."

So, for the next hour, Holy Rome listened intently about this strange new land and how a merely third of the population would lead to their freedom. How Sybil Ludington and the several other midnight riders would go onto wake revolutionaries would fly across the nightly plain to save their hopes and dreams. How Von Steuben would come in and retrain the American army and how France would end up being thrown into his own revolution because of this nation. Holy Rome crinkled his nose at the nation's importance.

"Why is he such a big deal?"

Amalia smiled and tapped his nose, "You'll see for yourself in a few hundred years. But for now, go make peace with Venie." He nodded and ran off, allowing Amalia to look back at the stars. "Thank you, Veneziano." He had just barely decided to forgive her for what she did.

" **For what**?"

Said child revealed their aura again as he came from a nearby porch. She sat up, but Luciano took over and held up a hand, " **You did everything you could, so Feli and I forgave you. But remember your promise**."

She nodded and held an arm out, " **Yeah, yeah, don't let it happen again. He's just going to get strong, you know he is. Especially you, Feli**." Feliciano took that as his signal and charged into his sister's arms.

" **Si, but don't be so mean to Holy Rome next time**!"

Amalia raised an eyebrow, " **Oh? You care for him, do you**?"

Feliciano looked at her with a smile, " **Of course! He's a good friend!** " She smiled and shook her head at his innocence. Her brother crawled deeper into her embrace, " **But yes. He's nice. He told me what happened that night with Barbarossa. He understands family**."

" **Of course he does. Germania might not have been the most expressive of caretakers, but he made sure Otto was well loved and understands family...** "

They sat in silence until a Veneziano caught sight of a group of stars, " **Look! There's Orion**!" The woman looked up and smiled.

" **I see. Veneziano, come on, we should go to bed. You're going to need as much sleep as you can get**."

Over the next several weeks, Veneziano, the pope, and Frederick argued and bickered, finally coming to an agreement. Frederick would stop supporting his antipope in favor of Alexander III. Romano ended up showing up at the treaty a few days before it would be finalized, and the Emperor basically shrugged and added one more peace treaty to the mix between him and Romano's ruler, who had taken after Roger's rule and sought authority in the south. Luckily, it gave them peace and Romano would have another chance to flourish with the peace.

* * *

1179

Portugal all but danced down the street after Fortuna. Her brothers stared over her shoulders at their weird cousin, Romano frowning, but Veneziano just watched through half-lidded eyes. " **Wow, I can't believe I'm here! Thanks for inviting me, Hereti-"**

" **Oi, idiot! Don't call her that here of all places!** " Romano yelled, glaring at the teen. He quieted down as his sister placed a kiss on his forehead. He quickly hid his face in her shoulder to hide his blush.

Veneziano frowned, " **Si, Sorellona may not be remembered, but her place during that council isn't completely forgotten. She can still be cast out of Europe again**." His frown was lifted as Fortuna nuzzled him with her cheek.

He nodded, " **Sim, sorry! I just get so used to calling Fortuna by that name that... But still! I'm going to the Lateran Palace**!" Fortuna laughed and continued on until they reached the front door. Portugal watched in confusion as she placed her brothers down and bid them well. " **Why are you leaving them**?"

Veneziano chirped, " **Sorellona doesn't want us to be potentially excommunicated. Remember, she wasn't exactly welcome a hundred years ago**." The other two nodded and Portugal smiled.

" **Well, you two can be my tour guides now. Please, lead the way**." Fortuna watched them disappear into the Palace and went to sit on the front steps. The Manifestis Probatum, the papal bull issued by Alexander III, finally would recognize Portugal as his own nation, also placing him under the protection under the Catholic church. Should anyone declare war on him, the Church could attempt to step in, especially if any kingdom of Spain would try to step in.

* * *

1180

Romano sighed as he watched his sister paced for her fifth hour straight, " **Damnit, Ragazza**." He jumped down from the windowsill and raced outside and down the street. Only a few houses up, and he knocked on the door. A small, black-haired boy opened the door and he grinned.

" **Roma! Come on in! Nonna, Nonna! Romano's here**!" Romano followed the child into the home, where an old woman was hobbling into the front room.

She grinned, kneeling to hug her grandchild and continued to hold out an arm for Romano. He wasted little time stepping into it, and the wrinkled woman laughed, " **Wow, you're high-strung right now, Roma. Want to talk about it?** "

" **Sorellona's pacing too much. I want you to help calm her down. An old face might be able to do that** ," Romano said. The woman nodded and put the boys down. They led her to Romano's house, and into the backyard. Fortuna's back was turned, but when she finally turned on her heel, she froze.

" **T-Tristessa? H-How**?"

The old woman grinned again, " **This old bird is still kicking, so don't ask any questions.** " Fortuna rolled her eyes and went to pull her into a hug. After a minute or two ,they pulled away and the boy tugged on his grandmother's dress. " **Oh! This is my grandson, Piero! His parents are merchants and on business right no-** "

" **They're not in the Empire in the east, are they**?" Fortuna asked, gripping her family's shoulders.

Tristessa blinked in confusion, " **Yes? Why? They'll be coming back in a few years-** "

" **Get them back here now!** " She yelled, going back to pacing.

Romano growled, " **What's going on? Since the Emperor died and Empress took over** -"

Fortuna turned to him with burning eyes, " **That's the problem! The Byzantines hate us! Veneziano has been given the deal of the millenia, and he's exploiting them for it, and they know it! They hate us! They overthrow her, and they massacre tens of thousands! No one is spared**!"

Piero turned to his pale grandmother, " **What's a massacre?** " Fortuna froze to look at him and looked away. Romano stared at his sister in horror.

" **You need to let Veneziano know. Now**."

Fortuna cried, " **He's not going to listen! Veneziano doesn't listen! Haven't you noticed?** " Romano growled as he realized that it was true- Veneziano didn't listen.

" **Well, Piero, we need to send a letter to your parents. Romano**?" Tristessa asked, looking to her nation.

" **I can handle that if it comes down to it** ," He assured her. Fortuna raised an eyebrow. He held up a hand, and she backed down. The two returned home and she sat down at the base of the peach trees to cry. Romano came to sit in her lap. **"Tristessa is getting old, and we agreed that if something ever happened to Piero's parents, I would ask you to take care of him**." He looked up at her, expecting her to be angry, but she pulled him into a hug.

She nuzzled the top of his head, " **Thank you for trusting me with that, Roma**." She sent a letter to Veneziano to announce to his neighboring communes, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't share the information outside the lagoon commune.

True to what she said, the Empress would be otherthrown after two years and about 60,000-80,000 Roman Catholics would be slaughtered in what would be known 'the Massacre of the Latins'.

* * *

1181

Romano shook his sister awake, " **Sorellona! It's another thing**!" She whined and slowly got up, looking out the window. A brighter star was in the sky and she squinted.

" **Oh, wow. That's really a supernova, isn't it? That's really something. It's going to be around for a while, Romano. Just... Go back to sleep** ," She yawned. He frowned and jumped on her stomach.

 **"Ragazza! You need to start sleeping more! You'd normally be all over this! You're taking some naps tomorrow**!" He crowed and she nodded, curling around him so he couldn't move.

* * *

1183

Fortuna held Piero as he sobbed over the news. His grandmother had gone to Greece to find his parents, but gotten stuck when the massacre began. Veneziano put a hand on the child's back, but anger shone in his eyes like fire. " **Sh, sh, everything will be ok, Bambino** ," She whispered in his ear. Piero curled further into her grasp.

" **We'll make them pay, Fortuna. I promise** ," He said, but his voice was lowered, making her question if it was Feliciano's.

She growled, " **I know you will.** " Piero sobbed until he fell asleep, and she went to put him to bed. When she came back, Veneziano was sharpening his old Pugio. " **So, how did Constance work out**?" The treaty of Constance had been sighed earlier and granted more rights to the northern communes.

Feliciano looked up with a frown, " **It went fine. We can pick our own leaders, but like Matilda wanted. But still-** "

" **Don't focus on that right now. He will not last long. He gets his due,** " Fortuna promised. She trembled in anger and stood, going outside to walk around. Veneziano snarled himself and began practicing his blade as Feliciano. Luciano would give him pointers, but any advice was lost in the boiling rage that the family felt.

* * *

1184

She strode into town with Piero trailing behind her and two familiar faces met her. A sword was swung her way, and without a beat, she blocked it. " **Aw, Fortuna! You never let me win**!"

England hit Templar over the head, " **Just because you know her doesn't mean you can attack her at every turn**!" The organization scratched the back of his head and laughed.

" **It's fine. He'll be needed elsewhere soon, so cut him some slack, Al. But why'd you call me up here? I have a southern child to look after** ," Elizabeth growled, running a hand through the child's hair. Ever since his family's deaths, he had never travelled far from her or her brothers, remaining as blank-eyed as ever. Templar stared at the child in horror and kneeled.

" **I am... so sorry for your loss** ," He whispered, reaching up to ruffle Piero's hair. Well, if he hadn't tried to bite the immortal. Templar yelped and pulled his hand back.

 **"Piero, it's not polite to bite strangers who are trying to be nice** ," Elizabeth scolded lightly. He nodded weakly and clung to her cloak. Templar smiled in reassurance and stood.

" **It's fine. Does he like music**?"

Elizabeth bobbed her head, " **He loves gentle music. When we were passing through France, he was startled by the troubadour music**." Knowing this, Templar had taken to singing a gentle hymn, which Piero was enjoying greatly.

England scoffed, " **Well, I'm not surprised. That trash is disgusting. What was Eleanor thinking**?"

She frowned, " **Eleanor is sick of bowing to men. It was a nice change for things to be the other way around**."

" **Well, if she really wanted love, she shouldn't have married someone so much younger than her. Of course Henry was going to get repulsed by her. Humans are so stupid** ," England grumbled. " **But Eleanor isn't listening to any music right now. She's under house arrest currently**." Elizabeth clenched her free hand and Piero looked up to her in worry.

" **I'm not mad at you, Bambino, don't worry. But England** ," The auburnette growled, facing her brother. " **Humans are not stupid, trust me, I know. And it sucks being one of the oldest people alive, so wish me luck** ," She huffed, turning around. The two turned back towards the docks. Elizabeth threw one piece of advice over her shoulder, " **Oi, Templar. Be careful with success. People tend to get jealous easily**." The two immortals they left behind looked at each other in confusion, but shrugged.

Unbeknownst to them, she instead took a ship to Ireland.

* * *

1185

Ériu blinked in confusion as he saw a young woman with a young child trailing after her, but she looked so familiar... The woman seemed to be looking for something, or someone when her eyes finally settled on him. She stormed up to him and pulled him into a hug. " ** _It's nice to see you again, Hibernia_**." His eyes widened at the old name and he pushed her away.

" ** _Alma? No, i-is that you_**?" Alma grinned and dug to the bottom of her worn-and-torn travel bag, pulling out some ancient jewelry. " ** _Oh my god, it is you_**!" He pulled her into a hug. " ** _You should have seen it, Alma! England thinks he can just walk in here and take over! What a joke_** ," Ériu muttered, looking down.

She raised an eyebrow, " ** _But it wasn't enough, was it_**?" He shook his head and Alma smiled. " ** _Well, you have yet to see the joy that is John Lackland_**." Sadly, the look on his face said it all, " ** _Peaches. You've met him_**?"

" ** _He was leading some of my kings around by their beards, Alma. Of course I know him_** ," he said, exasperated. Alma chuckled and shook her head, looking to her eleven-year-old ward.

" **Piero, I'm sorry, but we have to be getting back to the ship. I need to get back to Italy before something happens** ," She apologized. He nodded and waved good-bye to Ireland. The nation smiled and waved back.

" ** _Hey, Alma, keep in touch_**!"

She laughed and waved as well, " ** _You too! And stop growing! I don't want to look up next time I come by_**!" It wasn't going to be easy- Ireland was already standing eye-to-eye.

They soon made their way back down to Italy, where she stopped for a few days. Before setting off once more, she sat Piero down. The child toyed with his hands nervously, " **Zia, are you going somewhere else**?"

" **Yes, but I wanted to ask you something. Do you want to come with? Here, you'd be safe and with Romano and Veneziano, but I'd be away for a while. But where I'm going... You wouldn't know the language, you wouldn't be always safe, but you'd be with me. Think on it, please**?" Fortuna asked, looking at him closely. The boy thought about all the new places he had been in the past three years and paused.

" **I... I want to stay here. P-Please don't be mad** ," Piero asked, whimpering.

Fortuna smiled, " **I wouldn't be mad at your for anything in the world. I will be leaving in a few days, but I'll always be just a letter away, ok?** " He nodded and Feliciano came outside to play with him. Fortuna watched the two passively and rested her eyes.

* * *

1186

Neylan sighed when she heard of the news. Guy de Lusignan had just been divorced and immediately remarried by his wife, the queen of Jerusalem. Turkey had laughed spitefully and Saladin had huffed. Apparently Guy was a friend of a man throwing raids on the Turks when they were under a time of peace. " _He is no more of a coward than anyone else I have ever met_ ," Turkey complained.

She huffed and leaned back in her seat, " _Cut him some slack, he only has limited choices in friends down here. All the good and important people are in Europe, controlling their territories_."

" _Please. He is only ruling through his wife's crown_ ," Saladin cut in. She hummed in agreement and looked over the last of her letter. It was one of several dozen she had sent back and forth between her brothers and ward, making sure they were safe. It was also to keep an eye on word in Europe. All in all, the court was shocked to see this develop, but Saladin was passive- for now.

* * *

1187

" _Not you too_ ," The Auburnette grumbled, watching Turkey set off for war.

He stood and frowned, " _Abla, you know that whatever Saladin want to do, it'll be easier if I stand behind him-_ "

" _No. This isn't just revenge for the raids in the past year. This is war. Don't do this, Turkey. Please_ ," She pleaded, grabbing onto his arm.

He gently pushed her off, " _I'm not asking you to come with, but please, don't be mad_."

Neyland growled and clenched her fists. " _Fuck this. I'm coming with, but don't expect me to fight_." Turkey smiled tiredly and nodded, walking to his horse. Another horse was tied up nearby and he waved her over. She looked at the stuff and sighed, " _You knew I was coming, didn't you_?"

" _I was counting on it_ ," He grinned, letting her clamor onto the Arabian horse. She smiled and pat the horse's shoulder, " _Well, come on, Abla, we're not getting any younger._ "

" _You're funny_ ," Neylan joked and raced off towards Saladin's tent. Her brothers were going to kill her for aiding the capturing Jerusalem. But first, Saladin had to get revenge. The Battle of Hattin was horrible. Neylan shook as she listened to the screams echo through the tent. " **Peaches** ," She whispered, taking comfort in her special curse word. When Turkey returned, she said nothing, not looking him in the eye. He could understand why, it had been a massacre.

Saladin called them into his tent later, and Turkey had her cover her face. " _It's not for you_." She had humored him and thrown her scarf over her head completely, following him in. At his table, two other people were sitting, clearly nervous. They stared at Turkey and her, terrified. Saladin watched the prisoners closely and poured a cup of water, passing it to the younger man, who greedily drank it. He saved some for his companion and tried to pass it, but Saladin glared at him.

" _My protection will not extend to him_ ," He stated. The man stood and unsheathed his scimitar before bringing it down on the older man's neck.

Neylan clenched her jaw, " _Who was that_?"

Turkey hummed, _"The younger is Guy, but the dead one was Raymand-_ "

" _That man. He's lucky my brothers didn't get their hands on him for destroying peace_ ," She growled. She left the tent and sent a letter apologizing to her brothers. Hopefully they were only going to be a little mad.

It was an understatement-They were pissed. Anger could not be written in words, so Luciano had evidently taken over and simply sent a blank piece of paper with several stab marks in it. She shivered at what her brothers would do.

The next two years were spent controlling the territories and pushing to invade two cities-Tyre and Acre. Turkey had pushed for them to invade Tyre, but that had ended in failure, so they went to one of the other last Crusader cities- Acre. It was under the control of Guy, but they didn't care. Neylan was sick though.

She was sick of listening to the screams of her friend's people and headed into Acre with a large bag of food and water. Because of her looks, she was granted access in, but was one of the last people in. The bustling city was preparing to go into shut-down as the evidence of a siege was undeniable. Things were about to get interesting.

* * *

1189-1191

The woman took to a small corner of Acre, protecting the food she had brought, and helping fight off the surrounding enemies. However, it did not take long for her to be found out for her fighting and medical abilities. Guy de Lusignan was informed and had her brought before him, but she was shocked to see him. "I remember you. From the tent, a few years ago, when you passed the chalice." Guy paled and he grabbed the front of her cloak, getting in her face. The nearby guards tensed as their

"How would you know of that, woman?" He snarled in her face.

She did nothing, "I was wearing a cover. Turkey wanted me to do so. You know of them, the immortals?" He tensed, and she grinned, "You do. Well, this would make it easier, well, if my brothers and France didn't hate me for being so against the holy wars-."

Guy released her as if he had been burned, "H-Hereti-"

The auburnette snarled, "I am not against religion. I was against needless bloodshed. But now? I need to redeem myself to Italy, so please let me help you. I snuck in here without Turkey's permission."

"A-Are you serious? You're not here to open the gates while we're asleep?" Guy asked, watching her closely.

She nodded, holding her hands out in front of her, palms to the sky, "If I wanted them open, they would be gone. But if you do not want me on the battlefield, I studied at Salerno. I know medicine, please, let me save lives."

"Alright, alright. But which name are you going by? I've heard from France that you go by several different names," The king asked.

The woman shrugged, "It depends on where they are from. Germany? Amalia. France? Annabelle. Italia? Fortuna. I have a name for everything, or just Lady if need be." Guy nodded and his guards relaxed.

"There is a field hospital being put together by some Germans. See if you can put together some sense into them, and you'll be trusted well enough. Can I trust you?"

She looked him in the eyes, looking into his soul, "Do you doubt my love for my brothers?" Guy laughed and ruffled her hair, making her growl. She was soon released an led to a german corner of the city, but she was met with suspicion. Whispers always followed her, the unmarried woman who spent time in a hospital in a dying city. As the main ones falling injured were men, it increased the gossip. Each one, she roll her eyes and scoff, but she always kept her weapons on her, for her own protection.

However, when it came to healing the wounded, those who doubted her listened to her closely. They followed her order as closely as possible, as they had seen her higher rate of saving someone, even if several still didn't make it. Someone didn't listen to her once, and immediately after, she tore into them for risking their life. It turned out, it was one of the heads of the ragtag hospital, and he had her sent out to defend the wall. Her fellow physicians never expected her to come back, even though she had stated several times she knew how to fight.

Guy had been angry, but he didn't fight the change. "It's not in my hands, I can't control what they do in their house of healing. But do you have any information from your brothers?"

She nodded, reaching into the confines of her shawl for her latest letter, "They told me that the kings of England and France were on their way, and the Holy Roman Emperor should be near Constantinople or in Asia minor." Guy fell to his knees in praise and she chuckled, waiting.

"This is wonderful news. This will surely boost morale," The king rejoiced, and she nodded. "Do you need anything else?"

"I need you to inform the guard I'm coming, or I might get taken for a woman of a lower occupation," The woman huffed, crossing her arms. Guy frowned, but nodded, leading her out.

They reached some of the walls of Acre, and the guards stood by for the king and his guest, even though they got side-looks. He led her up to the head of the guard and introductions were made. It was obvious that the man, was not happy, but he dealt with it and was force to assure Guy that his men would not harm her in any way. The woman had rolled her eyes at this, but was nonetheless thankful. But she would stay there for another six months, when a new presence caught her third eye's attention.

She did not have to wonder who the new immortal was. Her mother had drilled her on it enough. It was the Teutonic knights, a largely hospice group that slowly shifted into a mercenary group and, from there, an army with a country, Prussia.

The auburnette would not have the time to check it out, but a familiar blue aura soon stood next to the magenta, and she smiled. Germania would look after his own just fine.

She did not get a chance to meet this new presence, even though it reached out to her's several times, and there were even days when it would go chasing her around the city. She enjoyed those days, but Germania would appear by her side later in the day, telling her that it was a training exercise for his newest son. The auburnette would laugh, but she always questioned about the new child. He would just shrug and say, "He's a german and looks like one. He speaks it pretty well, and is learning Latin rather quickly."

Finally, word of relief and the actual arrival of aid. It wasn't swift and it wasn't pretty, because the European forces had to break through Saladin's lines surrounding the city, but it was enough to cause an uproar, and she finally got to leave the city to fight.

It was hell, and death was everywhere. Archers were shooting arrows left and right, and she had to look out for horses and swords. She was almost completely covered in red, as she would slip into the enemy's mass and slit more throats and arteries. Blood was her mask, and it caused even more men to stay away from her. Finally, someone got in a lucky hit. She had just cut a man's jugular, but she hadn't had the time to cover her back. A force pushed her forward, and she coughed. Something wet dribbled down her chin and she had no illusions about what it was.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw a similar looking man to the one she had just killed, " _That was my brother_." She looked away, and she was pushed off the man's sword. Her hands travelled to the wound, trying not to go into shock, but it was out of her hands. It was a simple through-and-through, and she closed her eyes. This was not going to be fun healing. A pair of arms picked her up as she passed out.

She woke up in the hospital she had worked in and her hand went to her side. It was bandaged, and she winced as her fingers passed over it. Tears popped into her eyes, and Germania was quickly at her side, "You've been dead for a week. It's still healing, but you're almost done healing."

"B-But why does i-it hurt s-so much?" She asked. Germania shrugged again, and left. The woman rolled her eyes, and when she saw the fresh bandages on her bedside, she grabbed them and went to go change. The magenta aura was outside, but Germania's blue kept it in check. She rolled her eyes and began to take the dirty bandages off and hissed. Black veins surrounded the wound that was right under the right side of her ribs, but it was still healing well. " **Well, that explains the death curse...** " She tried stretching, and the wound pulled, but didn't reopen. It had healed quicker than the injury she had gotten while under Sasanian's care, so she checked her aura and smiled with tears in her eyes.

A honey-brown seemed to hold the wound together, working to combat the death curse that hovered around it. It was a comforting sight and she shook her head, " **Thanks, Nonno**." The silence in the room seemed just a little less empty just for a moment, but it was enough.

The woman quickly changed her bandages, looking around one more time. A slightly off-white cloak sat on the back of a chair, and she grabbed it, and left. The hospital was full of other healing men, and Germania had led the new immortal away, just out of sight for her to slip away. She took her chance and left back to a corner of the city. Germania popped up next to her and startled her, but she tried not to show it. "It's time, Amalia." She nodded and followed the man. He motioned for her to stay behind a corner, and she did so. After a minute, a rock went flying by the corner, and she came out. The only aura she saw was of the man before her, making her question where the child was.

Germania was standing with his arms crossed with a small poof of white hair, "It's not a rabbit, is i-" The fluff moved and wide magenta eyes met amber. There was a loud silence, and then Amalia charged the child, slinging off her cloak to attempt to wrap it around the boy. He screamed and scrambled to get away, but his guardian did nothing as the child ran around, hiding behind his legs. Amalia snarled and lunged around once more. The boy was tripped by his father, and Amalia wrapped him up.

The kid struggled, "Vati! Vati! Help me!"

Amalia grunted as the boy landed a hit on the wound and hissed, crumbling. She clutched the wound, and the child looked out from under the fabric. "You're a little shit, you know that?" He watched as she slowly sat up and reached slowly to rearrange her cloak on him. He backed up, but she showed her hands. He frowned with guarded eyes, and she smiled, brushing some hair out of his eyes. He blinked and smiled. She chuckled, "You can let your aura out, you know. Very few humans can read them." He nodded, and a light magenta emerged, instantly branching out to read his surroundings. She carefully stood, clutching her wound, and held out her hand to the boy, but he didn't take it.

Amalia quickly turned to Germania, "What the fuck, Germania? I thought that you would have had him wear a cover more if he keeps getting sunburnt! He's going to be redder than a rose-"

"His name is the Teutonic knights, but call him Teutonic, it's easier-"

"The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, yeah, I know. Don't try to change the subject about Teuton, ok-"

Teutonic tugged on her dress, "Hey! My name is Teutonic, don't go around shortening it! And who the hell are you?" Germania looked at his ward and slapped him sharply on the back of the head.

"Language," He corrected.

Teutonic nodded, blushing lightly, "Sorry, Vati. Who are you?"

Amalia rolled her eyes, "I'm just an old soul, but just call me Amalia. How are you doing?"

"I'm great! My big bruder finally came to see me today!" He grinned, looking back at the house.

She looked up, "Big brother? Does he mean Templar? He would have attacked me already-"

"Holy Rome!" Teutonic cheered as the door to the house opened.

Her eyes widened and she got closer to the ground, "Holy Rome? Shit, Germani-" A body tackled her to the ground and she cried out, trying to push the child off. Holy Rome was too startled by the near-scream to keep her down, and looked to his father in worry as Amalia curled into a ball. Tears trailed down her eyes and Germania rushed to bring her into the house. The brothers shared a look and followed them in. They were surprised to find their father figure cutting a slit in the midriff of her dress and pulling away at bloody bandages. Her eyes stared at the boys and she slapped Germania's arm.

He followed her gaze and he huffed, "Teutonic needs to get used to blood."

She growled, "Not this young. Otto, take him outside." The blonde nodded and was already dragging his terrified little brother outside. Germania worked to sew the injury back together and it was night time when she finally awoke again. The three germans were piled in front of the fireplace, Germania holding his sons in his arms, Teutonic on his left, Holy Rome on his right. She smiled, going to drop a small log on. Teutonic woke up and he looked at her with large eyes.

"H-How are you doing?" He sputtered, trying to climb out of his father's grasp.

Amalia grunted as she plopped next to Germania, "I'm fine, I've had worse. Luckily, only the front opened up. But I have heard a great deal about you from my mother, Teutonic knight."

He frowned, "I don't think I've ever met someone like you, so who's your mother?"

"That's a story for a different time, but I want to tell you a lesson she would tell me a lot. Never forget who you are and who you were. Remember these days, Teutonic, and learn from them. Has Germania been teaching you to fight?" She asked, running a hand through Holy Rome's hair. He smiled and leaned more into the touch subconsciously.

Teutonic watched her passively, "A little, but he says he needs to go soon. Why?"

Amalia sighed and stood, "C'mon, we're going outside. You don't have to bring that white cloak, you should be safe." He stood awkwardly and she chuckled, "You don't have a blade, do you?" He shook his head, and she sighed. "Here. Pick one." The woman motioned to her three swords and her axe. Teutonic approached each one and hesitated at each.

The first was of familiar make, having come from his people's homeland, Northern Europe. It was a little over two feet long with plenty of scratches, but it was in relatively good shape.

The second was a much longer sword, nearing more of three feet, accented with various swirls. It was longer than he would probably be able to use currently.

The last was largely ornate with a fitted grip, but it was too large for him to use properly either. He still ran his hand down the patterned sheath. Amalia watched him closely and breathed a sigh of relief as he grabbed the Germanic blade. He tried swinging it and winced as it hit the torn travel bag leaning on the wall.

"Don't worry about it, but you made a good choice. Germania gave that to me a few centuries ago, and it will work well until you can get a new blade. Bring it and we're going outside," Amalia said as she reattached her other three weapons. He clutched it carefully and followed her out towards the gates. The guards saw her and nodded to her, "We will be back before dawn. I will rap seven times." They nodded again and they opened the gate. Teutonic tensed.

"I thought you meant outside the house! I didn't know- out there-"

"We'll be fine. Even if we are attacked, they won't harm a woman and child. Turkey would find us before then anyway," Amalia reassured and unsheathed her longsword. "Let's begin." She swung the blade down, and he was startled and rose his blade too slowly to properly block it. She continued various motions, but noticed something. "Teutonic... are you having trouble seeing? I know it's dark out, but it's a full moon with a lit up city behind us."

He growled, "I can see just fine!" He swung his blade at her, which she blocked easily. She hid her aura and began to circle around the child. He began to panic and turn in circles, trying to find her, so she snuck behind him.

"It's not a fault." He screamed and swung his blade again, but she grabbed his wrist, allowing her aura to reappear. Teutonic breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was just her and dropped the blade. "Faults are problems that you don't work around. I'm going to help you work with your aura so they can be your eyes. Someone taught me that everything has aura, and when nothing is there, it's someone trying to hide. Spread your aura out and notice everything. Find the blades of grass, the rocks, and finally, me. Don't just listen to my voice, find my aura." He nodded and began to concentrate, humming lowly as he did so. Amalia watched as his magenta spirit spread out and slowly focused on her's, wrapping around it. She smiled and ruffled his hair, "There you go. Don't ever let your problems define who you are."

He sneezed and opened his eyes, "Can we go back now? I want to go back to sleep."

Amalia chuckled and nodded, "Sure. I'm going to need to leave soon, but I'll meet you again someday, Teutonic. You're going to hear stories about me, but remember, I always defend my family first. Hurt my siblings and I will find the offender, so there's usually a reason for whatever tales you may hear. Except for me falling down the stairs." Teutonic chuckled and they quietly made it back home.

"Wait, how old are you?" He asked, right before he made it in the house. "I know you're older than me, but..."

She hummed, "It's... 1190, so... about 1130 years old. I need to visit Romano soon for my birthday..." She turned around and laughed when she saw Teutonic's face. "Yeah, I'm old, but just remember, no matter what happens, no matter how shitty your life gets, time moves on and it isn't going to wait for you." He nodded and charged into the house before her, making her laugh. "Oh what it is to be young."

Amalia knew that he was going to have a rougher experience than most, being half-blind with red eyes. Europeans would likely be look past the white hair, viewing it as very blond, but magenta eyes bordering on red were unmistakable. Luckily, Germania had been teaching him to master his aura, to mask it, to see with it, to understand his world with it. Holy Rome would also place him under his wing when the time would come, allowing him a place in return for his little brother's army. She couldn't wait to see what time would hold. But for now, she had two people she needed to visit.

* * *

 **Again, I had to change some stuff from the 'snapshots' previously, so should I go back to change it? But um, yeah, that happened. I'm going to do one more 12th century chapter, and then I need to do more research, which I will do including the 1200s, 1300s, and maybe the 1400s, but I need time. But I have been looking to this for the past... 80 or so chapters? Maybe? But still, we're going to be getting a lot more nations coming up, and it's going to be so much fun~!**


	112. Chapter 100

**Disclaimer: I do not own hetalia! We're getting in a few little segments today!**

 **Well, I've been looking through the years and realized that I'm probably going to be skipping some years, but also, some clips are going to show up! But also, history is weird. When I was reading into this, I stumbled upon a familiar scene. I came across the Prussia-Hungary 'Are you a boy' scene, and Hungary kept saying how she was fighting Turkey, but the problem is... There was an entire Byzantine Empire between them until the 1450s, so I'm questioning if it was the Oghuz giving her trouble... But either way, she would likely have been fighting someone, and there was a 'crusade' being fought against the Byzantines, so it might be here... Anyway, there should be several clips! Kudos to the person reading this all the way through!**

 **AnonChan1: You need to relax, please! Go to bed! Rosamund was nothing more than a side player. She sought more revenge on Henry, and oh, did she do it! She helped her sons grow and seek vengeance on their father, who offered little more than empty promises! Life is what it is, and advice is nothing more that age's lesson. Psh, always. Holy Rome wants Veneziano to live with him for two main reasons, I think. One, he held Rome, the Pope's home and one of the Holiest cities in Europe, and Holy Rome had this sense of inheritance. Remember, the Emperors had served as protectors of the Catholic Church for years, and they had always felt entitled to the claim of King of Italy, who of course rebelled. It's what caused the war between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, the pope and emperor supporters. It's a loooooong fight. Oh no, he will be around. They should be. While Luciano is Veneziano's darker side, it's not to say that Feli doesn't get mad, and vice versa. Luciano can be a little sweetheart when he wants to be. That is Ireland's endonym, or language for an area from the people itself. He's here~! But seriously, you need to sleep.**

High Middle German

 **Middle English**

Latin

 **Old Hungarian**

* * *

1191

Teutonic frowned as he focused on the city, "Why do I have to do this again?"

Amalia huffed, "Because when you go home, you won't be able to see through all the snow. You'll need to be able to see through all the snow. Now, how many people are in the corner closest to us?"

"Do I have to?" He whined again, spreading his aura out regardless. "There are four."

She smiled and ruffled his hair, "Good! This will be natural in no time!"

He smiled, "Can we go fight again? I want to see if I can beat you!" Amalia chuckled and nodded. "Awesome!"

"Where did you learn that word again?" The woman asked as they worked their way down from the platform. Teutonic skipped down the steps, already using his new sight to determine the depth of the steps. The bright white cloak also floated behind him, catching on the wind. They made their way outside, the bright sun blaring down on them. They pulled out their blades and began fighting, regardless of the enemy encampment not far away. After a few minutes, Teutonic paused and looked over the distance. She expected an empty sight, but a different sight caught her eyes. A large crowd was marching towards the besieged city, and a galloping horse was fast approaching. A blue pulse made her laugh and sheath the blade. "Amalia?!"

She ignored him as she charged towards the rider, and held up an arm. The man grabbed it, swinging her on behind him. They approached Teutonic, who held up his blade. Amalia laughed and slipped off. "France, it's been a while."

"Oui, but what's this I heard about you staying with Turkey, fighting against us?" France said, swinging off the horse. He towered over her and she huffed.

"Please, I wasn't with him all the time. I've been holed up in here for the past two years. You're late," She quipped back and Teutonic stood in front of her.

"Who are you? Why are you invading my home?" He demanded, holding his blade in front of him.

France froze, looking at the child, but his eyes narrowed on the blade, "What do you mean, 'your home'? You have a German accent, and why do you have Annabelle's blade?"

"Because I'm just that awesome! And I was born here! Who are you?" Teutonic growled, pointing the blade closer.

"Damnit, you two! Teutonic, Frankish, call down. We can talk about this civilly, can't we?" Amalia huffed, getting in between the two. France sighed and nodded.

"Of course. If this little demon will let us into the city."

Teutonic growled at him, but stepped aside, hiding behind Amalia's leg. She pat his head in consolation, and he relaxed minutely. France was welcomed in with open arms, and they three immortals piled into the albino's home, Holy Rome sharpening his blade. He frowned when he saw France, but nodded nonetheless. "Frank. It's nice to see that you finally joined us. Is England here yet?"

France rolled his eyes, "He's getting sidetracked, conquering Cyprus."

Amalia sighed, taking a seat, "Of course. But first, an introduction. France, meet the Teutonic knights-"

"Pleasure," He said, bowing lowly.

Teutonic huffed, puffing his chest out, "Same to you."

She nodded, "Teutonic, this is one of my oldest friends, France. He was known as the Frankish Empire when he was younger." Teutonic grinned and nodded.

"Any embarrassing stories?"

France smiled, "Plenty, but perhaps later?"

Amalia coughed into her hand, "Anyways. France, he's one of the new crusader orders, and I've been help teach him. He needed a blade, and I gave that old one to him. That's what that was. Have you heard any word from my brothers?"

He sighed, taking a seat nearby, "Romano's angrier as usual, but his royalty is in turmoil right now. He said the rock is nervous, but doing fine with Veneziano, whatever that means."

"I know what it means, and when is Romano's nobility not in chaos?" The three eldest laughed, and Teutonic looked between them.

"Who?"

Amalia smiled, "Romano and Veneziano are my brothers, I've told you about them before, remember?" He nodded slightly, but shrugged.

"So, Amalia, can we get back to fighting?" The child asked and looked up to her.

France perked up, "Are you teaching him? May I join in?"

Teutonic grinned, going to tug on her dress, "Please, Amalia? I want to learn to fight with someone else!"

She sighed and nodded, "Ok, but don't forget your cloak, ok? I'm not helping you with a sunburn again." He cheered and ran off to get his stuff together. France sighed and looked at her.

"He's a real bundle of energy, isn't he?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Amalia chuckled, "He is, but it's a breath of fresh air. Sorry, but I can't always be hanging out with grandpas, can I?" She reached over to pinch France's cheek, and he swatted at her hand.

"That's great coming from you, old maid," He joked, poking at her side. She laughed and pushed him off. "Alright, so where are we going?"

"We're going outside the gates, but Turkey hasn't gotten inside the gates yet," Amalia said. She heard footsteps behind her and grinned, "I wonder if Teutonic's ready yet?" France grinned and waited for his friend to duck. When she did, Teutonic leapt over her, the sword at the ready. France sidestepped and the child landed in a heap.

He sprung to his feet, "Hey, that was so not..."

Amalia shook her head, "Sorry, but you need to be better at sneaking. The enemy isn't going to be as merciful."

France nodded, "Learn as much as you can, well, until you make Annabelle mad. Then, just run." Teutonic nodded in confusion and they made their way outside.

France and Amalia started off the fight, and Teutonic watched them fight, hissing in sympathy when either were gently nicked by the other. That is, until a different, green presence in the distance caught his attention. "Is that England? I wonder..." He picked up his blade and began stalking in that direction and tensed as he saw the large crowd. He pulled his aura in as the green one came closer with a few humans.

Teutonic stood to go greet them, but a weight slammed into him from behind. He tried to scream, but the person covered his mouth, and a white spiritual blanket smothered his aura before blinking both out of existence. Finally, Teutonic saw who was walking by and he trembled. "That's why you have to be careful," Amalia whispered into his ear, watching the group pass tensely, keeping an eye until they passed by them. The vegetation was hiding them just enough, but Turkey looked at them, smiling just a little.

Amalia moved to put a finger over her lips, and he nodded in the faintest of ways. They waited until the enemy had passed enough out of earshot. Amalia finally released their auras and looked to Teutonic with a snarl, "What in the hell were you thinking?! You could have been killed!"

"But I'm too awesome to ki-"

She gripped the front of his tunic, "No one is unable to be killed. You're just lucky that Turkey was on my side." Teutonic stiffened and bowed his head.

"I-I'm sorry-"

Amalia huffed, "Just learn, ok? You're going to get hurt, but learn to pick your battles. Turkey isn't someone you want to anger right now. He's getting stronger." He nodded and they returned to Acre. France was freaking out, but when he saw Teutonic dragging his feet, he sighed. Amalia walked straight to the gate, ignoring both of them.

France looked to the child, "You got yelled at, didn't you?" Teutonic nodded dejectedly, and France chuckled, "Don't worry, Amalia just gets scared. She's lost a lot of friends, and she doesn't want them to get hurt. Should I tell you about some of the stories with her?" He looked up and grinned. France chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, listen to Annabelle. She's lived long enough to see most situations and can give you advice. Trust her." He nodded and tugged on the hood of his cloak. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"You're weird, Franny," Teutonic stated, running to catch up with Amalia. "Hey, it's so not alright to leave me! I'm going to kick up unless you pick me up!"

* * *

1192

Fortuna frowned as she stared at the child in her arms, "You have to be on your best behavior. Romano is going to be angry enough, but you have to be careful with the Pope. They're usually old and fragile." The boy nodded and squirmed in her arms.

"Ok, ok! Put me down! I can walk on my own!" Teutonic protested, kicking at her. She nodded and put him down, walking into the Roman crowds. Prussia was just barely able to follow her, and finally, they reached a home that oversaw some water. He gaped as he saw a giant tree in the backyard and caught Fortuna entering the home. He followed her and blinked at the home. It was full of objects with various airs about them when a hazel one approached him. He blinked and tensed, "Hello! I am the Teutonic-"

"No shit, I know who you are, but where's my sister?" The boy asked, looking around.

Teutonic blinked in confusion, "Who's you're sister?"

The boy looked to him, "Fortuna? Kinda short, redhead, always angry or happy, and always fighting or sleeping?"

"Ooooh! You mean Amalia. Then..." He closed his eyes and spread his aura out, but the hazel quickly flared up and shoved his back down. Teutonic growled as he opened his eyes and unsheathed his blade. "How did you do that?"

The boy rolled his eyes, "Because, I'm older than you and my sister's taught me some tricks. Put the fucking sword... Wait, why do you have my sister's sword? What the hell did you do to Fortuna?!" He ran over to the nearest wall and pulled a long blade from it. "Get out of my house!" There was going to be a small war, but Fortuna took that moment to enter and growl when she saw what was going on.

"Roma! What the hell is going on?!"

Romano huffed and put the sword down, "This dumbass broke in and is threatening me! He took your sword!"

She chuckled lowly, picking him up, "Romano, Teutonic didn't steal anything. I gave it to him. He did enter without permission, but did you threaten him first?"

"No! This idiot was trying to cheat with our hide and seek game, and I put him back in his place!" The boy whined, glaring at the albino. "What kind of freak is he anyway, with red eyes like those?"

He felt the stab to his heart, but pushed it down quickly, "Hey! I'm awesome just how I look! And what hide and seek game? She wasn't across town!"

Fortuna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Can you two stop being little assholes? Romano, Teutonic uses his awareness to see. He doesn't have the best vision, but that does not mean that you can force your customs on him. Teutonic!" He had stuck his tongue out at Romano, who growled under his breath. "What did I tell you about my brothers? We can just as easily not get the Pope to recognize you! It wouldn't take much. And that does not mean that you can go charging into places after me. I've gotten into some trouble because of that, so be sure to knock, ok?" He nodded and frowned when he saw Romano stick his tongue out. "You know what? You two aren't going to get along, are you?" They shook their heads, and the woman sighed again, putting Romano down.

"Try not to argue too much. I'm going into the garden," Fortuna mumbled, throwing her bags into a nearby doorway.

Romano watched her leave, and turned to Teutonic, "How old are you?"

He grinned, puffing his chest out, "I have been gracing the world with my prese-"

"How. Old?" Romano growled out, crossing his arms. "Drop the act. Any and all masks fall when you enter this house."

He blinked in confusion, "Masks?"

"Damn, you really are young. Masks are used to cover up the truth, just like my little brother's dumb festival right before Lent. When Ragazza and I say masks, we mean the defensive ones dumbasses use to protect their intentions and themselves. But they're of no use here. We can see right through them. So, show us your self esteem as it is," Romano explained, his frown deepening with every other sentence.

Teutonic sighed, "I don't have low self esteem, it's just that..."

Romano nodded, "You're young, you're scared. Ragazza was the same way when she showed up. She used to cry herself to sleep some nights. She still does a lot. Have you noticed?"

"I fall asleep before she does. Is that why there are pillows on the floor when I wake up? She was making a pillow fort?"

He paused and looked at the albino, "You said there are pillows on the floor? Are her eyes red, her blankets wrapped around her, is she jumpy the next morning?"

Teutonic paused, "I... I don't know? I think so. She almost pinned me when I woke her up one morning-"

Romano laughed, "Don't wake her unless you know how to. My sister's a violent waker, but hold on. Follow me." The child nodded and followed the Roman into the backyard. His friend was sleeping at the base of what he now saw was two trees. Romano growled as he walked up next to her, quickly headbutting her stomach. She gagged as she awoke, curling around her brother.

"Romano, what the hell was that for?!" Fortuna cried, clutching her brother.

He growled, "You've been having night terrors again and didn't tell anyone! How old is this kid anyway?"

Fortuna took a long, deep breath as she leaned back, "Yeah, I've been having them again. Someone that reminds me of the Huns is coming and I'm not looking forward to it. You don't have to deal with it, but... They just span so much distance, Romano. They get to be about five times as big as Grandpa ever was." Romano's eyes widened and he trembled. She swallowed and kissed his forehead, "Peaches, our only saving grace is that they were founded so far to the east, they're directly north of China. Don't worry. If they ever try to come anywhere near you..."

Romano nodded, "Show them who Grandpa raised."

Teutonic came a little closer, "Who was your grandpa?" Romano snickered and looked at him.

"So, kid, do you know who the Eastern Empire is?" He asked, looking in said direction.

"The Roma-"

Romano tensed, "Don't call that bitch that. She only took that name after our Grandpa fell. He was the real Roman Empire." Teutonic's jaw dropped and he gaped at them.

"Are you serious?! How?" The siblings shared a look, but he couldn't read the agony on their faces.

Fortuna spoke first, "When Nonno fell, his territories were broken apart and he took his power with him when he fell. Italia was open to invasion after decades of weak rulers." Romano hummed and leaned back on his sister.

"I'm going to take a nap. The Pope will see us tomorrow, ok?" Fortuna hummed and curled up again. She held an open arm out to Teutonic, but he shook his head, heading back inside. "What's his problem?"

She shrugged, "He doesn't know how to act around women? He is a brotherhood, after all. They aren't exactly known to be the most open to women." Romano laughed and she snorted, "I know, I know. I'm not the most lady-like of the land, but I still have feelings, Romano." Her brother laughed again, and soon fell asleep.

Teutonic was recognized by the Pope the next day. As told, he had been on his best behavior, which unnerved Romano a bit, but his sister waved him off, telling him it was fine. Teutonic soon left back for Acre, almost immediately after.

* * *

1194

Romano glared at Holy Rome, "And give me one reason why I shouldn't try to kick you out right now?"

The blonde huffed, "Because, what if I told you I have a claim?"

"The hell you do-" Romano slammed his palms on the table and looked ready to leap over the table. Fortuna moved closer to be ready to hold him down when Holy Rome cleared his throat.

"Constance? Can you please come in?" He called. Not a moment later, a regal woman entered, smiling gently at Romano. Constance of Sicily stood to her full height, facing her country of birth.

"Hello, Romano-"

He slumped, "Why? I thought you would want to protect your land from from... HIM!" The child pointed to Holy Rome in anger, "Just like your father had! Did Roger fight himself to death for this to happen? You married his enemy!"

She pursed her lips, "Romano, please. H-He-" Fortuna coughed into her hand and smiled to the woman when she looked over. "Henry has promised me back the land that Tancred had stolen from me, and he has. Please, Romano..."

Romano looked down and leaned back in his chair, "You're really lucky that you have a claim." He looked to his sister, who took him from the chair and walked out. While Henry VI was met with _some_ resistance while he entered the southern half of the peninsula, it had not been to the scale of his predecessors. The shift happened with relative ease and to add more joy, Constance had her child. Frederick-Roger, born on Italian land, would go on to be the next Holy Roman Emperor after his father, but he would cause several issues for Romano and Holy Rome.

True to what Fortuna knew was coming, Henry died in 1197, but his wife would refuse to leave her homeland. The Germans made their own movements towards ruling their land, so Constance was able to rule peacefully in Sicily. She placed her son under the tutorship of a Pope, an action that made the siblings cringe.

* * *

1199

Elizabeth cursed as she headed towards London, " **Damn Brit, why couldn't he meet me**?" A small sound caught her attention and she quickly strung and notched her bow, looking around nervously. Another sound of crunching leaves made her duck to the side as an arrow passed by her head, barely missing. " **Show yourselves**!" She shouted, panicking. She watched as several men emerged from the brush, her terror slowly mounting. A man in dark green notched another arrow and pointed it at her.

" **Who are you and what's your business**?" He called, watching her closely.

She aimed her bow right back, " **My name doesn't matter, and I'm going to go visit my brother. He said he'd meet me in London**!" She eyes narrowed as she saw the color of the feathers on his arrows and chuckled, lowering her bow. " **Well, maybe you can point me in the direction of England**!"

Murmurs sprung up from the men around her and the man narrowed his eyes more, " **What do you mean? You're in England**?"

She rolled her eyes, " **Oi, Albion! Where the fuck are you**?" Snorts went up around her, chuckles echoing as they listened to a woman use such strong language. Another arrow was aimed at her and she sidestepped it. " **Stop being such a lazy shot, Arthur, or I'm going to find you**." A blonde mass dropped out of a tree and she chuckled. " **There you are.** "

The man from before raised an eyebrow, " **Arthur, do you know her**?" England rolled his eyes as he approached his sister.

" **Sadly. Bess, why are you here? I thought you would go around the island** ," He questioned crossing his arms.

She shrugged, " **You know I prefer the Chanel. The cost isn't as much as crossing by land. And what the hell are you thinking, joining an outlaw group when your boss is the literal king**?" The men growled as she went closer to the boy.

" **Have you seen him? He's a giant child! I heard from Ireland that you went to see him, and he told you about Lackland** ," England quipped, shrugging.

" **I know, but still, I need a reason to visit my brother? And to find that he joined Robin Hood? I don't know whether to be proud or angry, or both**!"

Robin, having overheard all this, finally lowered his bow and walked over, " **So, you're the mystery sister we've heard so much about. England wasn't lying about you. You do have the temper of a bear**."

She huffed, " **I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult, but I don't particularly care. England, is this what you wanted to talk to me about**?"

He nodded, " **A little, but also... Robert the Lionheart's dead. John has taken over**."

" **I've gathered. Don't do anything too dumb, ok, Al? I don't want to hear that you've been put under house arrest because you did something dumb, ok**?" She sent him a concerned look and he nodded.

" **I'm not France, don't worry. Do you want to stay with us? John is fighting the French right now, and I doubt that it'll last longer than a few years** ," The blonde responded, to which she shrugged and followed them back.

* * *

1200

England sighed as he met up with France and his officials, Elizabeth at his side. France smirked as he saw England stride in, "Well, the black sheep of Europe has finally arrived."

The boy sighed, "Can we just get this over with? John is itching to get home." France looked at him in... almost pity, and he nodded.

"I'm ready to start when you are," He said, looking to Phillip, his king. The royal nodded and negotiations began. Finally, France had it all put together, summing it together. "So, we'll recognize John as Richard's heir, but we have overlordship of Normandy." England naturally protested, he had grown fond of the place that caused his so much trouble, but France wagged his finger at him, "No, no no! You're the loser, remember? There isn't much you can do~!" England sighed and nodded. He really didn't have any other option.

* * *

1204

Neylan watched Hungary cry as her King, Emeric was finally put to rest. " **I'll be here as long as you need me** ," She said, petting his hair gently.

Hungary nodded in appreciation, " **Thanks, Neylan. I'm probably going to need some help fighting off Turkey. Is the guard still up there**?" Neylan looked up and nodded.

" **They are. But how is Turkey over here? You have entire Byzantine Empire between the two of you**!" She asked in confusion, letting the preteen lean on her.

" **I meant the Cumans, but Turkey still hangs out with them. They've been pushed further and further west. It really kinda sucks, but I can push them off**!" He said rubbing his eyes. "Besides, I've heard of this one order who recent got kicked out of the Holy Land by Turkey, so they can help out."

She nodded, " **I don't think I've heard of them, but regardless, I'll be here until I desperately need to leave. Besides, I need to keep an eye on you, I can't have you growing any taller, now can I**?" It was true, Hungary was barely at her shoulder, just over four feet tall. But the child was also apparently entering puberty, if his latest growth spurt said anything. Neylan would also have to be careful because Hungary still believed he was a guy. They had gotten past the worst part of history, but they would still have some serious bumps in the road to get over.

Hungary laughed and leaned into his friend, " **I'm going to be taller than you someday, I promise you, Neylan! Can we go riding? I-It's been a while...** " They laughed a little more, and with one more spare look to Emeric, they left. The king had tried to ensure that his child would be secured as his heir, but Emeric's brother, Andrew, wasn't having it. The boy was about four years old, so he needed a regent, a position that Andrew filled. When Andrew seized power for good, the boy's mother took them to Austria to hide with one of Emeric's cousins.

Despite all this, Hungary and Neylan spent the next several years fighting, riding horses, and working on the latter's Hungarian.

* * *

1210

Neylan paced back and forth as she read over Romano's letter before laughing. Hungary raised an eyebrow, " **What'd he say**?"

 **"Dear Sorella, Holy Rome is a dumbass as always. His king invaded, got crowned, and charged into Rome. He then demanded to be crown the Holy Roman Asshole and that the Concordat of Worms be revoked. Innocent was NOT having it. He wasted no time giving him an excommunication, like who the hell does he think he is? Veneziano says that there's a plan in place up north, but said not to write it. I have to go, the idiot's banging on my door. I'll be fine, Romano** ," She read, laughing.

" **Honestly though! How does he think he is? This is why the Germans elect their Emperor if there's no one immediately! Because otherwise they get stuck with idiots**!" Neylan laughed, leaning on a nearby tree.

Hungary cocked his head, " **Hey... What's the Concord of Worms**?"

Neylan laughed harder, " **Concord? No, the Concordat of Worms. It was an agreement between the Church and Holy Rome on how much power they had. It was this massive diplomatic battle that ended years after it started and when the original members were dead. It finally limited the powers of both and now that Holy Rome's ruler is doing this? It's not going to end well for him. If it's anything I've learned about the Germans, is that they don't like their leaders being away for long**." She pushed her arms out, stretching them. " **He's going to he cast out by everyone sooner or later**."

" **Hopefully that Order arrives soon, I'm getting a little worried about them. It shouldn't take this long to get here** ," Hungary said, looking south.

Neylan hummed, " **If you want their help, you need to trust their ability to get past Turkey, the Mongols and Byzantine. If they can't do that, how can they help you**?"

Hungary nodded, " **Oh, I suppose you're right. But will you be here to greet them with me**?"

" **Of course. I want to see them for myself."**

* * *

1211

" **You have got to be kidding me** ," Neylan said as she saw the familiar puff of hair.

Hungary looked to her in confusion, " **Do you know him**?" She nodded, chuckling lightly, strapping her two blades to her waist.

" **I know him alright. He wasn't even a year old when I met him** ," The woman said, walking out to head for the ramparts. She was going to hide and see if he picked up on her. She strode out and hid her aura before he got too close and waited. Hungary left her walls to be able to meet up with him and his people. It was obvious that Hungary was getting annoyed, but the child did nothing than explain what was going on. Already, Neylan could see his aura exploring his surroundings and grinned as they got closer. The mass suddenly moved away and she peeked over in confusion.

" **That idiot...** " He was already running in the direction of the Cumans and Hungary looked up to his friend in confusion before they both shrugged. They returned inside, and several days later, the child returned, puffing his chest out.

"Mission complete! Praise me! Hail me! On your knees!" He shouted, showing off his clean blade.

Hungary gaped at him, "You won too freaking fast!"

Teutonic grinned, "Don't doubt my awesome power! But..." He pumped one fist, "As a reward, I'm taking the Burzenland!"

He narrowed his eyes, "Andrew is donating that to you, but you still have to live by his rules."

"Psh, I'm my own person! I can lead my life however I want to-"

"I'll believe that when you can finally beat me in a fight," Neylan joked, letting her aura peek out.

Teutonic paused, gulping, but his smirk quickly came back, "Bring it, old lady." Hungary laughed, reaching his hands out to take his friend's blades, instead relying on her Danish battle ax. Neylan advanced on him, lowering her center of gravity.

"Bring it. This is a training session, nothing is off limits," She purred, hiding her aura. Teutonic immediately threw his out more, focusing on the area where she was. "You've learned, but there are still tricks you need to learn." She lunged at him, spreading her aura out and threw him off. He narrowed his eyes and swung his blade. Neylan blocked it, but Teutonic growled.

"Let's even the playing field," He said, kneeling with his hand in the sand. Neylan's eyes closed, but not in time. He had thrown sand and dirt in her eyes, making her growl and claw at them. Her eyes watered, but the irritation was too much for her to be able to function properly. A small weight hit her in the side, and she was forced to rely on her other senses, swinging widely. Her ax connected with something metal, but a boot at the back of her knees made her crumble. A single blade was pressed against her throat and she chuckled.

"I yield. Where did you learn that?" Teutonic released her and passed her a water canteen, which she used to wash out her eyes.

He grinned, "Byzantine told me it was a trick from one of her old citizens that Rome had kidnapped."

Applause from the sidelines caught their attention, and Hungary grinned, "Congrats, new kid. I haven't ever seen someone take down Neylan so fast."

She nodded, "Or someone so young. I taught some of the northern kids in their youth, but they still haven't beat me." Teutonic's grin widened, so she ruffled his hair, "But, hey, don't be going and getting a big head. You're still constrained to certain rules, just like the rest of us."

"Like not just taking land that was donated," Hungary quipped, approaching. "What's with your eyes and aura? I haven't seen anything quite like that color, it's pretty."

Teutonic frowned, "It's not pretty, it's awesome! But what about your's? It looks like Turkey's!"

"N-No it doesn't! Does it, Neylan?"

The woman sighed as she kneeled, putting a hand on their shoulders, also noting how tall Teutonic had gotten, "Turkey's is more of a hazel color, but both of your colors are amazing in their own way. I also doubt you'll meet anyone with an aura like mine."

Hungary nodded, crossing his arms, "Your eyes and aura don't even match! I thought eyes were the windows to the soul!" Teutonic hummed in agreement, leaning in to get a better look at her eyes.

Neylan opened them slightly more, "Well, I'm just special. I used to be human and mortal, you know. I had a mom, an older brother, and a lot of family friends to look after me!" Hungary gasped.

"H-How did you become immortal?! Did you want to?" He pressed, shaking her arm.

"Yeah! That shouldn't be possible!"

She laughed, standing and ruffling their hair, "That's a story for another time, one you might be able to pry out of France, but for now, let's enjoy the sun."

* * *

1212

Teutonic was settling into the land quite easily so far, building a few castles and bringing in some Germans to help keep his Teutonic Knights fed. Hungary was getting more and more agitated, but nonetheless accepted him so far. Neylan was usually wandering around or taking naps in the randomest of places, so she found it no surprise when she stumbled upon Hungary leaning against a castle wall, grumbling quietly. She was about to approach when a different child showed up.

"Yo! You look like shit! Was it Turkey, did he beat you up again?" The preteen laughed, coming to stand next to his ally.

Hungary rolled his eyes, "Hell, it's you... Get out of my sight, I'm having issues!"

Teutonic tilted his head in confusion, "You, having issues? Why not talk to your king about it? Isn't he rolling in cash?"

"Shut up, I have no desire to!" Hungary protested, turning away. "I'm not going to show my weakness like that!"

Teutonic sighed, looking out over the distance, "C'mon, you can talk to me, man to man!"

Hungary did the same, but looked down, "I... I don't want to, but..." He bit his lip nervously, rubbing the toe of his boot into the dirt, "I suspect I'm seriously ill... My chest hurts like whoa these days." Neylan's eyes widened in realization and she began to panic internally. She wouldn't be able to hide the truth too much longer...

"A throbbing pain, it feels absurd," He continued, looking pained simply by talking about the issue. Hungary looked like he immediately regretted talking to Teutonic as the other boy laughed.

"Yes! Found your weak spot!" He yelled, pushing his hands to Hungary's chest. He almost immediately pulled his hands back as Hungary began to yell at him. The albino looked deeply conflicted, looking at his hands, panicking. Hungary eventually huffed and went back to leaning on the wall, and Teutonic did the same. The albino looked over, still conflicted, "C-Can I ask you something?" Hungary looked at him, surprised he was saying something so nervously. "D-Do you have a penis?"

Hungary laughed airy, "What are you saying? Of course I do!" Teutonic sighed as his shoulders slumped.

The relief on his face was visible, "Y-Yeah, right, that'd be impossible. There's no chance! You couldn't possibly be a wom-"

"What were you doing asking about my penis anyway? You shouldn't worry about the small things like that. Well, put your mind at ease! Everyone knows they will grow one when they grow up anyway!" Suddenly, all the blood left Teutonic's face and he was pale as snow.

"Y-You're a wo... T-That's a lie! W-Who told you..." He tried to get the words out, but the horror from his earlier actions made him panic.

Hungary laughed, "What? You didn't know about it? You're such a kid!" Teutonic tried to explain, but he was cut off by a guard, alerting Hungary about another attack by the Cumans. The child nodded and waved, beginning to head off.

Teutonic tried one more time, "Hey! Hold on! Listen to me for a second!"

The brunet kept walking, "Jeez! You're weirdly interested. My chest pains are gone too!" He looked over his shoulder, "Hey, thanks for listening today! This stuff I told you is our secret, ok? It's a promise between men!" The albino struggled for words, quietly agreeing as Hungary donned his helmet, "I'm going to go for a bit, but I'm not going to do your job for you! Head on back for now!" The 'boy' charged off and Neylan finally emerged from behind her corner, walking up to Teutonic.

He trembled and looked up to her, "A-Amalia! H-How much did you see?"

"All of it. Let's walk for a bit," She said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He was still shaking slightly and he tensed. She looked at him, removing her arm. He quietly nodded his appreciation and they walked further towards the Knights' castles. The one they were by was by woods and it had earned the name 'through the woods' in latin, emerging as Transylvania, and there was a nearby church. "I can imagine you have questions."

He stopped and growled, "How could you continue letting him-her-whatever keep thinking that he, no, she's a man! Hungary's not! Hungary's a woman! How did they get that idea?!"

Neylan stared down at him, "When I first saw Hungary as a baby, her grandfather and I were enemies. She was the only reason I left that night unscathed. I would have been skinned alive, and that's no exaggeration. Her grandfather was one of the worst plagues to hit Europe, and as he was the worst, he knew what could happen to Hungary if Europe found out that she was a woman. There was a simple solution."

"Let her think she was a man," Teutonic whispered, putting the pieces together.

She nodded and continued to walk and talk, "I agreed to it. I've been threatened by loose-moraled men several times, and each time, I've gotten out of it. But I need to talk to you about two things. Can you be a mature person for a little bit? I know you're barely twenty-"

"Psh, I am mature! I'm one of the most mature people-"

"Fuck that. Germania's the serious one. But still. Consider Hungary's emotions. She's been growing up believing she's a boy for centuries, so why do you think she'd listen to some young hotshot?" He bowed his head and she ruffled his head, "Granted, she's seen what you can do, but she still needs to learn to trust you. Talk to your brother and you'll understand, but you can't treat Hungary any different just because you learned this about her-"

Teutonic growled, pulling at his hair, "But, that's not what I've been taught! I'm supposed to stay away from women or at least treat them with respect. How can I fight beside her?"

Neylan snarled and gripped the front on his cloak, "Damnit, haven't you listened to anything anyone tells you? Hungry's still the same child you've been playing with. He doesn't know anything's changed and how do you think he's going to feel once you start isolating him? And so what? You literally threw sand in my eyes last year!" He gaped, staring into her eyes, fear dancing in his ruby eyes. She sighed through her nose and gently released him.

"You know what? You need to learn this for yourself. But if you want to listen to some advice, I'm here," The auburnette said, beginning to walk away when a hand on her shoulder made her pause. "Yeah?"

"I can't believe the awesome me's asking this, but... When I t-touched Hungary... I f-felt this fluttering in my chest..." His face was a bright red.

The woman turned and chuckled, "Teutonic... Is that whenever you're around Hungary?" He nodded and refused to look her in the eyes. "Well, you have a crush."

"What?! I can't! I'm supposed to be celibat-" Neylan laughed, doubling over. Teutonic whined, hitting her on her back carefully, "Amaliaaaaa, this is serious! I can't have a c-cr-"

She stood, wiping a tear away, "Teuton, you look like you're eight, same as her. You both have hundreds of years ahead of you. Crushes are renowned for growing or dying off. But what happened with groping her..." Neylan shook her head, "You didn't know, but still, make sure it doesn't happen again. Even if it does, apologize and if the woman slaps you, don't fight it. But if you don't want Hungry to hate you, protect her, don't hurt her feelings, and don't leave her side."

The boy nodded and rubbed his arm, "S-So, where were we walking?"

"I thought you'd want to come here after what happened," Neylan smiled, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the church. He grinned at her before giving her a quick hug and running into the building. She smiled and shook her head. "You're going to have to fight for her, Teuton. She gets married to someone else, you know." She knew that he was going to get hurt, but Teutonic would need to know how to explore his emotions, how to deal with them.

He would emerge a little before sundown and he blinked, "I-I almost forgot. I'm sorry for treating you so badly. I forget sometimes that you're a lady..."

Neylan rolled her eyes, "Fuck that. Just because my title is Lady Luck doesn't mean that I act like one. If I wanted to be a lady, I'd be weak and probably dead several times more. Someone needs to keep an eye on everyone. Just... keep everyone away from the Mongols... They're as bad as Hungary's Grandpa... Shit, now I'm going to have nightmares tonight." Teutonic shivered at the haunted look in his friend's eyes.

He grinned at her, "Don't worry, the awesome me will keep everyone safe!" She snapped out of her stupor to laugh.

Teutonic gazed off into the distance, planning on asking Hungary about her Grandpa. He needed answers, but he knew he wouldn't get them from the auburnette. He would get a sad look and a snarl for an answer, and they snuck into their friend's room later that night. She was too far gone in a nightmare for her to notice them, to notice Hungary pulling the covers off one of Neylan's legs. He could barely see the scars that lined her legs, but suddenly knew that he couldn't leave Hungary to fight alone against this enemy. His eyes darted over to the child with a thin look. He didn't know how to deal with his emotions, but he decided to take Neylan's advice.

He would stay by her side, no matter what.

* * *

 **Welp, I tried. I know it focused a lot on Prussia, but the thing is, not a lot of stuff was going on. It was mostly Mongols being a thing and slowly heading west, who I also have this emotionful piece planned for, but let's sy everyone's going to hate me. There was also a lot of rivalry stuff going on in HRE, but it's nothing that won't come up later in passing. Also, does anyone have any recommendations for the characters, because I feel like I'm not grabbing their essence enough or something... Anyway, read and review, good night!**


	113. Chapter 101

**Well, it should be less Prussia centric for a while, and I feel like I'm slipping from what I used to write like. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Am I making this story too long? Should I break it up? Thoughts? Also, I got into a fight with an ex, and I literally screamed 'Shut the fuck up' at him. It felt kinda good, but he was a dick.**

 **AnonChan1: Just... Sleep, please. It might actually come in handy, but whatever. France is just a little worried. They are in Acre, the makeshift capital of Jerusalem because the Turks held the actual other city. We should be getting to that soon, and I actually understand why he told Poland now~! It did, but Frederick was actually very protective of Romano, and he actually did some massive damage to his position without thinking of the consequences. Who, Hungary and LL? Maybe? LL's going to be really mad over that later, don't worry. He also was able to beat her, but in 1198, he went from being a hospital order to a military one, and he kicked some major ass after that. That was so awkward to write! I almost didn't, but then I realized: I am unafraid to torture my character, so why am I nervous about this?! I know~ And Hungary's not going to let him take her heart easily!**

Latin

 **Old Hungarian**

 _ **Old East Slavic**_

Middle High German

 **Middle English**

 _Middle Persian_

* * *

1213

Neylan growled as she reread the letter from England as she gathered her weapons. Hungary and Teutonic were practicing fighting outside, and from what she could tell, it was a typical draw. "Those damn Brits..." She finally slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out, hiding her aura. Instantly, Teutonic paused his fighting, looking to where she was standing. Hungary stopped as well, but his face fell when he saw her bag.

"So, it's time, huh?" The woman nodded and held an arm out a little. Hungary came running to tackle her. Neylan laughed as she was knocked off her feet. "Come back soon, ok? I need you to help me kick that boy's ass. I swear he's been going easy on me," Hungary stated, whispering the last part.

Neylan growled as she stood, putting Hungary on her hip. "I'm not going to be able to pick you up like this soon." Hungary snorted and watched as his friend approached Teutonic. "Teutonic, have you been going easy on Hungary in your brawls?" His silence was enough of an answer, "Teutonic, you can't go easy on Hungary. You need to be able to fight with full intentions."

He huffed, "You know why I can't-"

"Bullshit. You need to be able to. Hungary might come after you one day, and you need to know his patterns, Teutonic. You're also not allowing Hungary to properly train. No excuses," She said. She put down Hungary and ruffled the two's hair, "Now, don't give each other too much bullshit and stop growing." They grinned at her, and she turned to leave. Something suddenly felt off and she turned when someone tackled her from behind. Neylan twisted so she could pin the person and draw a dagger. To her surprise, it was Hungary and she frowned. "Hungary, what the hell?"

He grinned, "You've been getting soft too, but you're giving him such a hard time. You can't be a hypocrite at Teutonic, Fortuna." She paused at the name, but sighed, pulling Hungary up.

She kneeled in front of him, smiling, "Because, I want him to be ready for the future. I want the nations to be better than they were yesterday. And maybe I've just been trusting you two more." Hungary nodded, looking at the albino who was listening in. "So, Teutonic, I'm not being mean, but you need to learn while you still can. I've heard you've been looking for a place to call home, but when you've been chained down, things change. It's one thing to be a nomad, but being a grounded nation? When Hun settled down, he changed."

"Don't use him as an example, Amalia! I saw what he did to you!" Teutonic yelled, glaring at her. Her eyes widened, and she got whiplash looking at Hungary.

" **YOU TOLD HIM?! THAT WAS BETWEEN US?! YOU HAD NO RIGH-** "

Hungary tensed, " **I DIDN'T TELL HIM EVERYTHING**." Neylan backed down a little and shook her head, walking off. "N-Neylan!"

She shook her head, "Tell me next time I come to visit. I need to cool off. Can I take a horse?"

"Go head, bitch!" Hungary chuckled lightly as his friend threw the middle finger over her shoulder.

"Fuck off, ass!" Teutonic just watched the two in confusion before charging the other child. Hungary barely had time to block and he growled as he pushed back.

Neylan sighed as she went to get a horse, "I want everyone to be there best, but there's just something about the Germans that piss me off." She shrugged and mounted the horse, and began to head for the English channel.

England met her at the coast, fidgeting with his shirt sleeves and she strode up to him without a word. He bowed his head, and they walked for the castle, the only sounds were England's coughs and sniffles. They were brought in and John of England smirked when he saw her. " **Lady Luck! It has been a while! Mother missed you dearly, talking about you even on her deathbed**!"

England sent him a nasty look quietly as she frowned, " **I heard about your mother. You knew she was a good friend of mine, and it's a shame about your brother**."

" **The Lionheart? Yes, well...** " His face soured, and he clasped his hands together. " **He left me with a large debt, but I have been working to relieve it.** "

She nodded, " **I can tell. My brother spent the entire way over trying to hide the fact he was ill**."

John blinked in confusion, looking to the blonde, " **England is sick? Didn't I tell you to keep warm at night? Do you not listen to anything I say**?" Elizabeth snarled, but went back to passive when he turned back. " **I have told him many times to take better care of himself, but he does not listen. Poor thing**..." He shook his head, " **I'm going to need him in tip-top shape if I am going to go to war. I'm going to get my lands in France back**."

Elizabeth sighed, " **May I be excused? I've had a long trip, and would like to rest**." The king nodded and motioned for England to lead her to her room. The moment they were out of earshot, he bristled, " **I can't believe you haven't killed him yet.** "

" **Neither can I. He doesn't get that we don't have the money for this. I** -" He broke off to cough and Elizabeth guided him over to to a dark corner, " **I'm fine**." He tried to fight her off, but Elizabeth held his arms.

" **Albion, how bad is it**?" She asked, letting one of his arms go to touch his head. She hissed as she pulled it back. It was a mild fever, but the fact that he had a fever at all made her concerned.

He pushed her off and glared at her weakly, " **Leave me alone, Elizabeth! I don't want you to interfere**!" She bowed her head and clasped her hands in front of her.

" **Let me know when you need me** ," She said airly, smiling. He nodded, stepping away. " **But Al**?"

England looked up at her and raised a think eyebrow, " **What**?"

" **I will do something if this isn't fixed soon. John isn't healthy for you** ," She said. She knew she was pushing her boundaries, but she couldn't stand to see this man push her brother like this.

 **"Elizabeth of Naples, you will do _nothing_ , do you understand?! He is my problem**-" England snarled, gripping her arm tightly.

She barked at him, " **He is when I come to find you like this. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be like this, but he is so insensitive** -"

" **I don't care, you're not stepping in**!" England whispered threateningly. " **Do I have to banish you again**?" Elizabeth frowned and clenched her fists, and backed away. He huffed through his nose, " **Good. Now, can we please get to bed? I need my sleep**."

" **I need a drink** ," His sister stated as she followed him. " **Besides, why did you have come me visit**?"

England's frown deepened, " **We're about to try and seize our lands back from France and put those bastards back in their place. We might need a little help**." The auburnette nodded tersely, but said nothing more. " **Also, John's excommunication was finally lifted**." She snorted, but said nothing more.

* * *

1214

When it came to fighting, John preferred not to get into the battles, relying more on sieges, but France forced his hand in the battle of Bouvines. To show her disapproval of the battle, she refused to take part, and John was not pleased. After he was made to sign the treaty of Chinon, which was a recognition of France's control over previously British lands on the main continent, John raged to her and England.

" **Why weren't you at that battle? We could have won had you not been so weak! This is your fault, woman**!" He ranted, throwing his rage onto Elizabeth.

William Marshall tried to help her out, " **John, you cannot possibly expect a woman to fight-** "

He glared, " **Nonsense! I have heard stories of Lady Luck, the woman in combat! Do you think she wears those blades for mere decoration?**!" Elizabeth growled.

" **John, I think you would know to be careful. Dangerous things happen when blame is not taken properly** ," She said, staring him down. " **Besides, you cannot make me fight. I decide when I want to.** "

John huffed, " **Then I will force you. William, make her fight**!" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow as the advisor did not move.

" **Well? Your king gave you a command. I suggest you follow it out before you get in trouble as well, William**." The knight gulped and unsheathed his blade, approaching her chair. The entire time, she merely watched, yawning at one point. William raised his sword, and the woman dashed under his arm. She barely moved out of the way of his elbow, and bowed to him. " **Well? You're going to have to try harder than that.** " She spent the next few moments dancing around him, but John ended up lunging at her. The woman didn't have enough time to duck before he grabbed her hair, holding a blade up to her neck.

" **You are a folly, woman. So, I have heard that you cannot die. Let's see how that holds up** -"

" **JOHN LACKLAND** ," An enraged voice called from across the room. England clenched his fists, " **Let go of my sister now, or so help me God, you will burn in hell for the rest of your days with no hope of salvation**." Elizabeth swallowed as she stared him down, watching in awe as a cotton candy pink aura began to crowd the room, unbeknownst to the others in the room. John took one look at the angry preteen and snarled, but let her go nonetheless. England nodded to him, but dragged his trembling sister out.

" **What the hell were you thinking?! Egging on a notoriously violent king. Christ, Bethy, you're being a troublesome little bean** ," He ranted, switching to Oliver half-way through the sentence.

She glowered, " **I should have a right to choose whether to fight or not. Since when do you control me**?"

The boy whined, " **Since you've been sticking your nose into my business! I've been talking to some of the Barons, and they're planning something, but you need to keep your head long enough to see it! Besides, I've been planning a little something.** " Oliver's grin twisted into something more chaotic, showing his true colors.

Elizabeth breathed slowly through her nose, " **You know what, I'm sorry. I've been shoving my nose somewhere else, and I need to calm down. Thank you, but I need to go relax for a little bit. Just promise me that this won't last much longer.** "

Arthur took back over as he shook his head, " **I won't. You can trust me on that**."

* * *

1215

England watched happily as the pen was forced into John's hand, " **This is what I was looking forward to**."

She smiled, **"This is what a lot of people were looking forward to**." John was forced to sign the Magna Carta. London had been taken by his rebellious barons, they had taken arms against him, and now, he was defenseless in the middle of a field, surrounded by armored barons. He read over the document, slowly getting angrier and angrier, but he looked around nervously. His eyes settled on Elizabeth and his face twisted into something evil when she smirked.

" **I wouldn't push him too much, Bess** ," The blonde next to her warned. She shrugged, watching the king sign the document. He was made to sign several just like it, and those copies were evenly distributed. " **Do you know what was in that document**?"

" **John isn't above the law, he must grant his people specific rights, but one of the clauses that is remembered the most is that people must be granted a trial by their peers. So what happened to me last year shouldn't happen again.** "

England looked ot her, " **Shouldn't**?"

She chuckled, " **What do you actually think that he'll abide by this? No, he tries to get the document annulled by the Pope, who of course does.** " England hummed and looked back to his king. **"Don't worry, this all blows over in the next few years, but you're going to be going to war soon. It's in a hundred years, and it's not pretty**." Elizabeth winced just thinking about the hundred years' war, but it would change the two nations. The war would also throw them right into the renaissance.

" **But what are you going to do? Once her gets that annulment, you aren't going to be safe. You've heard the stories of what he's done** ," England worried.

" **Starving a family to death and the number of women he's 'pursued'** ," She said with air quotes, frowning. John had been known to chase women, regardless if they wanted him or not. " **Don't worry about me. I'll be closer than you think, but John won't see me. I might use a bit of magic to do it, but I'm going to try going as a dandelion for a while**." He shook his head, but remained quiet as his sister quickly left the field.

* * *

1216

Elizabeth listened to the chatter quietly, frowning." **Louis will protect us against that monster**!"

" **Did you hear? Even those a Scot appeared**!" Another man shouted across the tavern. She nursed her ale slowly, watching the door in case the king got word she was here.

" **Oi, Lizzie, what's got you so high strung**?" A familiar voice made her jump and glare at him from under her hood.

She pulled her hood off, " **Well, I'm pretty sure the king's out for my blood**."

Scotland chuckled, raising his own mug of ale, " **Well, why did you think I'm supporting that Frog bassa? And why do ye look like the sun took a shit on ye**?" Elizabeth laughed and slapped her hand on the table.

" **Well, that's one way to put it. But I don't want to be found and my hair is usually pretty distinctive. When in Rome, do as Romans do,** " She said, smiling. He snorted and began to chug his drink. Not a drop was wasted and he slammed it on the table. The bar cheered and he raised his hand, grinning. The woman rolled her eyes, " **So, which king do you think is going to win**?"

He shrugged, " **Does it matter? If Louis loses, my people are going to get blamed. If he wins, then we get some reprieve, but he's even less likely to understand us. Either way, it'll suck.** "

Elizabeth laughed, " **You're always such an optimist**." He chuckled and ruffled her hair. She protested, swatting his hands away.

" **So, what about you? Who do you think is going to win**?" Scotland asked, his eyebrow lifting.

She shrugged, " **I know that Louis is going to get supported, but the problem is, England likes having native rulers, not foreign kings. The moment John dies, Louis is getting ditched and the next real British heir in getting the throne**." He nodded and plopped next to her.

" **Is that how it really goes**?" She nodded and looked at the door again. " **I haven't seen you this nervous in a while. Do you think that pink haired bassa is going to do something**?"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, " **Oliver? Not if I do something first. I might need a ride over to an Apothecary's shop if you can help**."

Scotland's eyebrows rose, " **Lizzie, what are you planning**?"

" **Nothing much. Just need to pick up one mineral. Can you go with me**?" Scotland shrugged and agreed.

When they got to one of the shops, the old man at the counter raised an eyebrow, " **What can I help you folks with**?"

Elizabeth smiled, " **I want to kill some pests, and I heard from a friend that arsenic works wonders. Do you have any**?"

The apothecary hummed and went into the back, emerging a while later with a small bottle of gray powder, " **Is this what you're looking for**?" He blinked slowly and she nodded, " **Good. Now, that'll be...** " He picked up a small compass looking item and held it to his eyes as he looked at a book. " **Wait... which king do you support?** " He gazed at her with even eyes.

" **Neither. I look forward to watch John's son rule. He is not the cruel man his father is, but he was born here** ," She stated with a smile.

The apothecary chuckled, " **I can see your point of view. Well, take good care of those pests, and may god be with you**." Elizabeth smiled and nodded, still dropping several pennies on the table. They left and Scotland raised an eyebrow.

" **What was that and how do you always seem to have money?** " He asked, frowning.

She rolled her eyes, **"Let's just say, doing a little bar work isn't all that bad, but that? Old people love to quiz the younger generations, and he was no exception**." The redhead nodded. " **Go on ahead, I have some business to do**." As the night progressed, her plan was gradually evolving. The two immortals rode to King's Lynn, where England and the king were residing. Scotland rode off as soon as she dismounted and England met her quickly outside the gate. He chuckled at her hair, but welcomed her in, looking at the small bottle of wine under her arm.

" **So, Bess, finally going to repent to John**?" He asked, leading her to their room. She shook her head and took out the small vial.

" **No, I'm going to repent to you. I'm asking you this: Do you want John dead**?"

England stared at her and the vial in her hands. His mouth opened, but closed again. He closed his eyes and seemed to have an internal conversation before Oliver took over and removed the vial and wine from her hands. He uncorked the bottle and put the poison in. " **You're lucky that I hate him. The Barons have been insistent on his death**." He recorked the cap and went to drip some wax on the top to reseal it. Oliver reverted back to the host and Arthur walked out.

John later died from 'dysentery'. She could tell that he died slowly draining the bottle because his sickness as over a while, not all at once. Louis was quickly debunked as his heir in favor of John's son, Henry. As he was still but a child, Henry was forced to use use regents, but regardless, the sadist was dead.

* * *

1217

Annabelle stretched as she walked next to France, "It is so nice to be away from all of that mess!" France chuckled and they continued to march on through the land. Austria met them with Holy Rome, both of whom were decked out in chainmail, but Austria was more awkward in the battlegear. A short time later, Teutonic and Hungary joined the group. They passed by Byzantine and into the middle east.

France looked to her, "Annabelle, has Teutonic signed that document yet?"

Holy Rome looked to them in confusion, but then he nodded, "Yeah, have the Teutonic knights signed the document yet?"

"Oh, you mean Code Blue? That one?" Hungary chirped, looking at the auburnette.

She sighed wearily, "Not yet. I have it at the bottom of my bag. Teutonic, do you want to sign it now?"

The albino looked at her, "The what?"

Austria sniffed, "Code Blue. It's this paper that Amalia had many sign a great many years ago. Basically, she's-"

"Let's not get too graphic here, Austria,"Annabelle complained, but France put a hand on her shoulder.

"Someday, in what, 800 years..?" Annabelle blinked and all the color drained from her face as she began to pace.

"Oh shit. It's almost 799... I-It's coming up sooner than I thought-"

Hungary sent a desperate look over to France, "You did this, do something! You're the only one big enough!"

France nodded, going up to her, "Annabelle, calm down, we're going to be here for you-"

She whirled on her heel, "I KNOW, FRANK. I'M TERRIFIED. I KNOW I CAN BE AN ASSHOLE FRIEND, BUT I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE EVERYONE-" Her throat closed up as tears poured down her face. France took another step closer, but she dashed, hiding her aura. Hungary looked like he wanted to go after her, but France put a hand on his shoulder.

"No one can find her when she hides herself. Let her cry in peace," He said. Hungary shared a look with Teutonic, who spoke up.

"Actually, what if I could find her? I know how!" He looked to France for confirmation.

The man shrugged and waved his arms out, "Go ahead, mon ami. Don't be too harsh on her." He nodded and began to breath deeply, spreading his magenta awareness out, and focused in on an area. He gulped and took off. He could hear her before he could see her. Her sobs cut at his heart and he peeked around the tree.

"Amalia?" Teutonic whispered.

"Go away..." She mumbled, curling in on herself more.

He came to sit next to her, "You know, it's ok to be scared-"

She wiped her eyes, "I know, ok, it's just... I've seen so many die. I saw Grandpa die, Germania fade, Hun, Sasa, and there's going to be so many more. Hell, Templar..." Teutonic froze. His brother in arms?

"When?"

The woman shook her head, "I can't! It sucks! I know all of history, and I can try to point it in the right direction, but there's usually not a damn thing I can do about it! I mean, how many times are you going to get disbanded, only put together years later? How many times is Austria going to get married, I know these things, but I can't say! And I'm terrified, because I don't know what's waiting for me! When my mother left me, I got sent to an unfamiliar place, and I don't know what happened to her, so I don't know what's going to happen to me! I'm scared!"

Teutonic leaned his head on her arm, "I've been scared too. Not in the same way, but I'm scared. I have to look after my people, so I'm scared that I'm going to fail them. And I get disbanded? Why?"

She curled up on herself, "Bad men... Bad men who want evil things." Teutonic frowned and looked around.

"I know I'm not as good as your brothers, but I remember that time after you woke up from that nightmare. He let you hold him, and if you wanted to do the same," He said, wringing his hands together.

Annabelle shook her head, her sobs starting up again, "I'm not going to do that to you. You're scared and I'm not going to force any dubious will onto you."

He sighed, "Amalia, you're a friend, ok? Friends help each other, ok. Can I hug you?" She sniffed, pulling her head out of her folded arms.

"Are you sure?" He nodded and she leaned forward to wrap him up in her arms. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you..." Tears leaked onto his neck as Teutonic let his arms wrap around her. She trembled, letting her anguish out.

"Everything will be ok, Amalia. The awesome me will make it so," The albino swore. Annabelle laughed and released him, ruffling his hair. "Don't you dare tell Hungary."

"Cross my heart," The woman promised, getting up. She held a hand out to Teutonic, "C'mon. The others will be getting worried." He grinned and pulled her forward by her cloak.

France raised his gaze as he watched the small immortal drag his friend back to the group, "Well well well, look what the cat dragged in. How did you find her?"

Teutonic grinned, "I'm just that awesome!" Annabelle laughed and ruffled his hair. "But where is this document?" Annabelle sighed and threw her bag onto the ground, reaching into it. She pulled out a small leather pocket and from it, a rolled letter. "Can you read it to me?"

Annabelle nodded, "Act one: This is a call to meet. Any and all whose signatures appear will be called to appear. If they cannot make it themselves, they shall have a representative picked by them to have their interests in mind. This specific act can only be called once unless it is Act two. Act Two: A former immortal has reappeared temporarily..." She hung her head and France raised an eyebrow.

"Annabelle, what happened?" He asked, already knowing what happened.

"Germania came back for a spell and I forgot to let everyone know-"

Teutonic whined, "Finish reading, stop talking so much!"

Austria rolled his eyes, "Basically, it's to make sure the Lucky personna is passed on without a hitch. If a dead nation pops back up, let everyone else know or suffer the consequences."

His brother looked to Annabelle in confusion,"Passed on?"

"You haven't told him?" Hungary demanded, frowning.

She huffed, "Sorry if I've been a little preoccupied keeping him in one spot than telling him fairy tales."

"Fairy tales?" A new voice joined them. Everyone jumped and faced Templar. "Which fairy tales?"

Annabelle smiled, "Just small ones, nothing too important. I was wondering when you were going to join us, Templar." The group shook their heads, but continued on. Later that night, Teutonic signed it under the view of the others. Templar was curious, but Annabelle put the Code away before anything else could be done. The crusaders then put Damietta under siege in 1218, and it fell the following year.

* * *

1223

Amalia whined as someone poked her in the head, "What, Mom? It's too early to get up. Tell Nicholas to go walk himself..." A raspy chuckle made her open her eyes and blink in confusion. "Teutonic? What's going on? Is Hungary chasing Austria again?"

He shook his head, "A letter came for you. I can't read it, but Hungary said it was from Russia-" He scrambled out of the way as his friend launched herself out of bed. "What's going on-"

"It's the Mongols, they've finally reached him..."

Teutonic raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you go help him?" She froze and shook her head.

"I learned my lesson, I'm not going through that again," He watched in confusion as Amalia walked outside to bask in the warmth of the sun. He followed her out, flipping his hood up.

"Amalia, what happened?" He asked, playing with a few blades of grass. He had asked a pope to get this tract of land for himself, but Hungary probably got word. He-She's been angrier than usual at him...

Amalia just began drawing in the dirt before getting up to leave again. Teutonic got up and went to sit where she had, but from what he saw, all it was were crosses drawn in the dirt.

* * *

1226

Teutonic screamed as Hungary rode his horse after him, firing arrows after him, "Get out, monster!" Neylan walked out, blinking at the bright light before she saw Hungary finally land an arrow in Teutonic's shoulder.

"KINGDOM OF HUNGARY WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Hungary gulped as he saw the raging redhead run over to where Teutonic was sobbing as he clutched his shoulder. Neyland ditched yelling at Hungary for a moment as she approached the albino, "Teutonic, it's me, Amalia, let me look at the wound-"

He shook his head, "N-No, I can get my doctors to look at it-"

Hungary growled, "Just let Neylan look at it!"

"No! I can get it!" Teutonic yelled, standing up all too suddenly. Neylan barely caught him before he fell, but the arrow hit the ground an embedded further into his shoulder. She picked the half-conscious boy up and ran back into the home.

Hungary followed nervously, and Neylan looked to him, "Get the alcohol, a knife, and the sewing kit!" He nodded and ran off to collect the stuff as the other two went off to Neylan's room. She placed him on the bed and let the arrow point up. Teutonic growled as Neylan cut at his shirt, letting it barely cling to his form as Hungary finally returned with the items. "This is going to hurt," The auburnette warned as she poured the alcohol on the wound and the German hissed. She snapped the arrow in half and gave the largest part of it to Hungary to throw away. She picked up the blade and suddenly, Teutonic thrashed.

"N-No! Not that! Please!"

Neylan breathed as she recognized what was going on. He was having a panic attack. "Teutonic, listen to me, it's Amalia. I have to help you, but you need to trust me. Can you do that for me? Just stay still, ok?"

He swallowed and continued to shake, "T-Tell me a story."

She nodded, "I'll tell you the story of Rumpelstiltskin, but you need to hold still." He breathed deeply and nodded. The woman began to patch him up, cutting at his shoulder to pull the arrowhead out as safely as possible. The whole time, her voice continued to weave the fairytale, and Teutonic quietly screamed. Soon, all that was left was patching him up, but he had passed out at that point. She silently finished it and wrapped the wound. As she gazed over the child, her attention drifted over to Hungary, who swallowed.

Neylan took him by the arm and dragged him into the hall, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, CHASING HIM WITH ACTUAL ARROWS. HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN HURT SO MUCH WORSE!"

"He was trying to take my land away!" Hungary defended, trying to pull his arm out her grasp.

"I don't care! That doesn't mean that you can go and hurt another immortal! I can't even think of a time when I seriously injured another nation! Don't make me compare you to your Grand-"

"Don't say it!"

Neylan growled, but stopped when Hungary finally got his arm free. She could feel the child's anger raging and knew she had crossed a line. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone there, but still, you can't go chasing after someone and seriously harm them. Go ahead with the people, but it is so much more dangerous when you attack the immortal themselves." Hungary calmed down minutely, but still frowned.

"Go get your stuff and his. You're leaving," He said, walking away. Neylan sighed again and walked back into her room. Teutonic was sitting up and staring at her weakly.

"That was so not awesome," He grumbled, trying to get up, but she pushed him down. It was evident that he had overheard everything.

The woman sighed, "Just rest. I'll take care of everything." He watched her begin to pack her clothes up and pick up a letter that was on her desk. Her eyes skimmed over it and she chuckled. "Well, Hungary wanted me to give this to you. She said that Poland needs some help up North."

"Up North? And who's Poland?" Teutonic asked as he frowned.

Neylan approached the bed to hand him the letter, "He's apparently been having some trouble with some Prussians up there. He said that the..." She frowned at the words, "That the pagans are complete savages." Teutonic grinned and fist pumped.

"Yes! I can still be awesome, but..." He looked to his shoulder with a frown, "How can I ensure that I'll be able to stay, to be able to settle?"

She smiled and ruffled his hair, "Talk to your brother. He might be able to help. I'm going to finish packing, but where do you want to go? We're not going any more east, so don't even think about it."

He hummed, "I want to stay with my brother."

"Ok then, I'll send a letter and we'll be on our way." She left and he was left to silence.

* * *

1228-1229

Holy Rome hummed as he rode the horse, "So, how are you feeling?"

Teutonic whined, "Bruder, stop asking me! It's already sealed!"

Holy Rome shared a look with Amalia, making her laugh, "He's still got a little ways to go, but the damage should be gone in a few months. Give or take a few years, no one would know." He nodded and nudged his brother.

"See? Amalia knows what she's doing. Romano told me she studied at college, that medical one that shut down a while ago," He said.

She whined and leaned back to lie on her horse, "Damn, I liked that college! It actually let women study and it used the most up-to-date information!"

The brothers shared a look and laughed, "So, how's this going to go?" Holy Rome looked to the sky and shrugged.

"So long as there's as little fighting as possible. You still need to heal."

Teutonic scoffed, "I'm fine, Bruder, calm down!"

Amalia shook her head, "Trust me, take it easy. Germania has had to dig a few arrowheads out and it hurts like a bitch if it reopens." Teutonic stuck his tongue out at her. "But really, Turkey might be busy-"

"I'm going to try to force a peace treaty, Amalia. I have heard about his issues. I have my own sources," Holy Rome said, staring her down. She nodded and they moved on.

Frederick II finally made a move to on a crusade, but he succeeded in an overall victory that the crusaders had not landed since the first crusades. It was a diplomatic victory, but it only done for one reason. Turkey had his hands full with his western territories and he didn't need a two front fight. Of course, Frederick also had to cause some controversy when he managed to win Jerusalem back. He crowned himself there, but whispers instantly sprung up about whether or not he was crowning himself king of Jerusalem, or merely re-crowning himself.

* * *

1230

Teutonic shivered lightly as he looked over the land. The early morning breeze made him sniffle a little, but he spread his aura over the land and smiled. "It just feels right, huh?"

He looked to his friend and nodded, "This is an awesome feeling!" She looked over the landscape and she smiled, but quickly frowned. "Amalia, what's wrong?"

"Never give up who you are. You need to make sure that no matter what, you hold onto your knights as tightly as possible," She said, turning around. "Welcome to Prussia, Teuton. This is going to be your home."

"Yeah, so take good care of it, ok?" They jumped at the voice and Amalia laughed.

"Poland! It's been a while! How have you been?" She asked, pulling the child into her arms. He looked to be almost Teutonic's age, but they all knew he was older than the albino.

He shrugged going to play with her hair, "I've been well. A lot of the western nations keep kicking out some of their citizens, so I've been taking them in."

She growled, "It's not right. I don't care what they practice, it's not right."

"What's going on?" Teutonic asked, cocking his head. He had removed his hood because of the cloudy day, so his eyes shone out a little more than normal.

Poland rolled his eyes, "It's just people being jerks. They don't like jews. I mean, whatever! They're just people!" Amalia nodded spinning so he giggled. "Ragan, put me down!" She nodded, putting him down. "Oh, and Veneziano wanted me to give you this."

She took the paper and began reading it, but burst out laughing, tears appearing in her eyes, "Peaches, Veneziano! I'm not that bad, am I?"

"That's what I said! Don't worry, Fortuna, the Carmina Burana lies!" He laughed.

She shook her head, "That's it, I'm dropping that name!"

Teutonic whined and went to reach for the paper, "What is it?"

"It's a poem that says how bad Luck and Fate, Fortuna and Sors, are. Remember my name with the latin nations?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

He thought for a moment, "It's Fortu-ohhhhhhh." The child giggled and she shoved him lightly. "Not awesome!"

* * *

1232

"You did what?!"

Holy Rome winced as his friend slapped her hands on the table, "I'm letting my princes make their own decisions. I want to stay close to It-"

"No, I know that, but you do know that you just weakened yourself forever, right?" Amalia growled.

Romano huffed at his sister, "Keep the verbal lashing to a low volume. I'm trying to nap."

She called over her shoulder, "I'll try. Sleep well!" He hummed and went back into his room. "What possessed him to do such a thing?"

Holy Rome sighed, petting Aster's head, "He wanted to stay home and the Germans weren't having it. He wanted to be left alone, so he made the statutum in favorem principum."

"Damn idiot!" Amalia continued to rage quietly, making Holy Rome nervous. She sighed and kneeled next to him, "Holy Rome, I have known you for 400 years. Venie adores you and I don't want to see them hurt. You need to be able to have your people united. They can't remain divided. They will milk this for all it's worth and it's not ok."

* * *

1237

Teutonic was surprised to see Amalia show up at is door, "Amalia? What are you doing here?"

She shivered and nodded to him, "I needed to take a rest before I headed east. Russia is going to need my help."

"But... the Mongols are over there! You said yourself you didn't want to see them!" He protested, his eyes narrowing.

The woman shook her head, "I don't care, I'm not going to let him suffer that alone-" A small crash from a different room caught her attention and she frowned. "Is someone else here?"

He paused and nodded, leading her behind a curtain. A small, trembling mass hid underneath a blanket. "Amalia, meet what's left of the Livonian order. She said that she's not going to make it."

"Peaches..." Amalia went to sit on the bed, and put a comforting hand on the child's back. "Livonia? I'm Amalia, it's nice to meet you. I'm a friend of Teutonic's. Can I see you?"

A mumble came from under the blanket as a small head peeked out, "S-Sure. W-Why is it so cold?" Amalia's eyes widened as she looked at the small girl. Her sharp blond hair and magenta eyes reminded her of Teutonic, but she looked more like Russia almost.

The woman smiled and pulled the bundle into her arms, "You're just recovering, little one. It'll all be ok." The child nodded weakly, curling into her embrace.

"A-Are my people going to be ok with T-Teutonic? I want my b-brother to take good care of them," She whimpered.

"They'll be just fine. He'll take good care of them, and you can make sure of it," Amalia promised, kissing the child's forehead. She smiled weakly and the auburnette smiled woefully, "Just sleep, little one. God will meet you up there." The child nodded and slowly, her weak aura faded. Amalia cried delicately, holding her body close. "T-Teutonic, can you get the door for me?" He peeked out from around the corner and nodded.

"There's a shovel by the door. Do you want me to get it?" She nodded wordlessly and he obeyed. They dug the grave and Teutonic laid the girl's sword in her grasp before Amalia stepped into the hole to lower her down. Afterwards, they buried her, and Teutonic said a few words and some prayers. "How did you-"

"As you get older, you see people start to wear the mask of death. You see it on children, new mothers, brave warriors, good priests, everyone. Livonia knew her time was up. You'll take care of her soldiers?" Amalia asked when they went back into the home. He nodded solemnly and they were quiet for the rest of the evening.

* * *

1238

When Neylan walked up to Russia, he swung his blade at her at first. She backed up, " ** _Woah, Russia, calm down_**!" He stared at her before throwing his sword down and hugging her leg, " ** _Neylan! You're back_**!"

She smiled and laughed, " ** _I am! How have you been_**?" He winced and she growled, " ** _Russia, what's wrong_**?"

" ** _I've been struggling to keep all of my enemies at bay. Those nasty Teutonic knights, Denmark, those Mongols, they just keep coming! I've gotten reports of Sweden attacking soon!_** " The woman sighed and picked up the small nation, " ** _But, why are you here? I haven't seen you in hundreds of years! Big sister says that you've had your hands full and that you could help us with the Mongols_**!"

Neylan nodded, " ** _I'm not leaving you alone to those monsters_**." She would try her best, but Russia would continue to be sacked by the Mongols, even capturing what would later be his heart, Moscow. In 1240, he would get hit by the Golden Horde, but the threat that was Sweden was pushed off for the time being. But then, Mongolia got past them.

* * *

1241

Mongolia was across the field, she could feel it. Hungary was patrolling with her, his bow always ready to be fired, and Teutonic was keeping a third eye on the battlefield in general. Poland was healing in his tent, and Turkey, who Hungary had tried to integrate into his populace with varying success, was keeping everyone under control. They had finally reached Hungary and Poland. There had been several small skirmishes and a few larger ones, but a few days after, an arrow came flying and landed at Hungary's feet. He leaned down to pick it up, and frowned at the letter attached. The boy snarled and handed it over, "They want to meet up to discuss peace. He said he wants to meet his cousin's friend in person."

Neylan growled, but sighed, "Hungary, this child is like your Grandfather. Would he have done this?"

"I don't know. I didn't know him during his prime years. You did," He said, clenching his fists.

She shook her head, "I tried to block those years out. But we outnumber him. Should we?"

Hungary nodded, "Let's do it. I'll have to show him how-" He hissed and Neylan drew a dagger to throw it, but she had barely held it when she saw it was just Teutonic. "Damnit, Teu! Neylan almost killed you!"

He laughed, releasing his aura, "She couldn't have hurt me!"

"Be careful, I almost got you. I wouldn't have missed. But what do you think? Should we meet them?" Teutonic shrugged and looked at her and Hungary.

"Sure, why not? They'll bow to my awesomeness!" Neyland sighed and walked back into the camp to ask the others. Poland said he needed to heal, but Turkey agreed to come. Hungary released the response arrow, and they waited. Another was sent back and they were to meet immediately in the middle ground. No tricks, no secret assassins, just the immortals. They all agreed, and they met. Neylan and Turkey stood behind Teutonic and Hungary respectively, and soon, a horse approached them. Hungary hummed in appreciation, but soon frowned when the rider merely jumped off.

Mongol was also a child, but nonetheless terrifying. His eyes shone with malice and mischief, and his hair was braided behind him. He reminded Hungary and Neylan of what Hun would have looked like as a child. He bowed deeply, "Nations... and Order." He stood again, and Teutonic growled, clenching his fists. Neylan rested a hand on his shoulder and he calmed, however barely. He wasn't just an order anymore. He had his own land staked out and was settling it.

"Khanate," Turkey responded, staring down at the boy.

Mongol grinned, "Sultanate. I've heard many things, but one of which was the troubles you were facing earlier. Don't worry, I will get that all fixed up~" Turkey snarled, but Hungary stepped on his foot, but also made himself the next target, "Ah, dear cousin! I've seen you've... gotten weaker. Whatever happened to your glory days? When you would ravage Europe just like Grandpa used to? Well, don't worry, he taught me plenty, and I'm going to be taking up where he left off. Nothing personal, you know." Hungary trembled, and Neylan put her other hand on Hungary's shoulder.

She looked to him herself, "You're a little demon, you know what? What if I told you why your grandfather died? Why mine died? They got stretched out too thin. But you can throw words around as much as you'd like, but we're mentally stronger than tha-"

Mongol reached into his jacket to pull out a small sachet, and he finally revealed that whatever inside had a small amount of her aura mixed in. Her mouth sealed.

No. No. No, that was lost-

He pulled the object out to show a small wooden tulip, hand-carved, and ancient. " _Girl_." Her world crumbled and she snarled at the word, memories flying by her. How did her know the exact tone, the exact same way that _he_ would say it?

She lunged past the children, Turkey barely missing her. She tackled the child and pulled her fist back. "HOW DO YOU KNOW? HOW? THAT WAS LOST!" Her fist flew across the child's face several times, and the other three strained to pull her off.

"NEYLAN, IT'S NOT HIM! HE'S DEAD!" Turkey shouted as her foot caught his face. He had to pin her legs as either child had to pin her arms.

She continued to struggle, "GET OFF! I HAVE TO KNOW! WHERE DID YOU GET IT?!" Hungary slapped her, and she finally slumped, sobbing. Laughter came from across from them, and Mongol sat up, wiping his face.

"He's still dead, he's not coming back, you know. I found this-"

Turkey turned to him and his face was twisted in a deadly scowl, "Drop it and leave. You're lucky you're getting away with all of your limbs." Mongol laughed and tossed the tulip over at the crying woman and whistled. His horse charged passed and suddenly, he was gone. He released his sister, and the children did the same. Neylan sobbed as she grabbed the tulip, holding it close and rocking back and forth. Turkey rubbed her back, "It wasn't Sasa, you know that."

"I know, I know... I have to give him up. I have to, I can't keep doing this!" She cried, trembling. Turkey pulled her into his arms as well as he could and rocked his sister. "Why? How did he get it?"

Hungary growled, "I don't know, but I'm going to kick his ass. I promise you, Neylan." The woman nodded, closing her eyes tightly. Teutonic frowned as he saw his friend crumble and dissolve into tears. He went over and put his hand over her's.

"Never let go of you are, Amalia-"

She shook her head, "That's not my name!"

Turkey shushed her and pet her hair gently, "Shh, you'll be fine. He told me you name once-"

Hungary looked at Turkey with a raised eyebrow, "What's her name?"

Turkey looked down at the woman, whispering sadly, "Carina Amalia Brewster." The woman choked out a scrambled laugh and began to get up.

"That's my name~ No one can take that from me! It's who I am! Are you proud, Mom? Is this what you wanted me to be? A broken mess? Huh, Mom? How dare you push this on me! How could I do this to myself? Why don't I just not pass the Luck on-" She choked, and fell to her knees.

Teutonic screamed, "Amalia!" Her aura was pulsating, flashing quickly between its usual white and a bright amber, and he knew that she had to be in pain. Suddenly, the episode all stopped and she crumbled, unconscious. Turkey ran over to her and picked up the woman.

"We need to get her back to camp, now!" They rushed back and she was placed in a dimly lit tent. She wouldn't wake for several days, but when she did, the woman just came out to sit by the fire. No one said anything, even as she poked at the fire.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that. It was uncalled for," She said weakly.

Hungary shook his head, "Don't worry, we all have our weak moments."

Turkey nodded, "It's understandable."

"What happened back there?" Teutonic asked, staring at his friend. The other two sent him a glare, but Neylan waved them off.

"Stop, it's a simple question. Well... I think that tonight is an all-questions night. I will answer anything," She said, staring into the fire, clutching the tulip in her hand.

The albino took the first shot, "Why were you screaming at your mom so much?"

Neylan chuckled, "Well, I don't really have one. When I was twenty and still a mortal, I found what I later learned was a nation in the woods. My mom began to freak out and she eventually had me meet a bunch of strange people. They were all the nations of the world, and I was getting sent back in time." Teutonic's eyes opened at this information and she laughed, "Yeah, I know. But Mom, er, Liberty, it turns out was the aged up me. I had to raise myself, I was adopted when I was a baby. I had landed myself in this mess, and I think when I tried to reject this life, time expanded on that decision and was trying to rip the Lucky Aura away from me. It's like that scene from 'Meet the Robinsons'... Wait, you don't know that movie..."

"What's a movie?" Turkey asked, but the woman laughed.

"It's a future thing and you're going to love them. But Teutonic, that other color? That's what my natural aura would look like. That's what color my eyes are," She answered.

He nodded, but Turkey took over, "But Abla... What happened with the Huns?"

Hungary frowned, "Can we not go over that, please? It's..." He looked to Neylan for help, but she sighed.

"It's a chapter of my life I like to block out. Let's just say, it was enough to give me night terrors to this day." Turkey winced, but nodded.

Teutonic took one more question, "What's that in your hand?"

Neylan smiled as she held out the tulip. Her aura that was attached to it flickered slightly, but it was still there, "This... I have felt love once in my long life, and that was with the Sasanian Empire. Sasa was... A handful."

Turkey laughed, "That's one word for it. Dad was always off fighting one enemy of another, but he always made time for us."

"Not... Always. In my last years with him, he wasn't there much. But peaches, I hated him when I first met him. But after Rome stabbed me in the back, Sasa became my protector, my light. I still had my issues with him, but life became bearable with him. He always took me out to fight with him and the one time he wasn't there to watch me back-"

"Don't remind me! Is the scar still there?" Turkey asked, cringing, but with a humorous tone.

Neylan laughed and turned to gesture to it with her thumb, "Yep! I'd show everyone, but-"

"Please don't!" Teutonic yelped, covering his eyes. The group laughed at the boy.

"Don't worry, Teutonic, I have more grace than that. But anyway, I got attacked. He felt kind of bad, but he began to show more emotion... Sasa was something. My final moment with him, I told him my real name and gave him this. I haven't seen this in 600 years," Neylan said, her words almost dying in her throat.

Turkey sighed, "You know, he kept that thing on him everywhere he went. He never lost it, because he kept it in a pouch around his neck."

She smiled, "That makes sense, he always was the sentimental type." The two chuckled, and Hungary smiled.

The child leaned forward, "So what are you going to do with it?"

Neylan looked at the flower sadly before looking at Turkey. He nodded and she stood, looming over the fire. She raised her arms, letting a few tears slip down her face, "Sasanian Empire, Persia, I hereby release you. I am letting you go." She let her arms fall and let the flower tumble into the flames, and sparks flew up. Turkey gasped as he saw what appeared in the small cinders. Sasanian was grinning, waving to her one last time before they flew off into the night. Neylan cried out, but smiled. "Goodbye, I'll see you when I get there."

The children looked away in respect and Neylan sat back down, "Children, if you ever find love in your life, seize it when you have the chance. You never know if it will slip through your fingers, but don't let it hang over you if it doesn't work out. You may be their Romeo, but you might not always be their Juliet." The three shared a look at their strange friend, but she just laughed once more and left for her tent.

Teutonic looked at Hungary, "Is she ok?"

Hungary gave him a flat look, "Is she ever ok?" They all laughed and watched the fire crackle and burn.

* * *

 **I almost cried making this. I also really need to stop bring him up. We're almost to the renaissance, so things will probably be slowing down again. Sorry, but at this point, I have no idea what I'm doing. Is anyone still reading this piece of garbage?**


	114. Chapter 102

**Ok, so um, I'm losing my mind, college is around the corner and I'm going to try and drag a friend into our fandom. I know I probably crossed a line when I had LL beat up a _child_. It wasn't my best decision, but ya know, whatever. Onto the story!**

 **OhLookItsThatKid: Dude, I legit did not expect you to actually look at this! But thanks, and I thank you for the reviews!**

 **brazenyeah: Thanks for the support as well! I'll try and break it in two after Byzantine dies. A lot happens in 1453. Thanks for the idea!**

 **Old Eastern Slavic**

Latin

English

 **Arabic**

 _ **Middle High German**_

* * *

1242

Neylan swallowed nervously as she looked at the ice underneath her feet, " **Russia, are you certain about this**?"

He nodded, " **I know my land. The ice will hold us**."

She shivered, wrapping her cloak around her tighter, " **I know that, but will it hold everyone**?" He smiled at her and the woman shook her head. " **You scare me sometimes, you know that**?" The boy chuckled again and they waited for Mongolia to show up. Soon enough, an army appeared on the shores of lake Peipsi on April 5th. They began to cross and the nation laughed, pointing at Russia.

"Hey, you there! I've got you now!"

Russia jolted, "Crap, Teutonic knights!" Neylan froze and gripped her blades tighter. The two nations stared each other down and she knew that plenty of people weren't going to be leaving the lake alive.

Teutonic grinned, "I've finally found you! Pledge your loyalty to the Teutonic knights! Also, I am currently shopping around for a new name!" Neylan sighed at the last part and saw a small yellow bird flying around him. She focused on the small bird's aura and froze. Someone had linked him and Teutonic, a thin red thread tying them together. That meant that there was a new magick user around... She frowned. She would need to find them and find if they were light or dark.

"Well, you should consider the situation more carefully and then pick a fight," Russia tried to explain, but Teutonic was having none of it, laughing over him. "You see, we're all on ice, so-"

"I don't care about that!" Teutonic yelled, unsheathing his blade. "Eat my holy sword!" He charged and Neylan grabbed Russia, placing him on her hip for what she knew was coming.

Russia ducked into her shoulder, "Wait, your sword isn't that big or-" His words were cut off as the knights charged.

"Hold your breath!" Neylan shrieked before the ice cracked and she barely had time to follow her own advice before they fell through. Her eyes were shut tight, but she could hear the cold screams of the humans around them. A wild aura smashed into her's and she swam over, relying on her third eye to find Teutonic. He was thrashing around, unable to swim, but he gripped her tightly when he felt she was near. She pushed the two to the surface, kicking up there herself. She opened her eyes, gasping for air, but also at the deep chill that settled in her bones. Neylan trembled as she swam for shore, barely keeping the boys' heads above water.

Finally, she collapsed on the shore, and Russia dragged the other boy up further onto the shore. Her body was beginning to shut down, her hearing wasn't working, but she could barely make out Russia... choking Teutonic. She coughed and barely managing to reach her aura out. They boys trembled themselves as they struggled over to her, but she held up a hand, spotting a log nearby. "P-Prussia, g-go dark..." She whispered.

The two Northerners shared a look, but both closed their eyes and pulled in their auras. She let the spell leave her lips as the wood caught fire. "O-Ok, w-warm up." She collapsed into darkness.

When she awoke again, she was underneath the covers with Belarus curled in the pit of her stomach. Ukraine was rebraiding her blonde locks, pinning them back, but smiled when she noticed her friend awake, " **Ah, you're awake! Russia was worried about you**!"

Neylan grunted as she nodded, " **S-Sorry. I d-didn't lose any body parts, did I-I**?" Ukraine shook her head and laid out some clothes for the woman, waving in someone. Russia and Teutonic came in and the auburnette blinked in confusion. "H-How, why?"

Teutonic sent a sideways glare, but Russia smiled, "We brought you back here! Teutonic will be our guest until you can take him back home." She nodded, but winced when Belarus shifted. She looked up and scrambled up the bed to hug Neylan. Her eyes narrowed and the woman chuckled, understanding the look perfectly.

" **Sorry, Bella. I'll be more careful next time. I'm going to be up and kicking in no time** ," Neylan defended and she huffed, resettling in her arms as the auburnette sat up. Her eyes drifted over the boys again, "So, what's the damage?"

Russia held his palms out, "I'm perfectly fine! Teutonic?"

He growled, trying not to move his neck too much, "I'm too awesome to be hurt!" She growled and moved to pull him closer, but he tried to pull back. Russia put a hand on his 'friend's' shoulder, but the albino moved forward to her in favor. Her fingers ghosted over the bruises, muttering quietly. Luckily, she knew several minor healing spells. They slowly disappeared and he blinked.

"What did you just do? And how did you do that fire? And who was Prussia?" Teutonic shot off, grabbing her hand. Belarus growled quietly, making him let the woman go.

She smiled, "Nothing you won't find out later, and Prussia is a name that someone's going to pick up very soon." Teutonic narrowed his eyes, but Russia smiled.

"So, how many Livonians are left?" He asked, folding his hands together.

"Livonians?" Neylan asked, looking to the child next to her.

He backed up, looking down, "They're still strong. My knights are awesomer than ever!" She frowned, but ruffled his hair.

"Alright. Let me get dressed, and we'll be on our way. I want to miss Mongol if we can."

* * *

1243

Neylan's blood boiled as she held her blade. Turkey pulled her away as his ruler pulled the retreat, " **Abla, there's nothing more we can do! The strategists are gone!** "

She clenched her fists and nodded, spurring her horse on, " **I know, but you do realize what this means, right?** "

He nodded with anguish twisted in his face, " **I know. He's going to take over some of my lands**."

" **Well** , "She started, reaching over to clap him on the back, " **be sure to give him hell. Mongol can't keep a hold on a people who live in fear forever**." He laughed and nodded, clicking his tongue to get his horse going. The Mongols were smart, smarter than anyone cared to admit. They had employed the feigned retreat tactic in the battle of Köse dağ, and it ended in defeat for the Rum Sultanate as their commanders watched in horror and began fleeing themselves. Mongol would come to control the land that the Seljuk turks had previously held.

* * *

1245

Amalia sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "You've got to be kidding me." Holy Rome shrugged and the Italian brothers each scowled.

"It's your mess. If you had left us alone, you wouldn't have gotten into this mess!" Romano grumbled, clinging to his sister's shoulder.

"Well, it's not my fault! Frederick-"

"Was a disaster for you! Romano, cut him some slack, you're going to need to focus on yourself here. Holy Rome, you need to speak with your friends-"

Veneziano looked to Holy Rome, "I can talk to some of my people! I'll see what they say!" The blonde smiled at the child and Romano growled.

"Yeah, yeah, very nice, Veneziano! Can you just leave already, sausage brain?" He commanded. The boy was openly glowering at Holy Rome, but not as much as he would have several decades ago. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Frederick made Palermo a place of glory, made the oldest secular university still operational to her old current day, and he hungered for knowledge. He had just been excommunicated and deposed in favor of a new pseudo-ruler.

Amalia chuckled, "Talk to Austria. We may not have control over the Pope, but..." She trailed and Holy Rome nodded.

"If I annoy him long enough. Thank you. I'll take that into consideration." With a swish of his cloak, he left with flourish.

* * *

1247

Neylan sighed as she rested in her chair, looking out the window when Hungary burst in the door, arguing with two people. "No, I don't care! Take the take the dumb land!"

"Are you sure, Hungary? I heard about what happened with Teutonic-"

"Why are we so concerned with him?" A third voice joined the fray and the woman in the corner finally looked up as Hungary came to stand by her.

He shook her shoulder, "Ney, can you please tell them that if I'm giving them land, it's-"

Neylan shifted, "Well, it depends. Is Andrew still king?"

"He's been dead for a decade. You need to keep up," Hungary huffed, crossing his arms.

She nodded, focusing on the first child. The cross on his chest made her blink, "Are you the Hospitallers?" He nodded quietly and she smirked, "How's Cyprus? I haven't seen him in centuries."

"He's doing decently, but Holy Rome's leaders are pulling him back and forth. His citizens are taking care of him," Hospitallers stated, taking a military stance. She chuckled and nodded. The child's stance looked silly on someone so young, but she was used to it by now. His bright blue eyes glinted seriously, "Is something funny?"

Neylan shook her head, "You just remind me of your brothers-in-arms a lot." Hospitaller nodded again and she stood, "But yes, this time, Hungary is giving you land. Why is his business, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Hospitaller." He nodded and looked over to the last child. Their aura was weaker and she had to search for for it, but she gasped. Hungary sent her a look and the woman held out her hand to the boy, "We need to talk. _Now_."

The child looked up, their red eyes glinting mischievously, "Why?"

"You know why. Are you light or dark?" She said, staring him down.

Hungary raised an eyebrow, "Neylan? What are you talking about?"

The boy frowned, "Not here. We shall speak in better company." Neylan nodded and sighed, patting him on the shoulder. "So, who are you?"

"A very old friend. What's your name?" She asked, looking between the children.

"I'm Wallachia! Nice to meet you!" He said, holding out his hand and grinning. Neylan laughed and shook his hand.

"You're very lively and polite for a new countr-"

Hungary growled, "He's one of my territories, and don't be giving him any ideas!" Wallachia rolled his eyes and Hospitallers chuckled. "He's only there to help keep those damn Mongols out."

Neylan nodded, "So, kind of like how Austria was supposed to keep you out."

Hungary laughed, holding his stomach, "Exactly!" They chatted idly for a while longer, but eventually Wallachia walked out, pulling Neylan after him. Hungary and Hospitaller watched them, but the woman waved them off.

The boy dragged her into the woods and up his hands up, balls of darkness held menacingly, "So, light or dark?"

Neylan growled a spell, waved a hand and allowed the area to be draped in light, " Mostly light. Said a death curse _once_ , and England got on my ass about that, and after the last time I died, I'm not doing it again."

"Who are you really?" He asked, battling to keep his spell up.

She shrugged and sat on a log, "A tired old soul who has seen too much hate and death. Lower that fucking spell before you really give me a reason to hurt you. Let me ask you again: Light or dark?"

Wallachia sighed and leaned on a tree, "I-I'm mostly a balance. I prefer the name Romania-"

"I know. Did Rome ever visit you?" She asked, finally lowering her spell. Exhaustion hit her like a train, but she didn't want to show it.

"Once or twice. He wouldn't shut up about his grandkids though. He talked a lot about Italy and Romano and Fortuna, but I don't know why he would be talking about luck."

Neylan laughed, "Nonno always was ambiguous."

"Nonno?" Wallachia asked, but a look of understanding crossed his face. "Teutonic's talked about you. You are the one with many names. So you're Fortuna?"

She bowed, "That was my second name, and I am proud of it. So, Romania, how will you proceed?"

He grinned, "I'm going to try and stay alive for now, but later? I'm going to break free." Neylan nodded and left the clearing, letting the boy follow her. He would have to carve his own destiny, but should he ask for help, she would be able to grant it.

* * *

1248-1249

Elizabeth read over the report in increasing horror and threw it down, screaming. England looked up startled, and the scholar next to him jumping in his seat. "Woman, what has startled you-"

She snarled and turned to him, "YOU RECORDED THE RECIPE FOR GUNPOWDER?! WHAT INSANITY-"

"ELIZABETH!" She looked to her brother and straightened herself. "What has gotten into you?"

The woman growled quietly, "Gunpowder is a component used in a weapon. This weapon-"

"My Lady, I can assure you that-" She cut him off, rolling her eyes.

"Sir Roger Bacon, I am asking you to please shut up. I'm trying to tell you what gunpowder can do if you're not careful-"

He frowned, "I am more than careful, My Lady. I do understand the ramifications-"

Elizabeth stomped up to him, "I'm not sure you do. This component is responsible for the death of millions of people. Genocides, murder, suicide, every possible way of killing others, all because this small amount of powder can launch a piece of metal flying through the air at incredible speeds and hit a target hundreds of feet away. You do good work, Bacon, but this? This has consequences that even I can't fathom." She shook her head and stormed out, crying.

The next year, Bacon instead published a new article, one speaking of optics and eyeglasses. Elizabeth thanked him for the change in subject. England couldn't have been any more happy to have such a studious scholar on his hands.

* * *

1252

Veneziano watched his sister pace, "Sorellona? Are you going to still go to the Lateran Palace with us?"

She shook her head, "Sorry, Venie. I've already been tortured, I'm not risking this with the church." She paused when her brother stiffened and growled.

"Who was it?" Fortuna swallowed and took in a breath, but Feliciano cut her off, "You've promised me you'd never lie, Sorellona. Who?"

Fortuna sighed, "Someone who is dead. I said I wouldn't lie, not withhold information. Don't try to get it out of me. But I'm staying away from the church for a few centuries. I'm not having the inquisition on my ass."

Luciano began to emerge, growling and he toyed with his knife, "Fortuna, don't be playing this game with us-"

"I'm not playing any game, Luci. Respect my decision, you two, or..." She trailed, glaring him down. Luciano chuckled darkly.

"Or what?" He paused when he saw his sister's face. "Fortuna?" She chuckled and raised her hands poised as claws. He began to see where she was going and began to backup. "Ragazza, don't do this-"

"Too late!" The auburnette lunged for him and began to tickle him. "Say Sorellona! Say it!" He tried to fight her off, attempting to hold in his giggles. It didn't take long before he had tears coming out of his eyes. "Say it!"

"S-Sorellona! I-I give!" He gasped, struggling for breath and laughter simultaneously. "Why did you do that?"

Fortuna sat down next to him, "Because, I want you to respect my decisions. You want me to respect your personal space. You see where I'm going here?" He frowned at her and hummed. "But still, I'm going to have to stay away from the church. Ad extirpanda is mostly targeting those French Cathars or whatever-"

"-They're heretics, it doesn't matter-"

"-It doesn't mean that they won't try to get me. And the Cathars are people too... With what happens in the next few decades... Peaches, a few decades...?" She trailed in horror, but Luciano snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Oi, what's going on?" He demanded and she swallowed thickly.

She clenched the hem of her dress, "Well, um, France kills another immortal. He has them and their people burned at the stake. I'm worried that I might get grouped with them."

He shrugged, "So? Just stay away from them." Fortuna hummed and sighed. "Don't worry about it. I can have Feliciano talk to the Pope. Worse comes to worse, that bastard will get excommunicated for a few decades." The woman laughed and carefully ruffled his hair.

* * *

1255

Veneziano ran back and forth across the bridge, "Sorellona! Look at this!" She laughed, slowly walking across the bridge, running her hand over the railing. The almost-gazebo at the center provided the sun coverage and she sighed. The bridge back have been wooden, but it was still so much like the stone one she had grown up running across. The sunrise looked beautiful and Veneziano tugged on her dress. "Pick me up, pick me up, pick me up!"

The woman laughed, taking him into her arms and set him on the railing. He clung to her tightly, but giggled. "You know, when I was growing up, Mama used to take me running through these streets. They've changed so much and so little. I remember when I was about five, six, something like that, she used to hold me up like this. Then, she would do this!" Veneziano screamed as his sister grabbed him and held him over the water. "You're the lion king!" He giggled as his sister brought him back over the bridge.

"So, the rialto bridge really lasts for seven more hundred years?" He asked, following his sister slowly.

She hummed, "The wooden one? No, that burns down soon. There's a stone one that's designed in the 16th century and _that's_ the one I know."

* * *

1257

She knew something was wrong. It wasn't in the air, it wasn't in a letter, and had it not been for what she knew, she would think someone had died. Veneziano was right next to her as she stiffened and trembled. "Holy shit..."

He spared her a nervous glance, "Sorellona, what's wrong?"

Fortuna swallowed nervously and took him into her arms, "Well, um... Do you remember when mount Vesuvius erupts every once in a while? Well, Vesuvius is a volcano, and there are others around the world. One just erupted and,erm, scholars in my day think that this causes a very rough period of time."

"What happens?" He asked, looked at her from behind closed eyes.

She sighed, rocking him back and forth, "Disaster. Not much happens at first, but it gets colder. Crop failures, disease, it's just like the war that Justinian started."

Veneziano frowned, cocking his head, "Who was that again?"

"Remember when Germania came down and Byzantine started fighting? He has an entire plague named after him? He was Byzantine's boss? The one who married a stripper?"Veneziano giggled more as she tried to explain, and when she said the last part, he nodded.

"I remember him now! Those times sucked!"

Fortuna nodded, "Yeah, and this isn't going to be some small thing. The effect that the eruption had is called the small ice age. It's going to suck, especially for the North." Veneziano winced in agreement, but they soon went back to playing. The Samalas eruption was nothing to brush off.

* * *

1259

France grinned over at England, "And why would I stop giving our people my support? It's obvious that they want someone else to be king other than Henry III, oui?"

The other preteen huffed, "Are you just looking for an excuse to annoy me? Because it's working."

"Can you two finish your spat so we can finally get down to business?" Annabelle asked, crossing her arms. The kings were sitting nearby, but were chatting idly, calculating their every move.

France nodded, "Oui, I would agree. So, Black Sheep, anything that you would like to recommend?"

England frowned, "I want you to stop trying to get my king usurped. Anything on your side?"

"I want some of my lands back. Ideally? Normandy," He said, looking at his nails.

The Briton slammed his hand on the table, are you insane? Those have been my lands-"

France held up a finger, "You only got them when William the Conqueror-"

"William the Bastard!" England threw in, but France merely frowned as he continued.

"Came over and tried to keep his claim. John lost you those claims not long ago, oui? But, I can do a compromise," He said, looking to his king, Louis IX, for approval. The king nodded, looking at Henry again. "I can let you keep Gascony, but only Gascony."

England frowned, "So, in return for giving up claims to land that have been mine for..." He looked to his sister for support.

"Almost all of two centuries," Annabelle supplied, leaning back in her chair. England nodded and looked back to his enemy.

"And whose lands were they before that, Angleterre? Hmm? And besides, the way that Henry has been spending money, do you really think that you can afford another war?" France said, raising an eyebrow.

England paused and sighed, "Fine. I'll take the blasted deal."

Annabelle watched the treaty close quietly, smiling as each pair of parties took their own copy. Later, the three immortals met up to go drinking and arguements were quietly smoothed over. When France left to relieve himself outside, she turned to her brother, "You do realize that you got the better part of the bargain, right? You were going to lose those lands whether you liked it or not, but you not only got France to temporarily recognize your claim to Gascony and you also got him off your back with the rebels." He nodded and drained the rest of his ale.

* * *

1261

Neylan laughed in demented glee as she helped chase the Mongols away, "RUN YOU FILTHY BASTARDS!" Hungary grinned as he shot down another Mongols, his body falling to the ground as his horse continued. The two could see the child nation riding away in anger.

"So, Lithuania managed to push them away, and I've been using old castles that were used to keep me out," Hungary chuckled as he rode up next to his friend. Neylan laughed, but a small bird began attacking the woman's head. She growled, grabbing it gently. The small avian stopped flapping and she got a better look at it. A small piece of paper on the leg caught her attention and she grasped it. "Who sent it?"

Neylan's eyes zoomed over the piece before she turned tail with the horse and galloped off. Hungary blinked in confusion and sighed. "I never get told anything anymore, do I?"

The auburnette, on the other hand, was freaking out. The time she was worried about was underway.

* * *

1262

"Annabelle, are you sure you don't want me to come in?" France asked. She shook her head as she checked over her blades.

"No, I want to see how Romano reacts to him without anyone else. Thanks again for keeping those dresses safe for me," Fortuna responded as she started walking towards Montpellier. France nodded and she let the two auras lead her. It took most of the day, and the sun was just settling as she finally approached the door. She grinned and pushed the door open.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Fortuna yelled. She looked around at all the art, smiling at the familiar Arabian influences. A small noise around the corner made her turn and put a hand on her blade. A tall youth emerged from the shadows, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, a blade in his hand and a frown on his face, but it looked somehow out of place. "Hey, do you know where he is?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you're looking for, señorita, but I think you have the wrong house," He said, tightening his hand on the long sword.

Fortuna rolled her eyes, "Please, he let me know where he was, Aragon."

He growled, his eyes glinting darkly, "Who are you?"

She shrugged, "I'm just looking for Romano." The teen bristled and he took a step forward.

"Your name no longer matters to me. You just threatened Romano," He said, making another step forward.

"Well, Aragon, I do believe it's very easy to threaten him. He makes it too easy... Speaking of which, ROMANO, YOU LITTLE SHIT, WHERE ARE YOU?" Fortuna yelled again, turning her back to Spain. He roared and charged her, but he very quickly found his sword out of his hand, his back on the floor, and his lungs devoid of air. "Romano!"

He growled airly and grabbed her ankle, "S-Stay away from him-"

"ROM- Oh there you are!"

Spain looked to the child in the doorway with terror in his eyes, "Romano, run! She's here to take you-"

"Oi, Ragazza, why do you always have to be so loud? What the hell did you did to Aragon?" He scolded, munching on a peach. The teen watched in confused horror as the woman walked up to Romano, picking him up to spin them around. His horror slowly faded as Romano giggled, holding onto her. "Ragazza, knock it off! Seriously, what the hell did you do to Spain?"

She grinned, shifting to keep both feet firmly on the ground, "He got in my way. I wanted to see my little fratello~!"

Spain's jaw dropped, "Y-You're his sister?!"

She smirked, turning to him, "Hello there, brother to Portugal. He's told me a lot about you."

"I-I don't understand. G-Grandpa never-"

Fortuna chuckled, "Yeah... Grandpa never mentioned me much in the west. Just enough for me to get to know the family pretty well, but he prefered to talk about Italia." She poked Romano's cheek and he tried to bite her finger. She laughed and went to help Spain up, "Sorry about that, but-"

"Don't get in Sorellona's way. She's scary," Romano said, leaning his head on her shoulder.

Spain chuckled, accepting her hand, "I can see that. How much did you see?" He shifted nervously and the siblings shared a hard look.

Romano looked to the man, "Not much. Just enough to see Ragazza flip you."

"Yeah, you did say Carina could be-"

"What did you just say?" Romano stiffened as his sister glared down Spain. "What did you just call me?"

"Um, Carina? Romano told me that was your name-"

She hissed at him, "Yes, but that was a deeply personal name. You are to never use it, do you understand?"

He grinned, "Sure, whatever you say, Carina." He sent a wink her way, but she pulled him towards her face.

"No, you don't understand. I abandoned that name. Call me Fortuna. And you," Fortuna growled, ditching Spain in turn for Romano. The teen straightened his shirt as he watched the siblings quickly switch to Italian. "You know that name is deeply personal. How can you just throw it out?"

He huffed, "He was pressuring me!" Fortuna scoffed and looked to Spain.

"Just call me Fortuna. Romano invited me to the wedding. I knew the Hohenstaufens in some backwards way," She said, reshouldering her bag and going back to Latin.

Romano scoffed, "You literally said you wanted to gut Barbarossa in his sleep."

She snarled, "He made me watch German troops burn down Veneziano's cities." Romano hummed, admitting his defeat quietly.

Spain chuckled, "Well, it's nice to meet you, and I'm sure that Romano's happy to see someone familiar." The siblings hummed before Romano slammed a fist into his sister's face. "Romano! What was that for?!"

Within a week, the wedding was underway. Romano refused to leave his sister's side, and he had been acting off. Fortuna in turn stuck to him like an ink stain. The day of the wedding, Romano brought her a dare blue cloak. With a flushed face, her presented it to her, "To go with that stupid sky dress." She chuckled and ruffled his hair, pinning it on.

"It's beautiful, Romano. C'mon, lets go get you dressed up," She said, kissing his forehead. He smiled almost invisibly, but quickly frowned.

"Do I have to? It's such a waste of time!" He whined.

Fortuna rolled her eyes, "Come on, let's show off the power of Rome, Naples, Palermo, Sicily." He smirked and let his sister pick him up.

* * *

A few hours later, he was watching Constance, daughter of Frederick II, accept the ring of Peter III of Aragon, when he felt a part of him rip away. He could feel something merge and suddenly, a new surge of memories hit him. He barely heard his sister hiss quietly as she slipped her cloak over him.

In an instant, he was floating in darkness, but he could still understand everything going on around him, but someone else was floating in the span with him. "H-Hey? Who's there?"

A small voice coughed, "W-What? What's going on?"

"A-Are you the devil?" Romano asked, turning around.

"I-I don't think so. W-Where's Neylan?"

Romano froze, "N-Neylan? Do you mean Fortuna?"

The voice finally seemed to waver in fron to him as a red cloud, "T-That's what she said her family called her. Who are you?"

"Oh shit. No, no no no!" Romano began to panic, lashing his aura out against the cloud, but his sister's aura seeped in, a gentle hand in his hair that made him calm. "I-I know. My brother has t-this presence in his head, a, um, a thing to help keep him mentally stable. I-I think you're that other side. You're me..." Romano began to hyperventilate again, but his sister refused to let him go.

"Hey, I know you two are panicking right now, but calm down. I'll be here to talk in a minute," She whispered and Romano sighed.

"Well, what am I going to call you? I can't call you 'Other Me.'"

The voice hummed, "Well, Neylan called me Flavio. What about you? You're like a fresh bottle of wine, aren't you? You really have to breathe before your full personality comes out, don't you?" 'Flavio' hummed again and Romano snarled, "I'm going to call you Lovino!" Before he could react any other way, the two were shifted and they could see their sister.

Lovino faced the void, "Don't you touch my sister-"

"Romano, calm the fuck down. I just want to talk, ok? So, who are you?" Fortuna asked, setting them on the floor.

Flavio took control, "Neylan? I-Is that you?"

She frowned, "Why are you using that name?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Because that's what everyone called you? But... I get why you called me Flavio..." Fortuna stared down at him with vacant eyes, and Lovino took this time to look through the new memories and he suddenly understood why Rome was so heartbroken.

"F-Flavio? W-What? H-How?" He shrugged and Lovino pushed outward. Fortuna chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, "Sorry, but can I talk to Lovino? Just know, welcome to the family, and you each are your own person. It's nice to see you again, Flavio." She kissed his forehead and when she pulled away, Lovino was there. "Hey, Roma, what's-"

"You betrayed Grandpa?!" He roared, snarling in her face.

Fortuna sighed, running a hand through her hair, "You've known I've done that, I told you as bedtime stories! You're just seeing it first hand, Romano-"

"Flavio calls me Lovino now. But how can you just welcome him into the family like that-" He growled. Romano knew what he was saying hurt, but Flavio was just waiting patiently.

His sister smiled just as patiently, "Romano, I'm terrified each time I meet someone knew. I'm scared each time I meet someone that they're going to find some way to betray me, to hurt my family, but remember. This is you. My country, my heart, my nation. You are my everything, and there is no way I can reject a part of me like that. But you have to remember, Flavio is just as much a part of you. He's to help you. He's not going away, so try to play nice. It's also nice to have someone there to wear as a disguise."

Romano hummed, looking at his hands. His sister smiled, "Close your eyes and see him. Go ahead and have a nice little chat. Spain invited us to a nice formal dinner." He nodded and sunk back into the void.

* * *

Fortuna smiled as she pulled on one of the dresses that France had lent her, tying her hair in a tight bun on the top of her head. She smiled and walked out, happy to see her brother all dressed up. He was wearing pants, a nice vest and a small red ribbon around his neck. She smiled, "You look nice, Romano! It's nice too see you out of that weird dress."

He hummed, not lifting his eyes, "Yeah, well, Flavio picked it all out. He threatened to burn that dress."

She chuckled, moving a few strands of his hair around, "So, have you two worked anything out?"

"I'll be in control in public, but he still gets influence. He says you look nice," He mumbled, blushing. The woman smiled and nodded, holding out a hand.

"Thank you, you two. C'mon, let's go. Spain's waiting for us," Fortuna breathed. Her brother looked up to grab her hand, but his gaze trailed to the back of her head and he froze, his face turning a deep red. "Romano? Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah, Ragazza, I-I'm fine. L-Let's go..." He drifted on air as they walked into the dining room. Spain was waiting at the head of the table, and he looked up.

"Wow, you two clean up nice! I mean, not that you looked bad before, it's just-"

Romano rolled his eyes, "Spain, shut up." The Spaniard chuckled and nodded, ruffling the boy's hair. "So, what's to eat?"

Spain grinned, "Some homegrown crops and freshly caught fish! We're having tarts for dessert!" He motioned to everything as he mentioned it. The siblings' eyes drifted and they sniffed the aromas carefully.

The child frowned, "You used a little too much spice and too little salt."

"The oil makes up for it-" Fortuna put in, but Romano scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? No, it'll make it slide down our-"

She frowned, "Romano, we are at a guest's house and eating their cooking. You are not going to criticize-"

Spain chuckled, holding up a hand, "It's fine, señorita. Romano is just giving me pointers, that's all."

The auburnette chuckled, "It's nice for you to see it like that. After all, he does have the most life experience dealing with mediterranean food."

Romano threw a small piece of fish at her, "Don't make me sound that old. You still are the second oldest person here." His sister rolled her eyes, but he jolted in his seat when Spain grabbed his curl and pulled. "Chigi! What the hell, you bastard?!"

"You can't go making women feeling bad like that, Romano! Especially your sister!" Spain scolded, but Fortuna stood.

"Who the hell gave you permission to do that?! Do you even know what that doe-"

Romano growled, "Ragazza!" Immediately, his sister quieted and sat back down. "Don't worry about it, Spain, just don't do it again."

The teen blinked in confusion, "Does it do something? And why are you acting like it's only with Romano? You have one too, Chica." He reached over to grab something behind her and Fortuna cried out, stiffening and trying to duck away. Spain let go, confused at her and her brother's red faces.

"Spain! What the hell- Sorella, go to your room!" Romano yelled, standing on his chair. She nodded, standing on shaky knees, still red faced.

The teen's frown dusted his face, "Romano, you should not send your sister to her room! What did she do?"

Fortuna coughed into her hand, "A-Actually, I am not feeling well. May I be excused-"

"Oh, of course, yes! Let me walk you to your roo-"

"Stay away from my sister, you bastard!" Romano yelled, and his underlying red aura flared. Flavio never got to show as Spain stood to follow her out anyway, but she held up a hand.

"Spain, please, leave me be," Fortuna said, scurrying out. The door closed behind her with a small click.

The brunet flopped back into his seat, "W-What was that?"

Romano pursed his lips as his face flushed. He fiddled with his ribbon, "I-Italian's c-curls are sensitive. They shouldn't be t-touched. R-Ragazza never knew she had one, and I don't blame her. Her hair was always down, and-"

"But what do they do?" Spain asked, staring him down. Romano growled and stiffened.

"Fortuna owes me," He mumbled, not looking up. "T-They're erogenous spots. I didn't tell you that." Spain paled and he put his head in his hands. "Leave her alone for now. Leave some food outside her door. Cherries are her favorite," Romano said, standing. He walked out and went to his sister's room.

When he walked in, she was in a basic nightdress and sitting in front of a mirror. Her hair was pulled over her shoulder and she was crying. Romano smiled and went to lean on her leg, "You see, Ragazza? Nonno wouldn't just leave you like that. But, what happened? You didn't used to have that."

"I know... I-I saw Nonno a few hundred years ago. It was Christmas, 800. Holy Rome was just earning his name. He shows up and he's just making fun of Holy Rome, but... He's just there. Before he leaves, he just reaches behind my head and says a few words, but then he was gone again."

"Sounds like Nonno," He joked, climbing onto her lap. She nodded, looking at it more in the mirror. "It's so... different." The siblings laughed and Romano soon left. When he did, he spotted Spain holding a tray of food, cursing quietly. He chuckled and went behind a corner to spy.

Spain knocked on her door with his foot and Fortuna opened the door, "Spain? What are you doing here?"

He chuckled nervously, "Well, um, I-I wanted to s-say I-I'm sorry for what happened at dinner. I-I heard that cherries were your favorites." Fortuna's face soured and she nodded, looking at the tray. A small cup of wine, a piece of bread, fish, a small bowl of cherries, and a small dandelion. "You don't like cherries, do you?"

"I'm fine with cherries-"

"Dio mio, you really hate cherries," He said, pouting.

Fortuna chuckled, "Spain, it's fine. I was going to figure out about everything sooner or later, but this is a nice gesture. Thank you."

He nodded and handed it over, "Oh, good! I was worried you were going to hate me!"

She laughed, taking the tray and settling it on her hip. Her free hand went to ruffle his hair, "You're adorable."

"But... Not in a young way, right?" Spain asked, looking to her with hope. Her face fell as she knew exactly what the teen meant.

Fortuna swallowed, "Spain, I-I-no. You're asking something that I can't answer. You... I can't, I'm sorry." She shut the door and Spain pouted.

Romano looked down, and Flavio, for once, was silent.

* * *

1265

Romano sighed as France sat down across from him, "You have got to be joking."

France chuckled, "I'm afraid not. Annabelle, how have you been?"

She winced, "Having to deal with one of Rome's grandkids going throw puberty and hitting on me? Peaches, you weren't this bad." France doubled over laughing.

"Are you serious? Oh, Belle! He is crushing on someone he looks up to!" He said, wiping away a tear.

"Were you ever this bad?" She interrogated, raising an eyebrow.

He managed to get his laughter under control, "With you? No, not after everything what's happened. But him? He doesn't know you-"

"She flipped him because she broke in and was 'threatening me'," Romano interrupted, smirking. Fortuna rolled her eyes and looked to France.

"But still, why here, why you?" The woman asked, leaning forward,

Romano hummed in agreement, "Yeah, wine bastard, why are you here?"

France frowned, "Well, the Pope wants Holy Rome gone, so he asked me to come down. C'mon, it'll be just like old times, no?" Romano looked down and scooted closer to his sister to hide.

Fortuna huffed, "It's because of you that Holy Rome is here in the first place."

"Like hell you're becoming king. I'm not going down without a fight this time. I learned my lesson with Holy Rome," Romano glared. France shrugged and stood, leaning over him.

"Well, whether you like it or not, the Pope and my king support this. This is happening," He purred, reaching over to pet Romano's hair, but Fortuna grabbed his wrist.

"Leave, Frankish," She frowned, wrapping an arm around her brother, pulling him tighter into her side. France hummed and did so, but all the threatening would be in vain. Charles of Anjou, youngest of the king of France, would be King of Sicily in 1266.

* * *

1270

Ragin smiled as Lithuania placed a foot on her chest and pointed his sword on her shoulder, "Yield."

She dropped her sword, grinning, "I yield. Nice job. It only took, what, 900 years?" He flushed, helping her up.

"It's not that bad. But thanks for coming up to help. Hungary offered me some advice a while ago, but I need to be able to push back against the Teutonic knights," He said, going to sit on a nearby bench. He pulled out a whetstone, beginning to sharpen his blade. She plopped down next to him, doing to same. "It's been a while."

"It has. I keep looking around, almost expecting to see Germania and Estonia-"

He sighed, "You do know that Denmark and those damn knights have been picking on him, right?" Ragin growled, but relaxed, putting her right ankle on her knee.

"He's strong, that's for sure. He's not going anywhere. Anything else new?" The woman asked, looking at the setting sun briefly.

Lithuania shrugged, "Estonia thinks he found a new immortal, but he's pretty shy. Have you met Mongol?" He nervously shot her a glance and Ragin chuckled, ruffling his hair.

"Don't worry, I'm making sure that doesn't happen again. Mongol might have threatened me, but he crossed a line with me. I let him know that," She said, laughing. The boy nodded, snickering. "Well, c'mon, it's time you go show Teutonic what you've learned. He needs to learn that he can't just invade anyone." The woman paused for a moment, but sighed, thinking to herself, "Not that it would stop him."

Lithuania nodded and held up his sword, "Let's go." The battle of karuse ended in a large defeat for the Livonian forces, and needless to say, Teutonic was not pleased. He swore his vengeance for his dead soldiers and Livonian Grand Master, barely escaping with a bishop. She shook her head, and they walked away.

* * *

1273-1276

" ** _No, Austria, Ottokar lost the election. You aren't getting any more power right now_** ," Holy Rome growled.

Austria frowned, looking down at him, " ** _Ottokar isn't going to take this well, I hope you know_**."

The blonde huffed, " ** _It does not matter. Rudolph is king, and you cannot change that_**." He spun on his heel and walked out, storming out to find his new king. Austria's glare bore into the back of Holy Rome's head as the child left.

" ** _He is going to regret that_** ," He mumbled, but Amalia did not know if it was to himself or to her. She put a hand on his shoulder. " _ **Amalia, leave me be-**_ "

" ** _Don't be so quick to hate Rudolph. Ottokar has done much good for you, but you know as well as I do that time passes and people die. Rudolph will be a better friend than foe. He will bring you great-_** "

Austria spun around, his irritation focused on her now, " ** _What, great riches? Tell me, 'Lady Luck', why should I listen to you?_** "

The auburnette frowned, " _ **You shouldn't. You end up... not the same. I've fucked up a lot, but take one piece of advice. Tread carefully, or else you might screw up too far."**_ She watched for a reaction and Austria frowned.

 ** _"Then take this advice: leave me alone for a while_** ," He said, walking away. Amalia sighed, running a hand through her hair.

" ** _I shouldn't have done that, should I.._**." The woman walked out and settled in for a long ride ahead.

Rudolph didn't do her any favors the next year when he declared that all territories that had been traded around since Frederick II be returned to imperial hands. Ottokar, who had dominated the east, detested this. Austria, to say the least, was enraged. In 1275, Ottokar was forced to hand over his duchies, and Austria landed in the hands of Rudolph himself. Of course, being the stubborn man he was, Ottokar wanted to go to war, but troubles within Bohemia and a siege at Vienna prevented this, and he was forced to give up a few duchies in 1276. The rest would be ripped from him when he lost to the Holy Emperor in 1278.

Austria glared the auburnette down, " ** _And you told me to accept Rudolph._** " His eyes bore into her and she shook her head, smiling.

Holy Rome rolled his eyes, " ** _And have you noticed how he hasn't given them to anyone else_**?" He paused and sighed.

" ** _No, I have noticed that, but it does not make me any less at ease. I'm concerned-_** "

" ** _For your people, I understand that. But Rudolph will take good care of them. Did you notice what he did in Rome_**?" Holy Rome said, looking to Amalia. Her eyes caught his and she raised an eyebrow. The boy smiled, " ** _He gave up all claims to Sicily, the Pope's land, and Rome. He had to if he wanted to be recognized as King of the Germans_**."

Amalia grinned and swept the empire into her arms, " ** _D-Do you know how... amazing that is_**?" He blushed and squirmed in her grasp and she quickly put him down. " ** _Sorry, but Holy Rome, how many emperors haven't invaded Italy_**?" The blonde blushed and she chuckled, ruffling his hair. " ** _Thank you. And Austria? You're under the control of the Emperor. Not many get to say that_**." He nodded, relaxing more into the idea.


	115. Chapter 103

**The weirdest chapter in a while. That's all.**

Middle High German

Latin

 **Old French/Middle French**

 **Old Spanish**

 _Arabic_

 _Polish_

* * *

1278

Amalia spit out blood as she pushed on in the battle. The screams of both men and horses echoed in her ears as she stuck close to the kids. Hungary was keeping a close eye on Austria, making sure his ally was safe, and Amalia was doing the same for the German. Ottokar was not one to give up the rest of his lands easily, and the result was one of the largest cavalry battles in the middle ages.

The woman was snapped out of her reverie as a lance was swung at her and she grabbed it, pushing back. The man behind it twisted so he would stay on, but barely managed to keep his weapon. The bohemian was forced to drop it when Holy Rome ran a blade through a side plate. She nodded to him, but forced her horse on, trying to locate the kings. They were off to the side, but the immortals were too far in the center to get to them. She spread her aura out over to their's and pointed in the kings' direction and they all agreed, moving to a new direction.

Somehow, Hungary's horse went down and he growled, jumping onto the back of Austria's horse. The latter panicked, almost stopping his equine, but Hungary yelled at him, drawing his bow. He then kneeled, taking down anyone who approached from the rump of the horse while Austria steered the horse. They finally reached the kings and froze. Rudolph was struggling to his feet, his horse dead, but Ottokar was just as dead. Word seemed to spread across the battlefield and it was quickly over. As both sides parted, the four immortals noticed that the imperial forces had significantly less forces tthan the Bohemians.

* * *

1282

She snuck into the house late at night and smiled as she breathed in the familiar air, but quickly frowned. It was almost... dustier. A small sound caught her attention and she jumped back as an axe flew down on where she just was. It barely had time to stop before it his the floor and Fortuna edged back, disappearing into the garden. The intruder's footsteps followed her, but froze.

" **Fortuna**?" Spain asked, gazing at the woman who struck a battle pose in the peach tree. She paused and lowered her blade, sighing.

" **Damnit, Spain, don't scare me like that. I was going to jump you for invading my brother's house. What the hell are you doing here**?" She growled, jumping down. Spain winced at the sound, but smiled.

" **I scared you? You scared me! I thought someone had broken in!** " He said, laughing.

The woman rolled her eyes, " **Please, everyone knows who lives here and they wouldn't. For the most part, they take care of Romano. But you're slow. That attack? That was child's play, Spain-** " The axe from earlier swung where she was and it chipped some of the wood.

" _ **SPAIN, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?**_!" Fortuna's eyes blazed as she looked at the damage. It wasn't particularly deep, but it was enough to be there. He wrenched the weapon out and grinned.

" **I hit a tree, so what**?" The man challenged. The two paused when they heard a sharp gasp, and Romano stood in the doorway to the garden.

"S-Sorellona? W-What happened to the trees?"

She was down the tree and pulling Lovino into an embrace, "Shh, it was just some minor damage that I just saw-"

He shook his head, "N-No, s-something happened to it?"

Spain approached him, "I-I did it. What's special about this tree?"

"It's..." Romano began, but looked to his sister.

Fortuna nodded, kissing him on his forehead, "It's our place. It's ancient, and back in the beginning, there were two. One for me, and one for Romano. Over the years, they've merged together. But..."

Romano took back over, "But you've damaged it! Just like your king is!"

Spain frowned, "Don't pretend you didn't see this happening, Roma. You knew that when Constance married Peter, he'd be pressing her claim."

"That's what you think," He glared, clutching his sister's dress. She held him closer, petting his hair.

"That's enough for tonight. Romano, let's go to bed. Spain, where are you staying tonight?" Fortuna interjected, frowning. He looked over the protective hedges and jerked his head in the direction of the city center. She nodded and turned to go inside, "Go to sleep, Spain. I'll take care of everything." The teen nodded and left the garden, watching the siblings enter the home. He would watch them glower at his king as he prodded the Sicilian citizens to fight back against the French. It would be a mistake that would land the mediterranean into a twenty-year war.

If only Piero's grandchild hadn't ended up on her doorstep.

* * *

1284

Amalia held the boy close, "Pastor, no matter how nice anything might sound, don't leave, ok?" The child blinked in confusion and nodded solemnly. She smiled and ruffled his hair, putting the child on one shoulder. He giggled quietly, his one leg kicking her lightly. He had shown up on Romano's doorstep with a letter. The child's blonde hair contrasted with his grandfather's black hair, but his amber eyes were the same. She walked into town and waved to several people she had met while she travelled and fought in the northern crusade. She continued walking towards the church and bowed to the priest.

"Tell me, child, what brings you home?" He asked gently. Amalia rose, and Pastor dug his fingers into her hair.

"I only seek a few night's sanctuary. I am meeting with a friend to the North and Pastor and I need a place to rest for a few days," The woman said. "If it's ok with you, I'd like to put my protection someplace better. His house knows no weapon." The priest raised an eyebrow, but sought no more questioning as he waved her in.

They walked towards the sanctuary and the man smiled again, "You're in luck, you have company. A man has arrived to call for any and all to come to the east. We told him that we cannot guarantee that any within our domain will go with him to spread his word." Amalia nodded, and Pastor tapped his mom's head. She looked up and held up a finger. He nodded and watched the situation unfold. They were led into the room, where two people were sitting.

"Holy Rome?" Amalia asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. He perked up, looking away from the man in bright clothes.

"Amalia! What are you doing here?" Holy Rome asked, standing.

She frowned, bringing Pastor down to her hip, "Trying to see what happens. What about you?"

"Teutonic said that he would appreciate more help and Rudolph figures having more people as a buffer in the east may help as well. Who is this?"

Amalia smiled, "This is Pastor. He's the grandchild of someone I..." Holy Rome bowed his head in understanding and she smiled. "Say hi, Pastor." He weakly waved and she put him on the floor. The child grabbed his crutch off his grandmother's back and steadied himself. "Pastor, go get settled. I'll be over in a minute. Nonna has to share some words." The blonde nodded, hobbling off. She stood and sent a look to the man on the bed, "Pied Piper." Holy Rome's eyes grew wide and he looked to the man.

The man stood and bowed, "Ma'dam, how may you and your son be fairing on this fine day? Tell me, are you interested in heading east, where the sun always shines and with a little-"

"Save it for someone who doesn't know, Piper. I've been East, all the way to China. I know what's out there and it's nothing but lies until you hit the south. Stay away from my grandson," Amalia snarled.

The man huffed, "It does not matter then. He is a deformed weakling-"

"You are lucky we are in a church, Piper, or blood would be spilt. Stay away from us, including Otto." Amalia put a hand on Holy Rome's shoulder, and dared the man to do anything. He merely shrugged.

"In that case, leave me to my work, and I'll leave you be. Good day, ma'dam," The Piper said, sitting back on his bed, polishing a flute. Amalia shivered and dragged Holy Rome away from the man.

The boy looked up at her, "Amalia, just because of that story, you don't have to get so worked up-"

Amalia looked down at him, "All stories have a pinch of truth in them, but it depends on the cook how much a pinch is. You're sleeping with me and Pastor until he's gone." Holy Rome nodded and looked to the other boy, sitting patiently on the bed. "And yes, he's mute. It makes communication a bit fun, but he's still an active mind. He understands what I'm saying most of the time, it's odd. Pastor is a wonder." Amalia finally approached him, placing a kiss on his head. He whirled around and grinned, reaching for her. She chuckled and pulled him in for an embrace. "Now, did the man say anything on what he was planning?"

Holy Rome sent a look towards the man, "Not quite, but he kept saying that when the tune shall play, the mice will be whisked away. I thought he meant actual mice."

"It does not matter. Get to bed, you two. It's going to be a long couple of days," She said, settling into her bed. The boys settled into her arms, and she stayed up for the rest of night, listening carefully. On the next day, she walked around, smiling sadly to the children. They were quite taken with the Piper, following him around when they could. The next night, there was silence. On the third night of her arrival, a haunting yet upbeat tune played through the night. It was loud enough to alert those awake, but just quiet enough for those asleep to stay so. Children's laughter echoed through the town, and Holy Rome looked at his friend in terror.

She held up a finger, her eyes filling with terror and tears, "We have to pretend nothing happened. It is the fate of the town." He nodded in submission and they listened the giggles fade. Soon, the town awoke and parents' screams of rage, terror, and confusion danced around, just as their children had done. The Pied Piper of Hamelin had come and gone, leaving sorrow in his wake.

* * *

1285 and 1287

Poland sang along with the hymns, making Neylan smile. The German church and Catholic churches could complain all they wanted to, but Poland wanted his churches his way. The song reached a fervor, and it soon quieted to let the priest speak his service. The best part of the entire service was the smiles of its participants when they came out. They had spent an entire church service, not speaking in Latin or German, but Polish.

It was like that throughout Poland, and its effects would sprout small ideas, but for now?

" _Did you hear that, Neylan? How absolutely amazing I sounded_?" Poland shouted, crashing into her legs. Pastor hobbled out after him, his bible clutched in his free hand. He was starting to grow, and he was in need of a new crutch soon.

The auburnette rolled her eyes, putting an arm around her grandson, " _I did, and it was beautiful, Poland. Was it worth the possible-_ "

" _Hate I'll be getting? Heck yes! I can't wait until next service_!" He ranted, spinning in circles.

She chuckled, putting a hand on his head to stop him, " _Alright, but we need to get you ready for the Mongols, remember? And Pastor, are you going to be ok fighting with us_?"

Pastor thought for a minute and nodded, and Poland sighed, " _Do I have to? Haven't Hungary and Russia been dealing with them_?"

" _They're doing their best, but you can't always rely on others to defend you. You have to fight for yourself_ ," Neylan justified, tilting her head. The blonde groaned and nodded.

" _Alright, let's get this over with.._." He ended up using the training two years later, defeating the Golden Horde at Kraków. It wasn't without his losses, however. A few cities fell, but Poland was more prepared than not.

* * *

1290

Hungary slammed the door open, making Poland scream, "HOW DID YOU KNOW, NEYLAN?! YOU PUT THAT DUMBASS IDEA IN HIS HEAD, AND LOOK AT HIM NOW!"

She sat up, putting a hand her head, "Hungary, what the fuck? It's the middle of my nap time..." She was tackled back onto her bed by Hungary. The child sat on her stomach and began shaking her.

"He's declared himself independent! He's fighting against me! Not if I can help it!" He declared, yelling in his friend's face.

Neylan hummed and turned over, sending Hungary off the bed, "Hun, come back to me when I'm awake... Wait, who?"

Hungary got up to glare at her, "Wallachia! He's trying to win his independence!" The woman chuckled and sat up.

"Well, the weather seems to be pretty nice, so what are you planning?"

The child growled, pacing the room, "I'm going to show him what's what! That's what! I mean, how dare he! I ended up punching him, and one of his teeth chipped, making him look weird, but that's besides the point-"

Neylan sighed, "Hungary, go home. You're going to drive yourself mad. Just... Go." He nodded, taking off. Poland looked to the woman, who chuckled. "I'm going to have to send him a congratulation letter."

"Let me sign it, too!"

* * *

1291

Holy Rome had come to Poland to drag her out, out to the middle of Europe, and it was the middle of the night. There were three weaker-aura immortals, ones she recognized as mercenary cantons, when they pushed their auras out, and tried to accomplish... something. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, but suddenly, the mix all melded and in a split second, someone new was there.

She gasped, looking at the child. He seemed to have skipped a few years, standing as toddler, looking around with wonder-filled eyes. His gaze settled on Holy Rome and he kneeled, "Holy Roman Empire..."

The empire nodded and drew his blade, resting the tip in the hollow of his neck, "You are the Swiss Confederation. Will you swear to protect the empire from all threats?" The new nation nodded and Holy Rome drew his blade back into its sheath. "Good. It's a shame, though. You missed Rudolph. My court is having trouble finding a new king..."

Amalia chuckled, "Otto, I think Swiss was formed because of his death." Switzerland's eyes settled on her and he cocked his head.

"Who... are you?" He asked, standing.

The woman smiled, kneeling. She ruffled his hair gently, "I'm one of many names, but call me Amalia."

He nodded, "Are you friend or foe?"

Amalia's smile grew into a grin before his eyes, "That's something only time will tell. But welcome to the world of the living and the damned." Holy Rome hummed in agreement and they left to let the future Switzerland walk around.

* * *

1293

Fortuna smiled as she walked next to Pastor, listening to the chatter of Florence. Her brother had asked her there to introduce her to a poet he thought she ought to know. She walked to a two-story home, where her brother was sitting next to a fountain, smiling. He had a sketchpad in his lap, occasionally looking up to a man who was writing next to him, "Fratello!"

Veneziano jumped and quickly threw down his pad to run up to her, "Sorellona! You came!"

She chuckled and picked him up, "Of course I did! You know I'll come for you!" The writer looked up and she bowed, holding her brother tightly. "Are you Dante? My brother has said good things about you."

He returned the gesture, "Your brother? Italy has said good things about his sister, so you are Fortuna? Did he give you that name?" The woman hummed, running a hand through her brother's hair.

"I am. The name is rather fitting, as it was given to me by my Grandfather-"

The man blinked, "So you are immortal. Who do you represent?"

Fortuna frowned, "I personify Luck. Nonno had a goddess he named me after, and I'm rather taken with the name." She grabbed onto a new train of thought, "Venie, did Roma tell you about the...?" She gestured to the back of her head, and he shook his head. She sighed, switching to old gothic, "I'll show you later tonight, but it's good news." Veneziano nodded.

"Dante's here to write and I told him about you! He wanted to meet you!" Veneziano chirped, reaching his arms out to Pastor. The teen chuckled airily and took him with one arm. Fortuna smiled again and looked to the man.

"Well, in the future, your works are well-loved, and my mother loved reading them to me," She said. The woman let the memory wash over her, gently reciting come of the lines under her breath. Pastor nudged her and she snapped out of it, nodding in appreciation. "But I am a fan of your work... Dante?"

He stared at her, "You were quoting passages I haven't published yet, how-?"

"Sorellona's magical!" Veneziano giggled, looking to Pastor, who nodded in agreement.

Dante blinked at his empty leg, "Oh, I apologize, who might you be?" Pastor sent his grandmother a look, and she smiled.

"That's something best explained inside. Do you have any other questions?"

"Do I ever!"

Veneziano chuckled as he looked to Pastor, "What have we done, Nipote?" He shrugged and hobbled in after. Dante ended up giving Fortuna a spare copy of La Vita Nuova, and she reread it several times, also reciting it for Veneziano. It was a nice taste of home.

* * *

1294

Portugal shifted on his feet, "Are you sure his anger isn't actually directed at me?" Fortuna chuckled, nudging him.

"Trust me, if England was angry, he'd let you know. But if he was angry, why he be doing this?" She asked, grinning. He nodded, sighing quietly in relief.

"Good, good. I think it will put him at ease to see someone familiar," The teen said, looking over the sea. Her brother's ship was just arriving in port and Portugal straightened. Soon enough, her brother was walking towards them, and the parties were shaking hands.

England sized up Portugal, who did the same, before they both nodded, "So you are Luisitania. My mother spoke about your's occasionally."

"Likewise. Rome was fond of saying what barbarians your brothers were," Portugal responded, but hummed. "Then again, I have no right to talk." The two chuckled and looked over the harbor again. "So, you still have Gascony, right?"

The blonde huffed, "Not if that bastard France keeps pushing me."

Portugal shrugged, "Things change over time. But while you still have it, do you want to try to relieve some of the troubles that our merchants are having?"

"Let's. What would you recommend?" Fortuna rolled her eyes and yawned. The conversation was rather dry, but the two nations seemed to be enjoying their time chatting.

When they finally seemed to be calming down, Fortuna ruffled England's hair, making his growl and curse quietly, "Why'd you do that, Bess?"

"You're getting taller. You need to stop growing. Oh, and how's Roger?" The woman asked, titling her head. What sha had said was true, England had grown. He was nearing her 5'2" and he was showing no signs of stopping.

His face fell slightly, "Roger... died two years ago..."

Fortuna froze and sighed quietly, "I'm starting to feel like those stereotypes of a shut-in."

* * *

1295

Veneziano was waiting for someone in his home, pacing back and forth nervously, "Where is he?" Fortuna snuck in the home and picked the child up, making him yell and pull out a knife. Luciano swiveled in her grasped, just about ready to sink his blade into her arm when he noticed who it was. "Fortuna, don't fucking sneak up on me like that, crazy bitch!"

She laughed and settled him on her hip, "Maybe, but who are you waiting for?"

"An old friend," Someone said from the doorway. The siblings looked over, Feliciano returning quickly, and grinned.

"Marco! You're back!" Veneziano yelled, jumping out of her arms. The explorer smiled wearily as he scooped up the nation. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"And I you, little one," He said, but the man paused when Veneziano cocked his head in confusion.

Fortuna chuckled, "It seems like you've spent a little too much time with China. How is he, by the way?"

Marco swallowed, switching back to his native tongue, "I guess I have... B-But China? He's been dealing with the Mongols. Luckily, they had a ruler that cared enough about wanting the nation's people to like him that he defended them, but..."

"He's still not happy. I understand," She muttered, looking down. Marco looked back to his country, smiling.

"Well, I have so many things to tell you about the east! They have compasses and so much silk, and really weird noodles," He said, going to sit down. Fortuna sat in a nearby chair and listened for the next several hours as he recounted his travels, but the world would get to see them in his book, The Travels of Marco Polo, five years later when a friend would publish them.

* * *

1299, July 23rd

Neylan smiled tearily as she watched Turkey take the side of his new ruler, Osman I. The man stood proud, placing a hand on Turkey's shoulder, " _We'll make it. I promise you_."

The nation nodded, placed a hand on his ruler's and kneeled, " _I trust you_." She cried quietly, leaving the hall to go sit outside. Her friend did not join her for a time, but when he did, he sat quietly next to her, leaning on her shoulder. " _Are you proud_?"

" _How can I not be? You're finally moving up! How does it feel, Ottoman_?" Neylan sent him a joking smile and he laughed, throwing his head back.

" _I am floating on a cloud and glowing as brightly as the sun! W-What happens in the future, c-can you tell me_?" Turkey asked, suddenly getting nervous.

Neylan frowned, trying to look into his eyes, " _Turkey, what's with the sudden interest_?"

He sighed, " _Well, I don't want to end up like a small state. You've heard stories of what's happened to them_."

Her lips formed a thin line. She knew what he was talking about. Turkey didn't want to end up like temporary states, some of which barely had a chance to experience freedom before being subjected and the identity dying off again.

" _Don't worry about that. You get strong, maybe a little too much-_ "

Turkey tensed, " _I thought you just said don't worry! You know that getting too big is a problem-_ "

" _I know, don't interrupt me! Well, you're lucky that by that time, Europe is a giant concert, and everyone has their part to play, including you. You're not going to die, don't worry. But you and Russia get into several spitting matches, but that's an understatement,_ " She said, looking to the sky. Turkey nodded and did the same. " _Where did time go?_ "

He smiled, " _To make company with destiny_."

* * *

1301

Hungary sobbed as she watched Andrew III be placed into his tomb, "W-Why? Why did it have to end?!"

Neylan put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, they had a good run, but you still have one last Arpad, right?"

He shook his head, "Yeah, but it's a girl! She can't carry the name! The line is dead!"

"It's not as dead as you think. It's under another name, but every one of your rulers, except one, _one_ , Hungary, isn't descended somehow from them. Hun left them to take care of you, and they're doing just fine!" She said, rubbing Hungary's back. He leaned into the touch, latching onto her waist. "I'll be here."

He hummed, holding her tightly, "I know... Can you go something about my hair? It's been getting really long lately and I got laughed at the last time I cut it."

The woman smiled and nodded, kissing his forehead, "I'll take care of it, just rest for now."

* * *

1302

Fortuna watched over the proceedings as her brother growled with the back of his throat in her arms. "How dare those bastards. How can they just come and take over, expecting us to be ok with it?"

She sagged, "I don't know, Roma, but just know that France won't be holding on for much longer. It's only another hundred years or two." He scoffed and the auburnette chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I know, but that's all I'm saying for now. Lovino, what does Flavi think about all this?"

His frown deepened, "He agrees that France has no claim to the land, but he knows what he's doing most of the time. His ruling family has a lot of favor with the Pope right now."

"Like that'll help," Fortuna mumbled, looking back to the two nations. "So, should we tell France?"

Romano raised an eyebrow, "About my problem your your's?"

She chuckled, "Well, considering how he keeps looking at you, he's already guessed it, but France probably wants to meet Flavio. But I was also thinking with my problem as well."

He shrugged, "Do what you want." Fortuna smiled and kissed his forehead. "Speaking of your problem, where's Pastor?"

"He's settled down in Southern France. He's got a wife and a sheep farm. Last I heard, he's got a little girl and twins on the way. But still, what are those two signing again?"

Romano pursed his lips, "Remember how my people didn't want Charles and France in charge? Well, they also turned on Peter and Spain. So, Spain and France have agreed that they'll each rule a section, but Spain will give up his part on his current king's death or some shit."

Fortuna rolled her eyes, "This is bullshit."

He snorted, "Tell me about it. Like Spain's going to give up power." The two signing the peace of Caltabellotta finally looked up and smiled at the siblings. "What the hell around looking at?"

"You look so happy, Roma! You're so adorable!" Spain gushed, coming over to pinch Romano's cheek. Romano sent his sister a look, and she looked away. The child quickly bit Spain and didn't let go as the teen flailed. "Carina! He's biting me!" France jolted as the other power called Fortuna by her name. Romano bit Spain harder and the teen finally let a cry out. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry! I won't say it again! I'm sorry! Fortuna, make him stop!"

"I don't see anything," She growled, not looking at Spain. "Romano, do you want to go nap?" He finally let go, resting his head on his sister's shoulder. Spain whined as he held his finger close to his chest.

"Fortuna, why did you let him bite me!" He cried, letting a tear trail down his face.

France frowned, "Because you annoyed Romano. Annabelle and Romano look after each other, Spain. Don't ever call Annabelle by that name again."

He frowned in confusion, "Why? No one will tell me!"

The blonde shook his head, muttering in Spain's ear, "It's what her name used to be before she was immortal. It's a name Annabelle doesn't use anymore." Romano clutched his sister's dress tighter as he heard the words whispered. He remembered the agony his sister went through in the days she was still adjusting to her immortality. The days she just sat in the street and watched his people go about their lives, not being able to find the peace in being able to live her life out calmly. The nights she would cry herself to sleep, too scared of the night terrors and the faces of those she left behind. He closed his eyes and tried to hug his sister as inconspicuously as possible. Her hand rubbing his back told him that she understood.

France turned back to the siblings, "So, Annabelle, Romano, is there someone you'd like me to meet?" Romano hummed and Fortuna nodded. "Alright, I'll meet up eith you later. You also need a haircut, Belle." The woman nodded again and they walked out.

Later that night, France knocked on the door, and Fortuna answered, "Hey, Frank. Come on in. Flavio's trying to tell Lovino that he doesn't have anything to worry about."

He chuckled, "So long as he's not as bad as Luciano or Oliver."

"I haven't asked if Luciano and Flavio have met yet, but that's going to be interesting..." She grimaced. France chuckled and they met in the dining room. Lovino was sitting on a cushioned chair, frowning and occasionally twitching when he finally looked up.

"Yeah, that's him," He said looking down again. He paused before nodding, "Sorella seems to think so. I don't know!" The child huffed and finally looked up. "So, are you ready, jerk?"

Fortuna chuckled and sat on the chair next to him, "It's fine, he's met England's other half already. I don't think he's met Luciano though."

France looked over, "Is that who's been lurking under dear Italy's smile? What are your... other personalities like?"

Romano sighed, "Let me introduce Flavio, but... Don't judge me..." He sighed and let himself relax, and very quickly, Flavio took over. He grinned and stood on the chair.

"Hello! You must be France right? I must tell you, I've been looking forward to meeting the nation who fucked over my family so much in the past few hundred years! It'll be nice doing business with you!" He said with a grin, holding out his hand. Fortuna chuckled and kissed his temple.

"Fratello, please don't threaten France. You can do that when you can properly kick his ass," She said, making France gasp in mock horror.

"Annabelle! How could you encourage such violence!" He cried.

Flavio, "I don't know, how could you encourage such a rat to leave it's hair all over your jaw." Fortuna had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing and France's jaw dropped.

"Romano, clean your mouth!" He demanded.

The child shrugged, "Clean up your architectural style. How dare you left that German dirt taint Nonno's style."

Fortuna coughed, "Ok, Flavio, that's a little far, but still, nice retorts." The blonde shrugged and France was still trying to find a comeback. "France, give up. But you wanted to meet him. You're luck so far. Luciano would have threatened to gut you and thrown a knife at your head already."

Lovino took back over and chuckled, "I don't know what's better, Flavio's comments or the fact you're probably right about Luci."

"I must say, he isn't much different from Romano, but it's still a pleasure to meet you," France weakly said, still shocked by the attitude. Lovino and Fortuna shared a grimace, and she voiced her discontent.

"Actually, they're plenty different, Flavio's just angry about the past. Lovino is the less emotional one, but..." Lovino shrugged at the next part, "I'm pretty sure that Flavio will be more likely to deceive you. They're still my brothers, and I'm going to love them either way, no matter what happens." She picked him up and blowing a raspberry into his cheek. He giggled and tried to squirm away, but his sister held tight.

"Lemme go, Ragazza!"

France chuckled and relaxed onto the wall, watching the scene. He smiled softly and let himself drift into his own thoughts. He did wish sometimes that he could be mortal and have a family, but... seeing his friends spend time together and let him see into their worlds like this was enough. It was just enough-

"Ow, Roma, let go!" Fortuna cried, trying to pull her hair out from under Romano's feet. He tried getting off and finally, he was out of his sister's hair.

France sighed getting off the wall, "Annabelle, I need to cut your hair." The siblings shared another look and France raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"

The woman swallowed, "Well, um... We found out at Spain's place a few years ago that um-"

"Just show him, Ragazza," Romano stuck in. She nodded and moved her hair back, letting the curl out. France stared at it in confusion, frowning.

"That wasn't there a few hundred years ago," He said, coming closer.

She sighed, moving her hair back, "I know, Frank. Rome did it at the end of 800. I didn't know for almost 500 years." He nodded and went to get the brush and scissors. France, being very careful of her curl, gave her a trim that knocked off a few inches, leaving enough to dangle over her waist.

Just before everyone went to bed, Fortuna grabbed France's hand. He looked at her in confusion, but then he saw her angry face, " **Don't draw out his suffering. Just... please**." He didn't get to ask her what she meant as she retreated into her room. The door slamming was enough of a period that he didn't dare chase her.

* * *

1304

France dragged her up north for some reason, but whatever it was, the amount of cats running around made her a little concerned. While cats would help keep the population of rats down, but it didn't mean that they couldn't carry plague themselves. France darted between vendors and their stalls, dragging Annabelle behind him. She kept up, looking at the fabrics at each. He finally reached the end of the hall, where two children were sitting in the corner and munching on candies. " **Flanders, Holland**."

They looked up and Annabelle looked to him in confusion, " **Frank, are you telling me that there are countries I've been looking over...?** " His amused look was enough for her to smack him on the shoulder. '

" **Hey, why did you hit big brother France**?" One of the children protested. They put down their snack to beat on Annabelle's waist lightly. She chuckled and grabbed their wrists, forcing them down as she kneeled.

"Do you understand what I'm saying, little old one?" She asked patiently. They froze and trembled. "You don't have to worry, I'm just like you. I am one of many names, but what is your name?"

The kid swallowed, "I-I once heard the name Belgium muttered. Why?"

Annabelle smiled, releasing them, "Because, what Francy-pants calls you might not be what your name is. Just call me Annabelle, it's what the annoying one calls me." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder to France, who grumbled. Belgium chuckled, covering their mouth. The other kid stood and got in front of Belgium, frowning.

"Get away from my little sister. I'm not going to let you push her around too," He growled, crossing his arms.

She stood, putting her hands up, "Don't worry, I can't conquer anybody. I may not age, but I'm not a nation, don't worry. Who are you?"

He shrugged, "I'm Holland currently, but not for long." The glare that Holland sent over her shoulder to France made her laugh.

" **France, you're going to gain plenty of land later on, let the new kids get a little attention, ok**?" She said, looking over her shoulder.

France frowned and pulled her aside, " **Why have you been trying to make me angry lately? Is it something I've done**?"

She frowned, " **I've tried not to, but it's what you'll do. Like several other nations, you become known for killing people. Most popular ones are use of the guillotine and burning people at the stake. Even one of your people, your little maid of Orleans, is burned at the stake by English Cardinals, and there is nothing you can do about it. It hurts, France, when I see your people do this stuff**." She turned back to Belgium and Holland and nodded, "I'm sorry, it's very nice to meet you both and I hope we can talk more in the future, but I need to go." Holland nodded and Belgium waved, and Annabelle quickly stomped out, running away.

Just like she always did.

* * *

 **The next chapter will be shorter, but it will span five years at most. I'm sorry, but there's going to be a death of a nation. It will not be pretty.**


	116. Chapter 104

**This chapter will only be five years, but I'm going to hate it so much... This is all in a mixture of French and Latin.**

* * *

1305

Annabelle sat in a far corner of France's court when she first heard the whispers. "Did you hear? Those damn..." "...I mean, how could they? After they defended our Holy Land for so long..." "...Why do they do that, such depravity..." She closed her eyes when she saw France exchanging the same rumors with several members of his court.

She knew the rumors were false. France knew it too. She knew that he was angry that they refused to give loans to France. France knew it too. She knew it was a huge scheme to get them out of the way so the king could claim all their money for himself and declare himself a hero. France knew it too.

More rumors floated into of her ears, and a familiar presence came to sit next to her in her secluded corner. "So, do you believe them?"

Annabelle shook her head, "Never. I know you. I know that you're one of the purest souls that a nation could have, if you exclude the bloodshed, but then again, every nation has had to spill blood. You know that. I know that."

The preteen hummed, "I do. I don't have much longer, do I?" Annabelle hung her head and let some tears trickle down her face. She let her hair mask the falling teardrops, but he pushed her hair out of her face. "Don't worry, Annabelle. I will be with God, and no one can take that from me. No matter what pain they will inflict, no matter they say that I have strayed from God's path, I know the truth. I am the lord's sheep, and he is my shepherd, ready to lead me home."

"How can you be so positive? How can you... Continue to go on like this? How?" Annabelle sobbed, looking into his eyes. His smile broke her heart as he took a cloth to dab at her eyes.

"I am scared, but I trust that all will be fine. I may not make it out alive, but so long as there is hope and faith, there is good in the world." He paused and smiled again, "Would you like me to sing you a song? I believe it's been a while." She nodded and slowly, the adolescent began singing quietly, his emotions sinking into the song, making her tears flow once more. His terror, his hope, his resolution, it was all poured into one song, and she had a feeling that it would be his last song sung in public.

They both knew he was doomed. They all knew that he would be dead, sooner rather than later. It was the beginning of the end for the Templar Knights.

* * *

1307

Annabelle tried to hold onto his hand as long as she could. Templar nodded to the men who had come to take him in the early morning. He had seen his knights rounded up from the window, and knew his day had come. He turned to his old sister-in-arms one more time and smiled. "I believe my time has come. Will you visit me, if not in person, then in spirit?" She nodded and pulled him into a hug.

"I am so sorry, Templar, for being unable-"

"It was not by your hand, so you have nothing more to fear. My regret does not lie with you. Tell my brothers-in-arms to do whatever it takes, ok?" He asked, before being dragged away. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing. France found her still crying, three hours later.

He scooped her up into his arms, "Annabelle, what's wrong? Philip has finally finished rounding up those damned knights-" He was cut off when Annabelle slapped him. He blinked and his hand trailed up to the reddening mark on his cheek.

Annabelle snarled, "I tried to tell you, but you didn't listen. He is innocent, and you will regret it. Visit him everyday, Gaul. See what pain you are inflicting. He is an innocent." France frowned and turned to her, clenching his fists.

"You know as well as I do that there is no such thing as an innocent immortal. We are all guilty, Annabelle. Don't forget that, or I will have you join them." The man dropped her into a chair and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Annabelle snarled and stood, turning to throw her chair. The flimsy work shattered against the wall and she cried once more. She would hear the screams ever time she went by where Templar himself was held. The woman would sit outside the closest window and meditate, trying to link herself with Templar. She would attempt to ease his pain, even at her own expense.

Annabelle could feel the burning of his feet as they held them over a red-hot board. She could feel the pop of his shoulders as they were forced out of place by a pulley. She could feel the growl of his stomach as hunger ate at him, the droop of his eyes as he was forced to stay awake, the dryness in his mouth as he was not allowed drink. Rods would be forced between his fingers, which would then be pressed together until they broke. As a result of taking his pain, she would have angry blisters on her feet that would pop the second she took a step, her shoulders would randomly dislocate and she would be forced to agonizingly reset them, and her fingers were black and blue up and down her long hands.

True to what Annabelle had told him, she caught France there several times, occasionally with a parcel of food and water to keep Templar alive. He was pained by each visit, and she could tell that he wanted this to end. In turn for his actions, the woman had apologized for her actions, though France did not take it. She had nothing to apologize for, he said.

Then, after a long period of time, France finally showed up at her door, his indigo eyes tired and pained. "He confessed. I'm going to let him heal for a little bit, and you're more than welcome to see him." Annabelle nodded and got up to hug him.

"I'm... still sorry for the way I treated you. I shouldn't have isolated you," She whispered, looking down. He chuckled woefully and rubbed her back.

"After seeing what you finally meant, I understand why. You have nothing to apologize for. Let's go see him. I fear we may not have too much time before a sentence is passed."

The two quickly made their way out, and towards Templar's cell. She could tell he had been moved to a slightly better room, but even this one was a torture cell. He was sleeping on a wood and straw bed, his feet wrapped up and fingers hidden in his cloak. Annabelle swallowed heavily and kneeled next to his place. "What has he confessed to?" Templar shifted in his sleep, and she quickly began shushing him and petting his hair. She hummed gently, watching as he turned over and saw his drawn in face.

France looked down, "Him specifically? He has confessed to spitting on the cross and committing homosexual acts. His people were said to Listen, Annabelle-"

"I know, France, I know. I don't blame you anymore, just... leave us be for a little bit, please." He bowed his head and walked back towards the door. "Oh Templar, what have they done to you?" He shifted again, and exhausted, tortured eyes opened. "Hey, Templar, how are you-" Annabelle was cut off by a pair of arms weakly wrapping themselves around her. She carefully did the same, letting Templar sob into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm doing what I can to ease your pain, but-"

"Thank you. Thank you, please, d-don't go. T-Tell me a story? Anyone, please..." He cried, one of his shoulders straining. She nodded, picking him up so she could sit with him in her lap. She brushed his hair out of his face, kissing his temple.

"There was once an advisor for a king in Babylon, whose name was Daniel. Now, Daniel was a deeply religious man who held only one king in his heart and that was the king in Heaven, God. Now, all the other advisors were jealous of Daniel, and they could find no fault with him, but they knew that he loved God above all else, so they made their king, King Solomon, sign a decree that anyone who did not worship the king as their one and only god would be thrown into a lion's den. Daniel knew of the new law, but he held fast to his faith and prayed three times a day..." She continued to tell the tale of Daniel and the lion's den. The familiar story set Templar at ease, but the similarities between the story and his situation made him smile bitterly.

He looked into her eyes, "Fortuna... Why do they torture me? Why isn't God helping me?"

She sighed and continued to pet his hair, "They're the other advisors, and are jealous of you. They are little more than bullies and want to make themselves feel better. And God is just testing you, that's all. If there was anything else, I could do for you, just ask."

Templar nodded, tighening his hold, "I know I'm going to die, but... will you be there? I want to see at least one face I know didn't betray me. And when I do, I will look over you from heaven, trying to keep you safe from harm."

"Templar, I will show up that day, but... There are things about me that you would get angry over-"

"It doesn't matter. The faith you have shown me is more than enough. You are one of the only comforts I hold in this place. I felt your presence helping me, I felt your pain through mine, and I want you to know that it means so much to me," The preteen said, looking her in the eye. The woman smiled and rocked him gently.

"Thank you for everything, Templar. You were a great source of pride in Europe and you will not be forgotten," She swore, crying lightly.

He nodded, "The rest of my people will make sure of it." France peeked his head in and broke up the moment.

"Annabelle, we have to go now. The guard is coming back," He said, looking back into the hallway and frowning.

She nodded, "I have to go, but I will remember you. I'll see you when the day comes." She shifted to put templar down and put a hand over his wrist, "I'll leave you with another gift, but only immortals can see it, ok?" He cocked his head as she whispered her incantation and pet his hair one last time. "Take care, Templar."

The blonde nodded and grabbed her wrist, "You as well. Make sure Hospitaller and Teutonic live long, happy lives." She smiled, kissing the top of his hair one more time.

"I will. I left you one last present. It will give your words bite when they actually need them," Annabelle whispered before leaving. Templar watched hopelessly as she ran out of the room, taking one last look back. She smiled and left.

Templar let a few more tears trickle down, looking to his wrist and let his fingers trace over the mark. A red cross identical to the one he used to wear was stark against his skin and he smiled.

France sighed as they walked away from Templar's room, "So, what spell did you give him?"

She smiled sadly, "It was a promise. Any one thing he truly means, it will come true."

He raised an eyebrow, "Anything." Annabelle chuckled and nodded.

"Anything. If he says that he wants a meeting with Charlemagne over a roast duck feast with hot chocolate, it'll come true, but it'll put a strain on the two of us," She said, wincing. France's eyebrows furled.

"Don't you get very sick when you use too much magick?" He held the door open for her as they exited. She shrugged.

"Yeah, but Templar won't ask for anything too big. I know exactly what he'll ask for. England might get mad, but not for long. He'll understand this time," She said, stretching.

France sighed, "I don't want to know."

* * *

1314

Annabelle trembled as she watched Templar and some of the remaining French Templars were tied to their stakes. There was a private crowd gathering at the base of the scaffold and Templar held his head high. Many of his men had already been killed, but this would be the final nail in his coffin. Their charges were read again, but the mortals were charged as relapsed heretics. As fire was set to them, Templar shared a look with his grand master, Jacques de Molay, who nodded. They began to declare a speech as they burned.

"Let evil swiftly befall those who have wrongly condemned us! God will avenge our death!" Jacques declared.

Templar quickly repeated the same, growling as he faced down the crowd, "May those who have struck us down died within a year and a day! Your house shall fall!" France felt a chill go down his spine, and apparently, so did everyone else. He turned in a panic to Annabelle, whose eyes were closed and swaying.

"Annabelle, what did he do?" He asked, grabbing her. She swallowed, grabbing onto him and trying not to fall.

The woman opened her eyes, "H-He just cursed t-the king and th-the pope, n-not you. I need t-to sit d-down..." France sighed and dragged her slowly to a nearby seat. They tried not to listen to their friend's screams, but it was hopeless. Soon, their screams stopped, and Templar's aura flickered out, never to be reignited.

* * *

Over the next few years, Annabelle would hear stories of the other Templar knight's fates. Luckily, the most vocal advocates for their prosecution would be the French king and, unfortunately, the Pope. He desired that all the Templar's old land would be transferred to the Hospitallers. The holy man apparently sent out letters to England, Aragon, Portugal, Cyprus, and Castile. There was small variety of reactions, but they were similar.

England scoffed at the letter, after all, the knights were allies. They were well respected in the nation, and his king defended the Templars. He sent out letters to several other nations with hopes that they would do the same. In order to appease the pope, however, the knights were still placed on trial and their lands seized. The pope wanted the island nation to use similar methods to extract confessions, but England was angered once more. His legal system was not based on torture, but more modern methods of court and jury. Some were sentenced to death or imprisoned, but it was nowhere near the scale of France. The lands once possessed by the Templars were transferred to the Hospitallers.

Spain and Portugal looked over the letter in anger. They would respond to the Pope that they found no fault with the Knights Templar, and no one was surprised by the brothers' reaction. After all, the Knights helped with reconquestia, and after all that help? They weren't about to turn their backs on their allies. They would instead broke a deal with the next pope to get the Templar's lands transferred to more at home. They didn't want their land going to someone too foreign to take care of the land.

Holy Rome was more confused by the declaration and many of his provinces declared them innocent. Some land was seized and some wasn't. If some local leaders didn't like them to begin with, they had no problem seizing the land and burning the knights. Largely, Holy Rome waved it off. After all, they had helped him with the crusades and when the Pope was an enemy after so long, he could care less.

Cyprus was one of the more compliant ones. He placed the Templars on trial in his own manner, but none of them were guilty. Their land was seized, but while they were never proclaimed guilty, the templars died in prison.

All in all, there was just enough conviction against them, and the fact the pope dissolved them, that no one else dared join.

* * *

 **Welp, I'm sad. But yeah. The Templars were not well liked in France, but everywhere else, they had a good reputation. But the reason they fell is that France owed them massive debts and the king had no wish to repay them. Given in the bonus that in 1291, the crusader states, the main one being Acre, fell? It was just what he needed to throw them into the fire. He couldn't do it earlier because the Pope at the time would have forbidden the witch hunt, but then France helped get the next Pope up, and he was eating out of Philip's hand.**

 **Oh! And because of Acre, the Teutonic knight's main base of operations fell, they moved it to Venice, but in 1309, it moved to Malbork Castle.**

 **Do you guys prefer this kind of chapter? A little slower than the rest?**


	117. Chapter 105

**I've been busy! And tired. I'm also probably going to stop doing the language thing unless it actually needs to be mentioned, but other than that… Standard language is whoever she's staying with, but if it's more than one person, chances are it's latin. 'Nough said.**

* * *

1315

Annabelle looked out the window, casting her gaze over the small island. Her amber eyes stared dully as she was hypnotized by it. A small mark was gouged into her wrist where she had dug her nails in repetitively.

A sigh from across the room did not startle her as its owner stared at her, "You know, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you would be the one who killed him."

She smiled bitterly, "I did. I could have told him."

"Knowing you, you warned him in your own way, but you also knew this would happen. History played out like this, and now we all have to play to agony's tune," France said, coming to sit next to her on the bed. He took her wrist into his hands and frowned, "Doing this to yourself isn't healthy. Why not get a different mark instead?" She yanked her wrist out of his delicate grip and frowned.

"It's a shame about Louis X. He'd make an amazing ruler, but…" Her words trailed off and France nodded in understanding.

He shifted his gaze out to the island as well, "The curse. But did you hear? All of those Jews that my rulers had been kicking out are able to return now. I almost think it's because Louis wants to atone for his father's sins, welcoming back one of the more…" Annabelle hummed.

"It shouldn't matter. People are people with different looks and different views. You're going to be fine, Frankish. You're going to have your own part to play in the Concert of Europe," She whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm going to get a house and invite a few people over next year. A nice feast. You're invited…" Her eyes closed and she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Fortuna grinned as she carried over the bowl of greens and plate of cheese, "Dig in everyone!"

Teutonic squawked, "But what about praying?!"

"Ragazza was just testing you, idiot. We pray, then we eat!" Romano huffed, looking at the cake at the center of the table. Teutonic glared at him from over the cake and the boys stuck their tongues out at each other.

Fortuna huffed, "Try and play nice tonight. If I hear so much as one angry word, they're not getting any dessert!" She looked to France, who would be sitting to her left, England, Holy Rome, Teutonic, Hungary, Veneziano, and finally, Romano on her right.

Hungary grinned, "You'll know that Italy and I are perfect!" The younger brother grinned at him and hugged the taller child. Their happiness was infectious as Fortuna laughed.

"I know, you two. It's Holy Rome I have to keep an eye on!" The rest of the table chuckled as Holy Rome sunk into his seat, "Alright, enough games, let's pray and eat!" She joined hands with everyone and listened to their voices, she herself saying nothing. Soon after, food was shared and conversations were struck up. Sadly, like everything, all good things must come to an end.

"Hey! Romano! Why is your aura two colors now?"

Conversation dropped, and a fork clattered out of Veneziano's hand and onto the floor, Romano was tense, looking to his sister, but England cleared his throat, "It's a rite of passage into the real world, Teutonic. When your aura gets two colors, you're a mature country with life experience."

Veneziano nodded, "Si! It's been a long journey, right?"

"Indeed, Venie. Can you pass me the berries?" Fortuna asked, spreading her aura gently over the room. It was just enough that Teutonic had to focus just to see the other colors.

He frowned, "But why doesn't France have two colors? Isn't he the oldest one in here?"

The blonde laughed, holding his stomach as Romano slouched to hide himself, "Mon ami! I have not laughed so hard in a long time! I am the fourth oldest person in this room! Can you guess who is the oldest?"

Teutonic pouted and instantly looked to Fortuna, who smirked, resting her chin on her hand. He continued his gaze to Romano. He frowned, and grumbled and the rest of the table laughed. "Wait?! How old ARE you?!"

Romano looked over to his sister, "It was around… 300 years before Christ was born, so… maybe 1600 years old? Give or take 25 years." She nodded, kissing his forehead.

"Fratellone~" He flushed and his sister rose to reach for the cake. "Just for all that teasing, I think that you deserve some cake early." She cut him a reasonable chunk and carefully placed it on his plate.

Teutonic frowned, "But, that still doesn't explain what it is!"

Fortuna swallowed and looked to the three, "It's up to you three. Everyone's probably going to be affected at some point, so it might help them to be prepared, but just know it could give them an edge up."

Romano nodded and closed his eyes, but Veneziano growled softly. Fortuna stood to come around his side, cupping his face, "Feli, if Luciano doesn't want to come out, don't force him."

"I-It's not that, Fortuna. I-It's the other w-way around," Luciano growled, clutching his head. A weight slammed into their chair and they didn't even have to look to know who it was. The boy in her arms chuckled darkly, "Take care of airhead, si, Fortuna?"

She nodded, kissing his forehead as she turned her attention to Oliver, "Hello again, Ollie. Has Artie been treating you alright?"

He giggled and grinned at her, "He's taking good care of me! He likes to rant a lot!" He let her go to look at Lovino curiously, "Aren't you going to come out to play?!"

The child glared at him, "I'm not letting him out. You're all just going to make fun of me!"

Luciano snorted, drawing attention back to him, "So? Feliciano is terrified that everyone is going to be scared shitless-" He got a jab from Oliver, and he rolled his eyes. "Scared senseless that everyone's going to fear him."

"Please. Feli, you're not the one who changed. Everyone, meet the others. They're a fragmentation of the mind to be used as a defense mechanism. Venie got invaded so many times it's not funny. Oliver also got invaded, and Romano…" Fortuna looked to her brother, who looked away angrily. "He's being thrown back and forth between a bunch of different houses."

France nodded in understanding, "Sicily, right?" The child nodded, the tips of his hair turning blonde slowly. His citizens were in a standoff between the French and the Aragonese and it was anyone's game.

Hungary looked to France, "You're taking this rather well. Any particular reason, Francy?"

"Oh, he knew about England and Flavio. He might have had suspicions about me, but never really knew. Fortuna basically talks us into meeting her. It might help if we stop trying to kill her on the first meeting, huh?" Luciano smirked, looking to Oliver. The Brit nodded, laughing.

A scoff made them look over to Flavio, "I don't know what's wrong with you two, but at least I didn't try to kill Neylan when I first met her."

She raised an eyebrow, "Which time?" He laughed and sipped his drink. He almost snorted it out when Hungary slammed his fists on the table.

"Wait, so you're telling me that there's going to be another me?! That's so cool!" He shouted, grinning. The four paused and looked to each other. "What?"

Flavio sighed, putting his head into his hand, "Well, Hun, it's the push that makes it awkward. You get shoved so far that your mind cannot handle it on its own, so it chips and leaves the pieces to deal. Luckily, Neylan understands and knows how to separate us. Now, the question is this: Can you keep us separate?"

He quietly watched the table as they came to grips with the new information. He felt Lovino practically pacing as the entire spectacle went down and he knew that his brother was reacting in the same way.

France was smiling happily, making faces at Oliver to keep him entertained. The British child kept giggling, trying to make his own, but failing miserably. The fact that France knew about this situation and let on no information of the sort set the Italian on edge, and he stored the information for later.

Holy Rome was silent, blushing in the slightest of manners. He wouldn't look away from Luciano, who was getting unnerved, even if he would not show it. Lovino had told him that the blonde harbored a crush for Feliciano, one which was nervously returned, but the way that this information would alter his view of Feli? Only time would tell.

Hungary was still fidgety, looking between all of them, but mostly stared at Luciano as well. Flavio figured that out of all the group, Hungary had an old connection to Veneziano and questioned why he didn't see it earlier.

Teutonic was mostly quiet, but he kept branching his aura out, latching onto everyone's aura. Europe had gotten used to this, accepting it as his way of seeing, but he was more invasive than usual. It was something that Artie was not afraid to tell him as the green aura pushed back. He kept frowning and opening his mouth now and again, but waited. Luciano would snap at him first.

Just as he knew, the child growled, gripping the blade in his hand, "Oi, do you have a problem, Bambino? Or do you have something that you want to say?"

He grinned, "Yeah! When am I going to get one, and why doesn't Amalia have one? After all, her aura is three colors?"

The room got quiet as they turned to their friend. France looked at her, "A-Annabelle, d-did you ever-"

"No. No, I didn't. There was an incident a while ago and my personal aura showed. Teutonic only saw it because he's the only one who uses his constantly. I have never gotten an inkling of a second personality, and I'm questioning whether I get one later on. My mother used to talk to herself, but I don't know if that was just to herself or a second personality. She never let on, but then again, I didn't know her as well as I thought I did…" She looked away and Flavio hummed, leaning on her arm.

"Well, don't worry, Abla, we wouldn't judge you any differently, and anyone who does, well… I'll just slip something into their food," He said, purring. She laughed, bopping him on the nose lightly.

"Is that why there's a new fatally sharp corner in the garden? But I love all of you so much…" She looked around the room, smiling. Her brothers showed the same in their own ways, France chuckled, and the other three blushed, looking away. "You three are such men! Just take the compliment!"

France laughed again, "Never turn away a woman's love, my friends. There is nothing better than a woman's caring embrace." The group edged into silence and things were calm for the rest of the night.

* * *

1320

"No no no no NO! I've done this one I'll do it again, that's not where that goes! That goes over there, and that bunch of bricks goes over there!" Luciano was once again standing on her shoulder, screaming instructions to the Venetian workers.

"Luciano, can you take it down about four notches? You're going to lose your voice at this rate," Fortuna said, looking up at him. His feet dug deeper into her shoulder, making her wince.

He shook his head, "Listen, Fortuna, if we wanted it down four notches, Feliciano would be the one doing this. I'm just repeating what needs to be said. He's the one with any real understanding of architecture." The boy looked back up and began shouting again.

After reconsideration, the Venetian Arsenal was rebuilt to be bigger and more efficient. It would still grow in the following centuries, but sometimes, it was best to step back and watch magic happen.

* * *

1321

Veneziano's cheeks were stained with tears as his companion was sealed away. "W-Why?"

Fortuna hummed, and pushed a kiss to his temple, "Venie, everyone has to go sometime-"

"That's not what I meant! I thought you would understand that!" He sobbed, curling into her shoulder.

She pat his back, "I… I know. You know, Dante's never going to be able to return. Even when Florence practically begs and Ravenna has to hide him in a wall." He chuckled as his sister wiped his tears. "You see, Bambino, he might never get home, but he gets never gives them the satisfaction of the pain they inflicted upon him."

Veneziano still sighed, "Si, Sorellona…" The woman nudged his chin up with her finger, giving him a tight lipped smile.

"I understand, he's never going to be able to go home. I understand that pain just as well, but there's only so much you can do. Trust me, leave it be. He's never gone from history and your first serious warship gets named after him. He's the father of the Italian language, or is said to be. He's never forgotten," Fortuna promised, holding her brother tightly. The child smiled, but it fell when he looked to Dante's tomb once more. "He's with Beatrice again, he's happy."

The poet had been exiled from his hometown after a longstanding conflict between two factions, getting stuck on the wrong side of the conflict. Because of this, he was exiled for the remaining years of his life. Ravenna would hold fast as the place of his burial, even as Florence begged for his bones back. Only in 2008 would the Florentine government apologize for his exile.

* * *

1323

Ragin stretched as she walked into the city. It was a slowly growing city, but she knew it would quickly change. Lithuania was supposed to meet her a little while ago and she was looking around for him. A small head of white hair caught her attention as she dulled her aura down, but it was too late. "Pst! Amalia! What are you doing here?"

She frowned in confusion, "I'm here to meet with Lithuania. What are you doing here? If I remember correctly, you've been massacring Lithuania's population." Teutonic winced at the fact, putting his hands up.

"Not my proudest thing, but I have to follow orders. My boss sent me down here to spy. Can you help me out?" He said, widening his eyes and sticking out his lower lip.

"Are you trying to give me puppy-dog eyes?" Ragin laughed, trying to keep her volume down.

The child looked down, "N-No!"

Ragin sighed and ruffled his hair, "Nice try. If you can get Holy Rome to braid my hair like he used to, I'll help in the future, but not when your folks end up slaughtering hundred of people." She walked towards the center of town and waited.

Lithuania soon joined her, his hair looking more ruffled than usual and sporting a few bruises. "Ragin! You're here! Did you run into Teutonic?"

She shrugged, "A little bit ago, but just keep your guard up like always." He nodded, wincing when she rubbed his back. "Lithuania?"

"It's just a scratch, don't worry about it. I'll ask for help if I need it," He said, looking down. The child felt the woman's eyes on him and he slumped in relief when she sighed.

"Alright, but be smart about it. Teutonic isn't going away. You're going to have to tell him in his own words," Ragin said, leaning on a wall.

Lithuania nodded, "I know. It's just going to take a while. I don't have enough allies quite yet-"

She bobbed her head, "I know, you'll get there, just hold on for now."

"Whatever it takes." The dark words were something both knew would come true, but neither wanted to voice it. "But Gediminas is waiting for you. He wants to talk about sending letters to a few people. He's already sent a few, but… I'm worried he's going to make me convert. I-Is he?"

Ragin kneeled next to him, "Lithuania, listen to me. Why are you scared of converting?"

He frowned, scanning her patient face for answers, "I, um, well, it's been what I've believed in for years. It's who I am."

"Then there's your answer. You will only hold onto something as long as it's the best choice, right?" She asked, smiling.

"Like Poland?"

There was a slight pause in her answer, "Well, Poland is a mix. He has a bunch of different religions, but he's very open about it. He also strayed a bit from the church by using his own language instead of the church declared one." She shrugged and Lithuania smiled.

"That's so like him. He doesn't let anyone hold him back."

Her shoulders slumped and her mouth tightened, "He's always going to bounce back, one way or another." The child cocked his head in confusion, but the auburnette didn't elaborate as she stood. "So, where's the Iron Wolf?" Lithuania blinked in surprise, but laughed nonetheless.

"You always do surprise me, old friend. He's this way. How did you know about the dream?" They continued to chat merrily as they went to meet the king, ranging from the literature in Italy to the newest trend in the population. Gediminas was a very popular ruler, and he did not fail to impress. He was trying to extend his nation's paganism as long as possible, using several letters to extend olive branches. He also attracted people to Vilnius, his capital, by offering tax exemptions to those who newly arrived to settle.

* * *

1324

It was a letter from England that got her tense. Lithuania noticed her mood immediately when he arrived at breakfast, noting the almost untouched food. "Ragin, what's wrong?"

She frowned, clenching her fists under the table, "A woman was burned at the stake earlier this week. She was accused of being a witch."

Lithuania blinked in confusion, "I'm sorry, what?!"

"An Irish woman was burned at the stake on November 3rd. She… She was just a young woman…" Ragin growled, pounding her fist on the table, tears gathering in her eyes. The boy stared at her in confusion.

"Ragin, did you know her?" The woman shook her head, her hand trembling. Lithuania inhaled deeply, regretting what he was going to ask. "Then why are you scared?"

She laughed bitterly, "You're smart enough to piece it together, Lithuania. It is _exactly_ what it looks like." Lithuania slowly closed his eyes as he sighed.

"Well, you didn't tell me outright, so if anyone asks, I can deny it," He joked. His friend's laughter boomed around the room and she fell out of her chair.

"You're what I needed, Liet. You were exactly what I needed," She said, slowly getting up. Lithuania just shook his head, sitting down for breakfast.

* * *

1327

Elizabeth winced more and more as England told her the story. "So, Isabella was sick of his eyes wandering, and her French playboy was more than willing to help her with that. They captured him and… um." He struggled to find the words as he flushed.

"You… don't have to say anymore. I know what happens…" She shivered, cringing.

"Yeah… Well, he's out of the picture and now, she's ruling as regent for her son. I-Is everything going to turn out ok?" England asked nervously. The woman sighed as she ruffled his hair. The child growled as he swat at her hand.

"It will always and never be ok, Al. Just be as ready as you can for whatever you can. War is coming," Elizabeth warned, leaning back into her chair.

England snorted, "War is always coming. Nothing can change that." The two sat in silence for a while, listening to the fire crack in the fireplace. "Elizabeth, what's the future like?"

She smiled as she stared into the fire, "The world is spoiled, but it is better. People live longer, there is better medicine, there is more happiness, but there is also more anger, more greed. It's life, and some things just don't change." England hummed. "I know that doesn't answer your question, but it's more complicated, but easier. You live, England. It'll be hard, but you're really something. Keep calm and carry on." With a grunt, she rose out of her seat and went to bed.

Edward II had been murdered, and there would be rumors floating around of Edward's homosexuality, and how it affected his murder. Some would claim that he had a hot iron inserted into an uncomfortable place, while more would simply claim that he was murdered in a more usual fashion. Either way, his son would soon be proclaimed king, of England, Ireland, and later on, France. The Hundred years war was approaching.

* * *

1330

Romania grinned victoriously as he stood on top of the cliffs. Hungary glared at him from the valley as he ran off behind several warriors, one of whom was the king, dressed in regular clothes. Neylan smiled from her place on the ground as the child finally jumped into the air, "Did you see that? Did you see that, Neylan! That was amazing! I can't believe I won! A-Am I free?"

The woman slowly stood, groaning as she did so, "Well, freedom is a mentality. Are you? If you aren't Hungary isn't going to be happy with you. There will be very little you can do to make it up to him, but if you declare yourself independent, then it's a similar scenario. He'll be mad either way."

Romania nodded as he looked down, "I… Yeah, I mean, if I got this far…" He raised his head again, "Will you help me if I need it?"

Neylan laughed heartily, doubling over, "Finally! Someone asks me straight on! Yes, my little strigoi, I will!" The boy smirked at the nickname and hugged her quickly.

"Thanks, Sora!" She blinked at the nickname, but took it in stride.

"Anything for my favorite little vampire." With the battle of Posada, Wallachia had practically declared their independence. They had thrown rocks down cliffs onto underfoot knights. Many Hungarian knights, a good deal of whom were nobility, were killed in the Battle of Posada. Romania made sure that Hungary got his message: He's free.

* * *

1331

Neylan swallowed as she looked over the battle field. She had refused to take part in the battle this time, and Poland seemed to accept that perfectly. Teutonic? He just about threw a fit. Nonetheless, he was forced to push that fact aside.

Poland was getting angrier and angrier at the knights, as they refused to back off, continuing to attack the country in order to gain control of Pomerelia and to fight the pagans. The Teutonics had just left a town, and the Poles were descending upon them vehemently. It wasn't a slaughter, Neylan had to give the Knights that much, but things weren't exactly going their way. The Poles' moral fell a slight amount as the heir was forced to retreat in case he was injured, but by then, a decent amount of knights had been captured, as well as their leader.

Neylan frowned as she saw Poland reach for an arrow and alarm bells rang in her head. Her legs took off across the battlefield, dodging any major combatants, all the while keeping an eye on Poland. The blond had a dangerous frown on his face as he notched the arrow in his crossbow, his eyes never drifting from Teutonic. Poland raised the crossbow, just as Teutonic got into view, and Neylan knew he didn't see it. She did what she would have done for anyone else.

Teutonic smirked as another Pole fell to the ground, but a different shadow made him look up. His eyes widened to see Neylan standing over him, trembling with a distant look in her eye. "A-Amalia?"

She shook her head, grabbing his hand, "Y-You gotta go. Teutonic. _Now_."

"What? Why? I'm doing awesome!" He protested. His friend looked behind her, gripping her shoulder, and that's when he saw it. An arrow head emerged from the back of her shoulder, pointing at his head, no doubt aimed to kill. He swallowed heavily and nodded. "RETREAT!" The cry was picked up, and the order was soon heading back to their base.

Neylan lagged behind the group, growling as each step jolted her shoulder, "Damn." Teutonic cast a worried glance back to his friend, and motioned a blood splattered knight forward. The immortal waved his hands as he tried to explain, but the knight shook his head. Teutonic growled and walked back to her.

"I'm sorry, Amalia. I-" He looked like a kicked puppy, and she reached to ruffle his hair.

"Don't worry about it, Teutonic. I just have to deal with this until we get to camp. I-I'll be fine." She looked ahead and continued on. She was unsure why her shoulder was hurting more than usual unless… "Oh shit." She took a seat and pulled loosely at the arrow, muffling a scream as it failed to emerge. "Remind me to yell at Poland later."

Teutonic winced and looked at her, "Why?"

She sighed and got a small knife out of her bag, "Because, the arrowhead was serrated. That thing was meant to caught pain and a lot of it. Well, he got pain." The boy sat behind her and watched as she cut carefully at her tunic. "Shit… Teutonic, I know you're uncomfortable with skin, so I'd recommend that you either have someone help me take this thing out or get over it and take it yourself."

The boy nodded and got up, but a hand on his shoulder made him pause. The area was surrounded by a pale blue aura and Neylan sighed in relief, "Germania. Thank you _so_ much. A little help?"

He grunted and took a seat behind her, "Teuton, get over here. You need to learn how to do this."

"D-Do I have to do it with Amalia?" He asked nervously. Germania narrowed his eyes and his child climbed into his lap. "I-I'm sorry, Amalia."

She smiled over her shoulder, "It's fine, Teutonic. Besides, if I take an arrow for you again, you need to know how to take it out." Germania looked over the entry point and had Teutonic use his fingers to feel the area. The boy did, but almost immediately removed his hands when his hear Neylan whimper, but Germania shook his head.

"She's fine. Ragin's tough. Now, you take the blade and…" Teutonic began to cry as his friend screamed as her shoulder had to be pried open, as well as the joint. Eventually it was done and Germania took his son aside. Before he was out of earshot, he shot Neylan a look, "You know what to do, Ragin." She nodded, trying to stem her tears as she pulled her cloak around her. She began a healing spell, but even that could only do so much. Her muscles were barely sewn back together when Germania arrived with Teutonic a few minutes later.

The child gave her a look, "So, apparently, I'm going to be your sword in battle if you be my shield…?"

She huffed, "But if I'm on the opposite side-"

"Then make sure that nothing kills me. And I'll keep my men from killing you," He stated simply, making her chuckle. She ruffled his hair.

"Alright then, you're my sword. Now, let's get moving again. I'll keep an eye that Poland doesn't follow us." Teutonic nodded and ran ahead, laughing and jumping around, even if slower because of his injuries. Neylan didn't feel the need to tell him that he almost died that day, that in truth Poland decisively won the Battle of Płowce, it is known to be a draw for one main reason:

They didn't end the Teutonic knights that day.

* * *

1332

Amalia blinked as she stared at Switzerland, who glared back. "What did I tell you Swiss? Stop growing."

His frown didn't lessen, "You're being so childish."

"I don't care, stop growing. When can't everyone just stop growing?" She asked, crossing her arms. The blond rolled his eyes. He was standing at her elbow now, now that another Canton joined the others in the confederacy.

* * *

1336

Amalia and Teutonic shared a look when they cast a gaze into the city of Pilėnai. While no one had been inside the city, something was… off. One look inside spiritually was enough to know what.

There was only one person inside, but that was just Lithuania… Amalia tensed as she remembered what her mother said about the town. Teutonic shot her a look, but did little else until she ran to the front gate. She banged on it, drawing attention from several knights. One approached her to tell her to stop, but she grabbed her Danish ax and began to strike the door. The man backed off, letting the crazed woman beat the door down.

Finally, the door cracked under the continued assault and a rancid smell drifted out. Amalia kept at it until the door was finally able to be opened and without a thought, she ran in to find Lithuania. He was in a home near the center of town, and when Amalia finally burst in the door, he was lying in wait. He swing his blade down, catching her off guard. She would have been struck had it not been for a mass jumping in front of her and blocking the blow.

"Get out, damn you! Get out!" Lithuania cried again and again, throwing blows to Teutonic. The albino was tight-lipped, merely blocking the blows when arms wrapped around his waist to pull him back.

"Teutonic, get your men and go. I'll catch up, just… Leave," She growled to him. He opened his mouth to protest, but the auburnette shook her head, pointing to the door. "No, not this time, leave. Don't let your men take anything, just go." He looked to Lithuania and back to her, but she stood, trying to tower over him, notably failing. "Yield, Teutonic. Just… Yield." Finally, Teutonic heard the exhaustion and sorrow in her voice, taking his leave.

When he finally did step out, he looked around to see why his friend was so final, but he kept having to step over large lumps everywhere… To his horror, the child finally put it together that those weren't lumps and why the city was so empty. He closed his eyes and offered a prayer, hoping that the population would not burn in hell.

Lithuania looked to Amalia once the door was closed, "Get out."

She sighed, slouching, "I-I'm sorry." Lithuania growled and gripped his sword tighter. Amalia bowed her head and let her tears flow. "I don't know how much it matters, but I'm-"

"I don't care! My people are dead because they were… because of _him_!" The brunet screamed, pointing to the door. "He goes up and down Europe, saying he's the Christian force of the east, but he's nothing more than a monster, slaughtering, murdering, and doing whatever the hell he pleases!"

Amalia sighed and took a seat, but Lithuania's blade was at her neck in an instant. "I thought you were on my side," He snarled, betrayal and grief dancing in his eyes. "How could you, after all those years, you side with him?!"

She exhaled slowly, not moving away from the blade, but not closer either, "Lithuania, I'm on whoever's side fate leads me to. But may I tell you something that will mean something more? Grunwald. It's in less than 75 years, and you have your chance at revenge. Just… I'm sorry." She stood and walked to the door, pausing in the threshold. The woman cast a look over her shoulder, "We're even now."

Lithuania bowed his head as his friend left him to the memories of his people. The house he was residing in had three little girls who would love to laugh and braid each other's hair while always making time to play with Lithuania. It was the only time he felt alive and not just living.

Amalia finally caught up to Teutonic as the knights were packing up camp. He looked down, silent. She ruffled his hair reassuringly, "Lithuania's going to be mad for a long time, but just watch your back. And before you ask… 4,000."

"I… T-That's a lot of people…" He muttered, looking back to the walled city. Amalia wrapped him in her arms, "Why? Why didn't they just convert?"

She shushed him, petting his hair, "Because it was who they are. You're the army with a country, and without that…" He buried his head in her shoulder in anguish.

* * *

1337

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms, "So, you're now the king of France?"

England nodded solemnly, "Indeed. After all, it was their kings who invaded us and married into my royal family. So they have claims. This isn't going to be some big deal." She sputtered as she started laughing, slapping her knee over and over. England flushed, "What?! It isn't, Bess! Why are you laughing so hard?!"

She shook her head, "Oh nothing, this war will be fought for over 100 years, that's all." England's eyes widened and he shook his head.

He reached to clean out his ears, "I-I'm sorry…? I thought you said 100 years."

"I did. It's not a constant thing, but this is an insane war. I have to ask you-"

England shook his head, "I might call you over every once in a while, but not too often."

She nodded and leaned back on the wall, "Alright, that's all I needed to know, thanks England. You're going to get sick, just to let you know."

"It's a war, Bess. When doesn't a warring country get sick?" He shot back with a grin. She chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"I'm just saying, but it was nice to see you again. Just… be careful. Please keep your cardinals in check as well. I have to go. My brothers want me to meet someone, and I'm just dying to meet them!" England rolled his eyes once more, but waved her off.

"Go on, thank you for coming. I'll see you when I see you," He said, watching his sister run off. He went back to the war room and looked to his king, Edward III. "I sure hope you know what you're doing."

The king nodded, looking over his map, "I do as well. Those French dogs took Gascony, and now, we're at war. I'm going to send… well, what are the chances that Holy Rome will support us?"

England nodded, "He tends to side with us anyway, mostly because he hates France too. Hopefully it will never be taken too far." Edward nodded and continued to look over the map.

* * *

Fortuna stretched as she walked to Veneziano's house, noting a dark-haired man standing near the door. She gave him a confused look as she walked to the door, "May I help you?"

He shook his head, "I do not believe so. I am merely waiting for an old friend."

"Alright then. I wish you the best of luck," She said, opening the door. As soon as she did so, her brother launched out of the door. "Hey, Venie! It's been a while!"

He nodded, holding tightly to her waist, "Thank you for coming, Sorellona!"

She giggled, taking him into her arms, "Anything for my fratellino~!" The woman kissed his forehead, smiling as he giggled. "But why did you call me here?"

"My friend wanted a tour, but…" Veneziano kicked his legs to make a point. Fortuna chuckled as she understood and looked to the man. "This is Petrarch, he wanted a tour of Nonno's… ruins…" The siblings bowed their heads in sadness, but Petrarch put his hands on either of the pair's shoulders.

"He hasn't completely left! You can still feel his influence in everything! Look around! We're the descendants of the great Rome, our forefathers! They left so many gifts and we just have to look to see them! You two were lucky to see his glory days!"

Fortuna chuckled, "Perhaps, but Nonno had two sides to him. Venie is so lucky to have seen one side of him, even if he did take after that other side of Rome." Veneziano giggled and fiddled with his sister's hair.

"But you're the one who's seen so much of the world! What about all of those stories you tell?"

Petrarch's eyes burned with curiosity as he cocked his head, "My dear Veneziano, who is this woman?"

The boy chuckled and opened his eyes to look at his sister, "Well, why don't you ask her yourself?" He kicked his legs and Fortuna lowered him. She just as quickly turned to the humanist and bowed lowly.

"I am one of many names, but you may call me Fortuna-"

The man's eyes widened, "You mean?"

She sighed, standing as a frown crossed her face, "Yes, like the goddess. Nonno gave me this name, but it has led to another nickname. Lady Luck."

"That's you?! I have heard many stories-"

Veneziano chuckled, "Those are only the half of it! When Sorellona was younger, she fought against the Germans, the French, the Persians, and even Nonno!"

Fortuna huffed, "It's not my fault that Rome went and separated you two! Now, are we going to go or not?"

Petrarch nodded, "Yes, but can you do something for me?" She cocked her head and crossed her arms. "Can you close your eyes and draw your blade?" Fortuna chuckled, she knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted her to pose like in the old Roman mosaics. She did just that and looked in his direction. Her Persian blade was held tightly in her hand and her hair flowed freely.

"Fortune is a dangerous thing. Do not trifle with which you do not know," She said, the ancient latin she learned in her first century of life gliding off her tongue as though she had been speaking it yesterday. Veneziano chuckled, his aura reaching out to mingle with her's. She opened her eyes and put her blade away. Her brother was smiling at her in admiration, his golden eyes still glittering happily. She picked him up and nuzzled his hair.

"You're so precious, you two," She whispered into his ear, placing a kiss on his forehead. Veneziano giggled as Luciano's aura also reached out to merge with her's. A throat cleared and the humanist stared at them impatiently. Fortuna raised an eyebrow, "I just got back. Do you know how long it took me to get here from England?" Petrarch bowed his head in understanding and Veneziano whined.

"You've been always able to come and go! Let's go see Nonno's house!" Fortuna chuckled and nodded, kissing his forehead again. The group travelled down to Rome and met up with Romano before giving Petrarch the tour of his life. The siblings would share a look as he skirted around and looked over everything, but they knew that the man was really something.

* * *

1340

Veneziano opened his mouth as he got the news, but his sister growled, "Trust me, Venie, stay out of this one. I don't care what Genoa did, but you're not becoming a part of this."

He nodded, "But it seems like such a nice business opportunity-"

"No, it doesn't. If you side with France, the Papal States and Holy Rome are going to have something to say about that, and if you side with England? France is right next to you. Just stay out of it and keep an eye on trade. That's where you'll succeed. Trust me, Venie. But… Stay indoors in '46 after, until this all passes. And… Get word out. No one is to go near anything near rats or furred creatures," She snarled.

Veneziano cocked his head, "What about cats?"

Fortuna snorted, "Don't even start with cats. They're desperately needed these days." Her brother hummed and they looked out the window. England had just his king declared the king of France and a battle had been fought on water. Genoese mercenaries had gone to fight, but it was not use; France just lost almost his entire navy.

* * *

1342

Neylan stood behind the king's chair, "You have my support, but take my word on this-"

Hungary rolled his eyes as he smiled, "Don't touch Neylan's brothers or you will regret it." The woman sent him an angry look, but the child just shrugged. He instead turned to his king, Louis I, and smiled. "She trusts you somehow, Louis. Don't make her mad and we're going to be-" He stopped there, making the auburnette laugh.

"What were you going to say? Awesome!"

Hungary clamped his hands over Neylan's mouth, "Shhh! He'll hear you!" The two ended up in giggled on the floor, making the newly crowned Louis wonder how he was going to spend the rest of his life dealing with these literal ancient children.

* * *

1343

"Blood begets blood."

Estonia looked up to Ragin in confusion, "What does that mean?"

She plopped down next to a tree, sighing deeply, "It means that all this blood you've gone and shed, it's only going to bring more bloodshed."

He shook his head, "No, I don't care! You heard what he's done to Lithuania, I can't risk the same! I've already sent word to Sweden, I'm hoping they'll help!"

Ragin frowned, "You have five days, Estonia. Don't get cocky-"

"I'll be fine, don't worry! And besides, I have my bogs! My people can walk these with ease-"

"This is what I'm talking about, Estonia! You know that Teutonic doesn't always follow the rules-" She desperately tried to explain, but the blond shook his head.

"Well, guess what, Ragin? Neither do I!" Her face twisted in anger and she growled. She walked up to a tree and with a fluid motion, took her axe off her back, swing it at a young sapling and sent it tumbling.

"You don't understand, Est, please. Stop trying to be the tough guy you think you are and listen-"

He shook his head, pushing her back, "No, you aren't listening! And the 'tough guy I think I am'? Who do you think you are?! Leave." She opened her mouth to protest, but Estonia pointed to the closest way out of the woods. "Leave."

She sighed and grabbed her bag, walking. "You'll see, Estonia. I'm sorry." Ragin strolled out of the forest and headed to Teutonic's camp. At least he wouldn't kick her out.

But he was a special kind of angry. "WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?!" The boy roared as he swung his blade towards Amalia. She blocked it easily, masking her exact location by spreading her aura out. However, like a knife through butter, the boy sliced through her trick and wrapped her aura in his, trying to crush her. "How could he do that, Amalia?"

She sighed as she struggled to push him back, "H-Hey, T-Teuton, can you l-lighten up?" He blinked and quickly pulled his spiritual self back. "T-Thanks, I felt like I was choking, but anyway… He's been suppressed for centuries, and the Danish kings have been getting weaker as time goes on. He's finally got the chance to push back, and all that anger?" Amalia shook her head, sitting on the growing grass. She let herself fall back onto the plants and closed her eyes.

"People do dumb and dangerous things when the ones they care about are in danger. They start wars, they shed innocent blood, and they do irreversible damage. Honestly?" She asked, looking to Teutonic who was standing a few feet away from her head. "They're terrified of you and sometimes I am too."

He stood there frozen, staring at her in despair, "W-Why?"

"They're scared of you because you're a threat to everything they've ever known. You're threatening their religion, their customs, but most importantly, their families-"

Teutonic growled, "No, why are you scared of me? Why? You have no reason to be scared of friends-" He was unprepared for Amalia's crazed laughter as she curled up into herself. She soon went back to laying on the grass.

"N-No reason?! Every country I have met has threatened me at some point in my life, and I'm not talking about the threats that we throw. Almost everyone has snapped and I'm pretty sure just a little push, they would have killed me. You've had a few times when you've almost been killed, but you just don't know it yet, Teuton. And your views…" She raised a hand to the sky, "With your views, you wouldn't hesitate to burn me at the stake for what I am."

Teutonic sighed woefully and came to sit next to her head, but laid down and placed his head on her shoulder, "You… You're really scared of me because of that? Not because you're scared you're going to hurt me someday?"

Amalia hummed, "Well, that's the problem with being luck. Sometimes it's good luck, sometimes it's bad, but no matter what, people get hurt. That's my curse from hell-"

"Bullshit, Amalia. We both know you don't believe in God," He grunted, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. The child was unprepared for her tears. "O-Oh no, what did I say?!"

She chuckled through the tears and soon, they turned to sobs and then to wails, "Y-You d-don't u-unders-stand… H-How much t-that means!" Teutonic's eyebrows furrowed as he cocked his head.

"What? I never heard you pray, I've barely seen you set foot in a church, and you've never said God's name in anything. It was kind of obvious…" He trailed, standing awkwardly as his friend bawled her eyes out. She chuckled and stood, walking over. Amalia kneeled next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

It was obvious he was growing and growing fast- her head rested over his heart, listening to its steady, albeit fast, pace. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…" Teutonic smiled again and kneeled so he could wrap his arms around her. "You're a miracle…" The boy laughed as he tightened his grip and buried his head in her hair.

"And awesome." She simply surrendered to her cries and laughter. He would pull her up later, letting her stay with him for however long she needed to stay. They dueled and invited other knights to do so, even if only a few took them up on the offer. It all stopped when Estonia offered to send over their four kings to delegate possible peace terms. Then, Teutonic threw chivalry out the window.

He grinned when someone read the letter to him, "We're going to crush them!"

"Teutonic, remember the rules of honor. Don't do anything dumb," Amalia corrected, frowning. The boy shook his head, slamming his hand on the table.

"NO! THEY THREW THAT OPTION OUT WHEN THEY MASSACRED MY PEOPLE, MY CHILDREN!" He shouted, looking over to her. She sighed and looked down.

"You're not going to listen to me, are you? Well, do what you want, but remember, a man is only as strong as his word, and you're about to break on age-old tradition," Amalia warned, standing to leave.

Teutonic sighed angrily as he watched her leave, "Why doesn't she get it? I'm only trying to protect my people…"

Estonia stood next to his kings somewhat nervously as they all met outside. Teutonic glared at Estonia with a hatred that Amalia hadn't seen from the immortal before, but Estonia continued to hold his head high. "Teutonic, we're here to talk peace. You have plagued our land-"

Teutonic spit and it landed at the speaking king's feet. The man was shocked and a spark of fear was ignited in his eyes as Teutonic growled, "You splattered your land with our blood, Estonia. You're going to regret it!" The rest of the negotiations went on tensely, but, Amalia refused to look either of the other immortals in the eye.

The night seemed to settle and the kings were escorted to their rooms, but before Estonia could follow them, Amalia grabbed Estonia's shoulder, holding him back. He frowned at her, but grew concerned as she had tears in her eyes and refused to look the preteen in the eye. Estonia quickly found out why- His king's pained screams echoed through the halls and he grabbed Amalia's hand. "R-Ragin?"

She sighed shakily and began to push him to the gate, "I'm sorry…" The auburnette led him to the front gate and quietly let him out. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more." He bowed his head and echoed back on the words she left him with.

"I'm sorry too." When the kings received their judgement by the knights, the rest of the organization fell upon various encampments, seeking vengeance for their fallen countrymen. Finally, Sweden arrived, but they did not provide the help that Estonia thought they would. Instead, they looted and raided the area before leaving. Estonia was crushed, but not as much when 3 years later, in 1346, Denmark sold the area to the Teutonic knights.

* * *

1346

Teutonic grunted as he carried the bag of flour with Amalia, "Why did you bring me along again?"

She smiled down at him as she readjusted the second bag full of ginger on her shoulder, "Because, I don't want to take two trips. Also, you've been sulking in your room again. You have land now, you can't keep avoiding it." He frowned, but it lifted when he saw the port. Amalia flipped his hood up to protect his eyes. "Alright, help me get this to ship, and you're free to run around. Be careful." He rolled his eyes, but nonetheless followed her to the Estonian port where Amalia would occasionally sell items.

The trader smiled when he saw his friend, but cocked his head at the hooded boy next to her, "Fortuna! What do we owe the pleasure this time? And who is your friend here?"

She grinned and shifted the bag on her hip, "Hey there, Richard! I've got some freshly pulled and cleaned ginger, my regular quality, and the same with a standard bag of flour. This is-"

Teutonic grinned as he looked up the man, "I am the awesome Gilbert!" Amalia blinked at the name, but didn't have time to question it as Richard hissed. He had seen Teutonic's red eyes and traders were some of the most superstitious people she had ever met.

"Teutonic, drop the bag and leave," Amalia hissed, pushing Teutonic behind her. He dug his heels in the dirt, making her tense. "Teutonic, this is not the time to fuck around-"

"DEMON!" It took three seconds for the port to quiet and deafen the area again. But when the noise rose again, it was sailors carrying any available makeshift weapons, but also a few townspeople screaming as well. Luckily, this was a small port town, so they only managed to wake a few thousand.

Teutonic picked up on the fact that all the commontion was because of him and he turned tail. Amalia was on his heels, making sure he didn't fall, when hoofbeats made her look over. She growled and took off her bag. "Teuton, take this! No matter what happens, keep running!" He sent her a panicked look as the horseman drew a sword, Amalia following suit.

"Amalia, don't!" He pulled her to the side as the horseman took a swipe, but the immortals were already on the ground. They tried to get to their feet, but a second rider joined the first. "Amalia, what's going on?"

The first rider, a lithe man with a thin nose, laughed, "You have no right to play stupid, Demon. Who is this woman? Some poor widow you've tricked?"

Amalia snarled as she moved into a crouch, "Teutonic, listen to me, and listen to me closely. I'm going to make a distraction and you have to run. I'll catch up-" A third rider joined them and the townspeople were beginning to arrive, blocking their exits. "Never mind, just… hold on when I say."

"Shut it, you old bitch," The third rider, a frowning young woman, barely sixteen, spat. The spittle landed on Amalia's face, making the immortals growl tensely. The riders got into an argument, but the townspeople were beginning to take swipes at Teutonic. Amalia covered his body with her's, and whimpered.

"Teutonic… Don't hate me…" He looked at her in confusion as she mentally recited the words she needed.

It was… Dark, but warm. Teutonic checked out the surrounding aura, but it was all Amalia. "What the…? Suddenly, the darkness pulled back, revealing the screams that he hadn't heard. Before him, Amalia was still clinging to him, but a large pair of black wings, draped in chains, emerged from her back. "What in the…?" He tried to reach up to touch it, but they pulled back some more and suddenly, Teutonic couldn't feel the ground anymore. He let out a scream as a mix of greens passed by underneath them. A few words came from Amalia again, but he couldn't hear them, but he was pretty sure he could… see.

He blinked in surprise as he could see everything crystal clear and he looked over everything. "Wow…" He looked behind them, and the village was a good half-day's trip away already. "We're getting pretty far! If we go any further-" Amalia grunted as she began to lead them down and they took a crash landing on a sandy beach. Immediately, his eyesight went back to blurred shapes, but his attention was on the crumbled, wingless mass sitting a few feet away.

"Amalia! W-What was that? How?" Teutonic grappled for an answer, but the woman merely grimaced as the child finally noticed the blood soaking her cloak. He pulled it back to see two large gouges in Amalia's dress and back, wincing as the blood stuck lightly. "Damn…" He ripped off a piece of his tunic and went to wet it, dabbing it lightly against her back.

He sighed when he realized that Amalia wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. "Well, might as well get comfortable." Teutonic drew his blade and rested against Amalia. Flipping his hood up, he cocked his head, "Is this why you were so scared? Because you're a witch? Well, if it were almost anyone else…" As much as he didn't want to admit it, if it had been just some mortal, the preteen wouldn't have had any problem killing her.

But… Amalia? Teutonic hummed as he settled down next to her and bunked down for a snooze. It wasn't until hours later that Amalia finally awoke and saw that it was night outside. She smiled when she saw her friend watching over her and picked him up. He whined as she cradled him princess style, his head lolling onto her shoulder gently.

"We'll be home soon. We're not going back there," She whispered, carrying him back to the settlement closeby. It took a few hours, but Teutonic never awoke. Finally, they reached the city and the two barely made it back unnoticed. She tucked him into his bed, ruffling his hair carefully. "Sweet dreams, Gilbert," The woman whispered. "Thank you for keeping an eye on me, I appreciate it." She soon went to her own room, never noticing the delicate smile that graced his face in the lulls of sleep.

The next morning, Teutonic hunted her down, but only metaphorically. She had been avoiding him all day, darting around camp whenever he popped up. However, he was relentless and could track her better than anyone she knew. When lunch rolled around, and she sat high in a tree, he showed up behind her, "AMALIA!"

The woman in question jumped and banged her head against the trunk as she tried to calm her speeding heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack. What is it?"

Teutonic frowned when she refused to look him in the eyes, "Cut the crap, Amalia. You know why. Was… That why you didn't tell me?"

"Yes, ok? I'm terrified that you'd get scared of me because of what I can do-"

He rolled his eyes, "Amalia, I literally broke code and you didn't run away. Why would I do that to you-"

Amalia put down her sandwich to ruffle his hair, "You really are something, Teutonic. I…" She shook her head and took a bite of her sandwich. "I admire you."

His breath caught, "W-What?"

She swallowed the food, "You're always the most stubborn person and you always look out for your people. You're a new country that's come so far. I mean, when I was your age, I was still living with my Nonno and I was mostly taking care of my little brothers while Rome was off conquering something. You're a powerful organization that's managed to get land and to hold it. That's rough." She closed her eyes and listened to the birds. Teutonic hummed and leaned on the trunk as well.

It was a weight off their chest for both of them. They now knew that the other didn't hate them, but most importantly? That they weren't going to leave because of their secrets. Just in time too.

Plague was here.


End file.
